Getting the scale to go down is an uphill battle. As a life-long dieter, I've
found that it's easier when you don't feel as if you're doing it alone.
This is the place to share your trials, tribulations, tips and triumphs.
Here's to a thinner, healthier you...

326 responses total.

Tip for the day: squash is in season! Split one in halves, put them cut side
up on a cookie sheet, spray liberally w/ butter flavor Pam, and bake at 350
until tender. (poke w/ fork to check)
favorite varieties: acorn, spaghetti, butternut
Decent source of fiber, 0 fat, and yummy!

Feeling low and/or sleepy after work? Park the car, then walk 2-3 laps around
the house before going inside. Works wonders.

Tip #1 -- no more ice cream!  You may as well apply it to my hips with a
spatula.  ;)  Seriously...I only eat frozen yogurt now, which is yummier, and
much better fat-wise!
Tip #2 -- when I can't sleep at night, I grab my walkman and winter coat and
go for a brisk walk around campus.  It's about two miles up STEEP inclines
(NMU is on the base of a mountain), and it takes me about 45 minutes.  Burns
fat, builds muscle, and exercises the heart!
Tip #3 -- exercise and diet with a friend or two...that way you can bitch and
moan with a friend or two!  =)  I hate firming, but I like it when I think
of spidyr, otter, and redfox puffing and huffing back home...it's inspiration,
and it puts a smile on my face!

Thanks for the tips, ladies!  I need them right now!  I've fallen off the
dieting and firming band wagon :(.  Maybe now that I know that you are with
me, I will be more inclined to get off my butt!  (My knee injury is healed,
but I still don't have any motivation).  Tips that work for me:  Never eat
mayonaise;  don't snack between meals, or if you're going to snack, make them
healthy and don't eat the meals; don't put dressing on your salad, you'll
really be able to taste the vegies!;  Keep up the good work!  and remember
What Mistress Susan says, "Hard isn't it, keep movin'"

AARGH!!!!  I have number one *memorized* completely!!!  =)  "Now isn't this
better than dieting?"  *growl*
One more that I learned from Kae, and I'm forever grateful for it...
--*Don't* use butter...use Pam.  It tastes better, and I like the texture of
the food better.  (less greasy)  I use it for *everything* now.  =)

Anotehr thing you can try besides the Pam, is Molly McButter. It is great on
just about everything.  One of my personal favorites is a microwave baked
potato with Molly and just a dash of parmesan cheese.  mmm tastes great! 
Another fun thing to eat (and it tastes like you are really cheating on you
diet) is air popped popcorn sprayed with butter flavor Pam and sprinkled with
cheese flavor Molly.  

So, ladies, let me know how your doing!  I have a pesky 5 lbs to get rid of
(it's much easier to do it now than to take it off when it has grown to 10)
 Good luck, I'm sure your doing great!

OK, I don't diet, but I do eat low-fat type stuff.

White rice with mild salsa - really good, bascially no fat.
Bagels are good.

Cheese Whizz!

My doctor took me off the magic pills for a while, so my appetite is back,
and I think it's pissed. Being on the road most of the day makes fast food
really tempting! I've loaded the car with apples, pretzels, and Life Savers.
I spray Ozium when approaching any place that makes fries. Taking a tip from
a  truly skinny friend of a friend: go ahead and have a big non-diet soda af
your choice when you just can't stand the deprivation anymore. If you don't
do it too often, it's a very satisfying treat.
<ste ramble mode=off>

bjorn, have you ever read the label on Cheese Whizz?  Remember, Kae, it's not
how much you eat, it's what you eat!  Grapes are good to take along in the
car too.  I think drinking the non-diet soda has been one of my problems
lately, I've been drinking it too often.  I should just save it for a treat.

Marsha -- last Thanksgiving, I put Molly McButter on my potato, just to try
it.  I like it so much better than butter!  Now, I put it on popcorn, too.
Kae -- bring some of those yummy rice cakes with you.  My favorite is the
Caramel Corn, but the White Cheddar is good too!  

Didja know that a medium apple has 1/2 gram of fat? Who cares!?! I love apple
season!! <crunch>
I have a recipe for fat-free microwave potato chips; will post it next time.

microwave potato chips?  I'll have to try that! <redfox puts down the bag of
ruffles and wipes the grease off her fingers>

Question!!!  Okay...I eat dinner at an odd hour, so the hot foods aren't
offered (meaning the nutritious, low-cal food).  I get to choose from:
Sub sandwiches (varied toppings)
Pizza
Chicken Nuggets (deep fried)
Hamburgers
Chicken Sandwiches (friend in grease)

Which of these has the lowest amount of fat?  It's all that's offered after
the dinner hours (4 - 6).  =(

Sub sandwiches - ditch the mayo/oil/whatever, and load up with veggie
toppings.  Try to avoid the cheese, too.  Subway franchises are a welcome
sight on the road!

I agree with scott, eat the sub.  If you want to eat meat on it, stick with
the turkey or chicken.  

The sub sandwiches that they offer here usually have ham, turkey, lettuce,
and tomatoes on them.  No toppings...you add them yourself.  Avoid bologna,
though, right?

Stick with the turkey and vegetables. Once in a great while, a hamburger isn't
too awful, provided you leave off the cheese and mayo.
Subway: the people who realize that being vegetarian doesn't mean you never
get hungry! love 'em.

Redfox, didja hear the latest dish about eggs? Some reasearchers are now
saying that eating things containing cholesterol is not what raises the levels
in your blood. The culprit is saturated fat (we already knew that!). So have
an egg, even when your arteries *are* looking.

Current favorite snack: the tiny carrots that come in a bag, peeled and washed
and ready to munch. They are very sweet, and the effort it takes to chew them
makes them quite satisfying.

So I can eat scrambled eggs and not worry?  Yippee!  When I eat breakfast,
that's what I have.

Current favorite snack:  Paula and I are dieting together, so we went to the
store and bought granola, raisins, sunflower seeds, and peanuts (dry).  We
put it in a huge bowl, mixed it all together, and eat it instead of popcorn
or chips/Doritoes.  Best trail mix I've ever had, plus it's filling!  We put
minimal peanuts in there because I know they're high in fat...they're mostly
for flavor.

Sarah, most granola is right up there in fat content, ditto the sunflower
nuts. A suggestion: chex mix made with cereal, pretzels, wheat thins, afew
peanuts, spices, and butter-flavor Pam. Many boxed cereals also make a good
munch; try Frosted Wheat Bites (*not* Kellogg's Mini Wheats) Cheerios, Bran
Chex, or even Froot Loops once in a while. Oh! almost forgot Kix!
If you really miss those Doritos, get some white corn tortillas, cut 'em in
quarters, hit 'em with Pam and spices (garlic and chili powders) and bake
until they get crisp. If you want to dip them, check labels on salsa; most
are low- or no-fat.

Thanks for the info on eggs Kae,  I knew that to be somewhat true but I also
knew that your body produces its own cholesterol and the amount is based on
your intake of saturated fat.  Some of us don't need to add that extra
cholesterol to our bodies.  At least that's what I tell John (mister 400+)
I on the otehr hand do eat the eggs occasionally.  (I tell John that when his
level is at 172 he can eat the real eggs too.   He has to eat egg beaters!)

Sarah, Kae is right about the granola.. read the box that you are getting it
out of and you will probably see a very high fat content. Sunflower nuts are
just as high in fat as peanuts.  peanuts and sunflower seeds should be used
as a substitute for meat products.  Another cereal that I like is Quacker Corn
Bran..tastes great and is filling. (but has a higher fat content than some
cereal. 3gms per serving)

Aargh!  You just can't win, can you?  =)  Okay...the Chex Mix sounds really
good, and my friend has a recipe for homemade potato chips that are VERY low
in fat.  Some of the cereals that I like to eat plain are Froot Loops, Frosted
Wheat Bites (you read my mind, Kae), and Cracklin' Oat Bran.  I don't get to
the store much, so what's the word on those new Frosted Cheerios?  Do they
taste good?  (And are they low in fat...)?

eeeep!! Guess you can't win, Sarah <sigh>. Check the label on Cracklin' Oat
Bran...pretty high in fat if you consider the size of a realistic serving.
Sorry.

<buries her head in hands>  A footnote on the previous discussion...Paula and
I checked the granola box, and it contains .5 grams of fat per serving. 
Okay...no more Cracklin' Oat Bran.  =)

How big is a serving?  A no fat diet would be as bad, or maybe worse, for you
as a diet with too much fat.  Also, there isn't just one kind of fat, and some
kinds of fat are significantly better for you than others.

On the fat note...I try to watch (closely) saturated fats.  I use a simple
formula to find out if something is too fatty for my taste.  I take the number
of Calories from Fat and divide it into the Calories.  If the calories from
fat are 1/3 of the total calories, I breathe a sigh of relief.  =)

Excellent point, scg. You do need a certain amount of fat in your diet in
order to maintain things like pliant skin, elastic veins, and a healthy
digestive tract. Saturated fats are the ones you need to monitor most closely.
Increasing the fiber in your daily diet is a good way to make sure the fat
you do take is is managed properly.
Dying for a chocolate fix? Use skim milk, powdered cocoa and a little sugar
to make a mug of hot chocolate. (Must be consumed with eyes closed and feet
elevated, after turning off TV and stereo.)

This item now linked to Health conference.

Thanks, scott!!
New travel companion: a cooler with one of those freeze-me blue things in it.
It carries an apple, cheese, single-size bag of baby carrots, whole grain
bread, fat-free strawberry Newtons, carton of 2% milk. (plain skim makes me
gag, and it's *grey*) This has been working well, and is usually more food
than I can eat in a day's driving. Have dropped 3# since Dec. 1st. 8^}

Zook points out that it is the *total* calories consumed that
determines your dieting success or failure, not any specific component
(such as fat).  Fat, of course, has over twice the caloric content per
gram than does sugar or protein, so you can pack a lot of calories into a
tiny food item if you are not careful.  Low-fat diets probably(?) work by
increasing the physical bulk of your food --> more satisfaction/calorie. 
My very own mother (tm) tried a low-fat diet consisting of low-fat foods
sweetened with honey.  A *lot* of honey.  She couldn't understand why she
did not lose weight.

Restaurant food tends to be more fatty than what you can make at home; the
extra fat adds flavor and might be added by frying, etc.  Carrying bread and
fruit has gotta be less fattening than eating fast food.  Watch out for "low
fat" or "fat free" foods, since they tend to have a lot of sugar to make up
the flavor from the missing fat.

alot of great tips...wish I had read this earlier before I ate the equivelant
of two chocolate candybars....fi eat wheni feelsorry for myself thenI feel
sorrier for myself than ever.  I have a huge weight problem but have lost
33lbs so far this year but have lots more to lose.
When you say this item is linked to health conference what does that mean?

It means that this item can be read in the health conference (this is
the ing conference), although it has a different Item number there. Join
the health conference, and you will see it there too. You can stop
having it shown to you in one of the two conferences with the command
forget at the RorP prompt.

From odakim's perspective, it means that this item started in another
conference and then was added to the health conference after it had built up
a few responses.  (I know this becuse I am responding in the health
conference, where odakim has already responded to other items)  

Welcome to the Health conerence, odakim!

...and I was reading it in ing, and didn't think immediately that odakim
was asking from health...I would like it if the <linked item> would
read instead (e.g.) <linked to health> or <linked from health> (the
"to" and "from" being less important than the other cfs, but useful still).

Tricky, isn't it?  Especially since the "to" and "from" would be conditional
on not only what conference you are reading from, but also which conference
the item was entered in and also each response...

set nodrift = on

Wel I am here now and glad to be.  today is a new day and lets hope I do much
better.
Actually I should since I am a TOPS leader. TOP equals Take Off pounds
Sensibley
 I should set a better example but I know al too well how hard it is.  Last
week I was the only one who lost weight and I only lost 3/4 lb.  
Basically we all know what to eat and not to eat who have ever diet
consistently and that is me.  I just hate not feeling normal you know somehow
different.  ANyway looking forward to  talking here and encourageing you like
you encourage me.
gosh hope you can rad my typos my hands are freezing
*smile thinly*

The best "easy" strategy has just a couple rules:  
1.  Don't eat out 
2.  When cooking at home, try not to use oil/butter/margerine or sugar.  
3.  Eat all the apples you want

The "don't eat out" rule also means brown-bagging your lunch.

Odakim, I think that losing 33 lbs is a *great* start!  Keep it up...we're
all in this together and here for support.  =)  I'm currently working on my
goal of thirty pounds.  In reference to Scott's hint about butter/oil/etc,
try using non-stick, butter *flavored* Pam.  It tastes the same as frying in
butter.  Also, use Molly McButter on potatoes, popcorn, etc.  It tastes
*almost* the same to me!

great idea!!! and thank you so much I NEED lots of support.
and BTW I always take a brown bag to work..tday it was turkey  on sourdough
bread with (bad Honey) mayonaise. and a few fat free rice cakes. (mini ones)
teh tangerine i brought was awful.  I roasted the turkey sunday.
I love oil butter margarine and sugar....*Honey cries*
but as soon as I get to the store I am buying butter flavored pam.
I wondered if they have a mayonaise flavored pam??????
basically i like allthe good foods I mean good for you like whole grains and
green leafy vegies and such....sigh maybe too lazy or I know the rest ofthe
family does not share my taste in foods...( the healty taste)

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