THE DIET THREAD #02

DonnA-- Our thoughts definitely match up on this! I know we're talking semantics here, and that "diet" can be a general term refering to any regulated selection of foods, but...I also try not to use the phrase "I'm on a diet", because that's something you temporarily do, then gain all the weight back. I prefer "establishing a healthy eating lifestyle", which will have weight loss as a natural byproduct. I don't want to be a part of the 95 percent of diets that fail. I say to myself: "I'm learning a new way to live, not a way to diet." Permanent weight loss happens as a result of a permanent change in your eating and exercise lifestyle. You must learn to eat right *for life*. --Jed

 

I *know* I've been flappin' my lips a lot on this thread, but...how about sharing some weight loss tips? For instance, use a low-carb tortilla instead of two bread slices for sandwiches. Instead of crackers, put tuna salad on cucumber slices. Make your own low-fat dressing with extra virgin olive oil and a recipe from the net. Use corn instead of croutons.

Put the dressing in a separate cup--none directly on the salad. Just dip your fork vertically in the dressing before each bite of salad. It sounds silly but you will get the taste with less dressing. Or put the veggies like baby carrots, tomato wedges, cucumber slices, and celery sticks in a bowl and eat a lettuce-less salad without any dressing. Okay, now it's everyone else's turn.... --Jed

 

Put your chocolate in the freezer. This will harden it and take twice as long to eat it. You can try this with Pepsi as well.

Place your doughnuts onto one side of a paper towel. Cover them with the other side and lightly press. This method will knock off a little glaze, sprinkles or both.

Never talk with your mouth open, as important nutrients may escape, especially while eating a Resse's Cup.

And remember, exercise does not have to include sweat.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!! See~you ARE gonna make it! And thinking about all that deleecioso skim milk coming just around the corner...well, what've ya got to lose?! 'cept some more POUNDS! ***p.s. I ALSO am another pound lighter...total since last Monday: eleven and I feel wonderful!

Actually, Gib has some pretty good ideas there. I do have some chocolate in the freezer...and am saving it only for emergencies. [But I really haven't had a "craving" now that I've quit eating it]. I put a small can(those are so neat) of diet-pepsi in the freezer just a bit till the slush starts & then I savor it. That papertowel thing will work too, so I'll have to try it next time I partake of a donut and there's noone to talk to when I eat, so no problem of losing nutrients...now about that sweat-

I'll have to try that fork-dipped-into-the-dressing thing~thanks! And I reckon ol'Jed thinks we're a bunch of nuts...I am, but at least I'm screwed onto the right bolt!

 

I'm going to a local dive for lunch with my boss and others. We all have decided to have salads.

My boss eats thin pepperoni pizza and hot wings 24-7. I've been going with him to their lunch buffet. He asked me to go yesterday. I told him I didn't need the salt and all the fat stuff in one. So, he went by himself, only to turn around and go to Spanky's for a salad.

 

Here are some restaurant weight loss tips: Eat out less often. Consider sharing *one* meal. Don't order a full meal--just soup and salad. Eat meals slowly and drink water frequently since it takes the brain 20 minutes to realize the body has had enough food. Plan on taking half of the meal home in a doggie bag. Or better yet, ask for a to-go container when you order your food, and pack up half the portion (which are usually over-sized) *before* you even start eating! --Jed

 

I haven't eaten out in forever and when we do "splurge" on a take-out fish plate at the local store, we do half it. The older I get, the less I can eat...too bad it wasn't always like this.

 

Granny-- We don't eat out nearly as much as we used to. I can't tell what they're putting in the restaurant food, but I know what's in it if *I* cook it!

Can I say something about restaurant portions? As restaurant portions grow, the vast majority of Americans still belong to the "Clean Plate Club", as they unthinkingly gobble up all that extra food at one sitting. "Biggie Size It" really means "Piggie Size It". As restaurant portions are going super-size, so are waistlines!

It's all about food selection and *portion control*. So, my wife and I, like you, often split a meal or turn two restaurant meals into four by using those doggie bags. Woof! --Jed

 

Snickers bars were one of the toughest things to give up for me. What I have found to address a "craving" for chocolate, is to have a sensibly sized piece of high quality dark chocolate. It is much more flavorful, much lower in fat and very satisfying (read binge-avoiding). I find myself through the "emergency" without a huge guilt trip after.

 

An eating out trap that I struggle with is looking for value. Intuitively I see value as a quantity per dollar issue and altering this paradigm is not an easy matter. Buffets are killers! I am blessed with a wife that enjoys cooking and is conscientous <sp?> about what she feeds her family. It was not her cooking that plumped me up, but all the betweens .

Lord thank you for Mary!

 

Hey thanks~g220 for that tip on the chocolate. When my children would buy those assorted chocolates of Hershey's in a bag, they'd always leave the dark chocolate ones. No one would eat 'em...I even disliked them, so I saved them to melt in cocoa, or for baking. But I'll keep this tidbit in mind when the craving strikes.

Oh Sue~yoohoo~how do you do??? How are you coming on that diet??? I'm here watching you! Hope ya made it thru the day!

 

Here's one of the best, most effective weight loss tips I've ever used...and, that is, the salad plate trick. My wife and I eat our breakfast from a salad plate and for lunch/dinner we use a salad plate for our lunch/dinner plate and a soup bowl for salad.

As I've said before, it's all about food selection and *portion control*. You can trick your mind into seeing a lot more food when it's on a salad plate. Consequently, you eat smaller portions, but get the psychological boost of eating a full plate of food. Frankly, it's a little weird at first. (Yes, I can just hear, "You got that right!") But after you do it for a little while, the new way becomes the normal way. --Jed

 

Oh, I learned that 'smaller plate' trick a looong time ago & it really works! I have a couple of very pretty little plates from the old days & they are just right! Sometimes, I even use a saucer when I need to go smaller. If I think I need a second-helping, I'll go do something for awhile...and if it goes away, I don't indulge, but if it's still there, I'll take half of what my first portion was.

Sue??? Where are you? Are you okay? Still hanging in there? Guess what?! Another pound gone for me! Can't stop me now!

 

Hiya, DrBlub...oops, I mean, Bob! Please don't take offense at that slip-of-the-tongue, as I was just trying to make a funny on "Shamu".

I really hope you'll do well. One NEVER knows how much he/she is carrying around till it comes off! Jesus said "come unto Me, all ye that are heavy laden", but He wasn't talking fat!

Hey Sue~how wonderful to hear how much you've lost so far! Even if mine was water-weight, I NEEDED it off! That 10# sudden gain was causing my feet/legs to swell something fierce, even to leaving my thumbprint! Now the swelling has subsided & I feel too-good-to-be-true!

 

I haven't had any estrogen in me since I was 39. It's been rough at times, but I've survived.

What's this 14-day fast like; is it something you care to share? Absolutely nothing in the way of solid foods, just broth, or what? Just curious...never have tried this before.