Seeking Good Eating Tips for Health Loss

I snack with a bowl of cereal in the evening before bed. Cheerios or whatever with lowfat milk.

Good luck!

Check out Self Magazine (www.self.com). If you are a subscriber they have a web feature called the Self Diet Club and I found it a great help in loosing the 20 pounds I needed to loose. You can track everything you eat and it gives you a visual at the end of the day as to what percent of your diet was fat, carbs, protein etc, compared to what it should be. they also have great nutrition and diet recipes and tips.

What I liked even better about it (as opposed to Weight Watchers or something like that) is that the focus is not just on food but it gives you exercise tips and routines. Including simply easy things you can do in 10 minutes a day. I highly recommend checking it out.

Seems the older we get our metabolism slows down. I have joined a healthclub and not only has it helped me loose weight but I have made some friends. So in my mind a exercise is the way to go.

A.,
I don't buy chips, crackers or white bread. I am still 15 pounds overweight. I do feel pretty good though and I'm in pretty good shape though and am still battling the babyweight I gained when I had my son who is now 21 months old. My daughter is 3 years old. Anyways, It depends on which type of fruit you eat. Bananas are all sugar/carbs. Berries are much lower in sugar. I have juvenile diabetes (since age 16). I have an insulin pump which is awsome and have lived a pretty healthy life. When my husband and I have our Saturday dinner (kids eat with us but they usually have something more kid friendly) we usually have meat and veggies or seafood and veggies. We get so filled up on our grilled steak and steamed veggies or our baked/grilled/steamed seafood and steamed veggies that we have no room for potatoes and bread. I used to think that you needed at least three food groups at every meal, so you need bread or potatoes. Then I really thought about it and you probably have enough carbs and starch in other foods you eat throughout the day so just opt out for the bread with every meal. I do eat just whole wheat toast for breakfast. Then a big lunch and usually something small for dinner since I work from 4-8 and then I have a snack when I come home. I just think the biggest thing is too many carbohydrates in the diet....oh that and fried food. So, try to eat carbs in moderation and say no to fast food. Get a carb counting book- they will tell you how many carbs are in just about any type of food and how many calories...good luck!

Snack on vegetables during the day instead of the sweet stuff. Exercise does not have to be going to the gym and working on those intimidating machines. If your not able to move about well because of health problems do exercises sitting in your chair. A couple of cans of vegetables lifting in various ways can work your upper body and believe it or not they have bike peddles you can place in front of your chair and work while sitting at the kitchen table. Next time your at a store that has a movie section look through and check out the work out videos. Believe it or not they do have some for either mature adults or people who don't have the ability to move around very well. Good luck! I had a nutritionist from Purdue University Calumet in Hammond come out and teach me a little about nutrition. They are students and get school credit for doing it and it worked our really nicely. They might go to your area so its worth a try to call!

I have lost 60 lbs since August. I have about 15 more to go. This is what I did. Exercise as often as you can, I try to do it 5-7 days a week. Watch the calories. I try to stay at about 1300-1400 calories a day. And I write everything down I eat. The main thing is portion control. Take out what you want and put the rest away. I never denied myself anything ( I had take out pizza once a month and ate till i could not eat anymore...LOL). Everything in moderation.

Cut calories where you can....eggwhites instead of whole eggs, light cheese, light cream cheese, baked chips, extra lean ground beef, lots of chicken.

Good Luck!!! And if you want anymore advice you can email me at ____@____.com

A., i have a friend kyria that is a nutrition/weightloss consultant... she's going to be doing a seminar for my womens group in the next couple of weeks, i'm waiting on a date from her
if you wanted to come check it out feel free, here's a link to our group mssg board/calendar
http://women.meetup.com/242/

here's her email, if you'd like to talk to her she does free consultations and stuff, ____@____.com

My husband and i just did weight watchers. I'm usually on some kind of diet, but this was a first for my husband. Like you he's a big snackers. Now we buy those 100 calorie snacks, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, diet ice creams;such as weight watchers or skinny cow, and popcorn. He still can snack but doesn't use as many calories this way. Also if we want to dine out you can just count the points. plus I have four kids and don't have the time or energy to cook two dinners. All we do is count points and can eat with the kids. Good Luk!!!

Hi A.:

If you like Mexican, here is my new fav. Desert Trading Company Pinto Bean Dip with Tostitos Baked Scoops. Yum!! All of the Desert Trading Company products are delicious - and some have a bit of a kick in the flavor.

Popcorn is another pretty "safe" snack.

Enjoy!
Mags

I recommend the Better Homes and Gardens Diabetic Cookbook for anyone tryiing to go on a low-carb diet. My husband picked this up for me while I was pregnant and had gestational diabetes. I'm still using it, long after my daughter was born and the diabetes is gone, because the meals are yummy!

Good luck!!

Since you describe yourself as a snacker, perhaps you may wish to adopt that sort of eating pattern? Many people do MUCH better eating 5-6 small meals a day as opposed to the traditional 'big 3'. Make sure your snacks are healthy snacks and not garbage, and you might find that not only do you never go hungry you will also lose weight. Good luck!

Hi A.,
I don't know what your physical limitations are, but without exercise, it'll be very difficult to lose 50 lbs. As we all know by now, only a combination of caloric restriction and exercise can get you to reach that goal. If you are disciplined, you can exercise at home. If however, you're not a disciplined person, join a gym and get a tailor-made program by a personal trainer. You don't have to buy many sessions, just enough, so you get the routine, then re-evaluate every 3 or 6 months.
As for food, don't look for foods to snack on. Snacks aren't good, even if they are vegetables! Instead, if you find yourself hungry throughout the day on 3 meals a day, try to spread those 3 meals over 5-6 smaller ones. Also, forget counting calories too much, you'll go bananas! I find that counting calories makes me feel guilty about eating, and that usually leads to more eating. You might also end up throwing in the towel more quickly. Instead try portion control. In the U.S., we have totally lost control over what a regular portion is, so learn about that. Try to eat more fiber-rich foods, as they tend to satisfy you more quickly and for a longer time. Eat lean red meat only once or twice a week.
A great website for tasty, healthy recipes is cookinglight.com. A good book, I think, is the new Bob Green book. I'm not always fond of all those celebrity books, but I think his is well-founded and helpful.
Most of all good luck and stick to all your new healthy habits as long as you can, until they become a normal part of your life!
J.

cereal and low fat milk is always a good late night snack! The cheerios with the berries are great!

Hi A.,

I recommend eating breakfast and adding protein to your snacking to tide you over. I know it can be hard to get 3 square meals, for anyone in our fast-paced society, much less for a mom of 3. I once lost 35 pounds by paring down--basing my intake on rice and beans and very simply prepared natural foods. It was a powerful experience, and from it I learned the joys of simple preparations and the wow of a little bit of spice. I called it the "third world diet". A favorite was hard boiled egg with a dash of salt and cumin. Other filling and delicious snacks are plain (2% or full fat yogurt) with a bit of honey or good jam, bannana with yogurt, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. I guess the idea is to learn to eat simply and with a mindful attitude about quality--- with protein to tide you over. Then the other piece is to get more active. Try to walk whenever and wherever possible, the take the stairs especially if going to the second or third floor. You'll be surprized how fast pounds will come off--almost effortlessly. The other gem in my life is yoga. It does wonders for stiffness, pain and disabilities. I highly recommend Dr Andrew Weil's books on simply prepared foods. Best of luck to you.

Try eating more protein in your meals -- it will help stabilize your blood sugar so that you don't feel hungry as quickly after a meal. Then, for your snacks, try to have something with fiber and some protein, like triscuits (pretty high fiber for a cracker) with a little cheese (not too much though b/c of the calories) or maybe a string cheese snack (my kids love these so we run out all the time!). Good luck, watching carbs worked for me.

A. -

I know how you feel, I still have 15 to 20 lbs to go to get down to my pre-pregnant self and my son is 14 months. I have lost 15 lbs in the last 9 months by doing two things:
1. Walking - I try to get at least 30 minutes in per day. Sometimes it is all at once (walk to the store with my son); sometimes it is 10 minutes here - 15 minutes there.

2. I followed Weight Watchers for 10 weeks - and plan to re-join. It was nice to have a game plan and way to track what I'm eating. However, I NEVER buy their food products, rather I eat only whole, natural, organic as much as possible - we are attempting to eliminate processed foods. What WW did for me was help me regain my sense of Food Portion - the meetings can help as well since many people face the same struggle.

Good Luck.