Any idead on anything low-cal and tasty to eat.

[az]

Just don't drink that cola and lemonade crap, diet or not. After a while of not drinking it it tastes awful anyway

If you're craving for something sweet and refresing, mix apple juice and sparkling water ~50:50 (vary to taste). Little calories, very refreshing and fits almost every meal. There is a name for that drink in germany, Apfelschorle, is there an english name for it?

AZ

[Wulfman]

Brown sugar is also generally better for you than refined sugar.

I love that one. do you know how they produce brown sugar here? take refined one, coat it with a thin layer of the unrefined molasse... seems to be cheaper or makes quality control less of a hassle. and then they charge you more for it.. blah.

mfg
wulfman

[TnT]

Sour Salad
Lettuce
Spinach
Red Onion
Cut up Cherry Tomatoes
Thin slices of Granny Smith Apples
Sunflower Seeds
Rasberry or Orange Vinaigrette

I live in the Pacific Northwest so I'm pretty partial to salmon. You can do a lot with it - broil, grill, barbeque. Just add different seasonings each time - lemon pepper, five spice + soy sauce + garlic our two of my favorites.

Since you are eating whole wheat bread now, also eat brown rice. Much healther than white rice.

Avoid stuff with high fructose corn syrup, which is practically anything that is sweet and manufactured. That stuff gets converted to fat right away.

While fruits are great for you they also contain a lot of sugar. Sugar, like all the other carbs, get turned into fat if not used. Vegetables do make great snacks though.

I'm not a big fan of those no carb diets, but I do agree with them that protein heavy meals aren't bad for you. Although I avoid meats when I can (not for health reasons), it's perfectly fine to eat good cuts of meat that have little fat. Ground beef gets fat ground into it, so avoid anything that is ground up.

If you feel like chips, check out Kettle Chips if you can. Not sure if it'll be available to you on that side of the coast. Basically they use sunflower or safflower oil, so not only are the chips way better but also healthier.

I eat a lot of tofu, but I don't think they will help you lose weight.

For breakfast you can get a high fiber cereal such as Kashi. Only problem is it tastes like cardboard/horse feed. What I do is to mix half of it with another cereal that has dried fruits and nuts.

I too sound like a health guide and should stop.

[Brian Ellis]

If you see my apple-shaped figure, then I'm no criterion to offer advice. However, I'm a firm believer in a balanced diet of good foods, as natural as you can get. Eat anything in that category, whether it is carbohydrate, meat, oil, fish, veggies, fruit, sugar anything that you fancy. Just cut down gradually on everything at a rate of 1% per week over three months and take exercise (this is my downfall, because my health is such that I tire very quickly). If you still are not down to where you should be, without exaggeration, then continue reducing.

Avoid as much as possible ALL chemicals, including crank diets, chemical sweeteners, flavours, colours, anything with the word 'diet' on the label and AVOID VITAMIN ADDITIVES. If you eat a good balanced diet, you are already eating more than enough vitamins of all types. Too much will cause more harm than good. If you need vitamins, it is because your diet is bad or, very rarely, you have a specific metabolic problem.

Finally, cook your own meals from fresh meat and veggies, with absolutely minimal cooking times. Make Chinese style stir fries with a little olive oil or boil veggies for short times to preserve colour, flavour and goodness. Do not buy ready-cooked stuff (e.g., frozen lasagne or canned soup) and go easy on the salt, remembering that most pre-prepared food is heavy on salt. Use lemon juice in preference to vinegar for flavouring salads.

[Tjalfe]

You could also check out a support group.. if nothing else, it would help motivate you .. if you post updates here, we will gladly give you motivation

I think most of my healthy food suggestions have already been suggested. I eat a fair bit of spinach salad now, which I never had until sometime last year.. it is quite good, and alot more filling than iceberg lettuce based ones. There are sugarfree jellos and pudding available, which should be good for desserts, if you like that stuff.
Try parking in the far end of parkinglots every time you go out ( assuming you drive) to get the bit of extra walking in.. would be a good start in getting more daily exercise

[Kooldino]

Tuna fish

cashews

Cheerios

[High_Jumbllama]

So many great choices thanks.

I would never touch any special diet except maybe the South Beach. A coworkers wife works at Weight Watchers but is on the SOuthBeach diet. Atkins is one of the worst. Lose weight and clog your arteries all at the same time.

No time for a support group. I do not trust most people enough for that anyway. I might post general updates here though. My cousin and her husband work out and practice good diets. The husband is fairly short but completely built. He lifts 120+ lb dumbbells. They're the ones that got me started with some general ideas on food and a starting workout regimen(sp?) with form and specific exercises. They didn't want me to hurt myself.

Edit:
Grammar

[az]

Frozen veggies are almost as good (sometimes better) as "fresh" ones, because they have been frozen quicker than it takes the fresh food to get to the market.

AZ

[Tjalfe]

oh yeah.. this may be of some use

http://www.caloriecountercharts.com/chart1a.htm

lists 1000 foods by calorie/fat/carb/protein content.. sort by calories and see if there is anything you like

[Wulfman]

Originally posted by Kooldino
cashews

not a good idea, nuts contain (too) much fat and are especially bad if served salted.

mfg
wulfman