[determined2succeed]

Guys & Gals -

Here are some helpful hints/tricks that help me with calorie counting:

#1 Always get salad dressing on the side. Dip you lettuce into it rather that mixing the dressing and the salad up all together. I find that I eat way less dressing this way. (I do not eat low-fat or non-fat dressing - I eat the real thing, but just try to not have too much of it)

#2 Eat slower. Learn to enjoy your food. Don't make it a race to gobble it all down as quickly as you can. Take smaller bites, do other things while you eat, like surf the web or read posts on 3FC.

#3 When eating foods with lots of sodium (salt) try to take in some water after every single bite. The water will not only offset the salt in your body (to avoid water retention as much as possible) but it will also help fill you up quicker.

#4 Use FitDay or another way to log all your foods/calorie intake everyday. Don't skip days! Be diligent with this. After a while, you will see a pattern in how much you eat and what you eat the most of. For example, I eat the most on the weekends (because I am home most of the time) and less on the weekdays. Learn to zig-zag your calories to keep your metabolism in high gear!

That's it for me. I just wanted to share what I have learned that works for me in the past couple of weeks.

Good luck to you all!

[Philosopher]

Thanks for the tips. Will be sure to keep them in mind

[chick_in_the_hat]

Good tips!! I'll add one more...EXERCISE! Even if it's just a half hour walk 5 days a week.

[srmb60]

Here's one I like ... eat small but eat often. Never, never allow yourself to get ravenous!

[mandalinn82]

Come up with a list of 4-5 super easy (either order out somewhere or something you can cook with your eyes closed, hands behind your back, in 20 min or less) dinners. Use these whenever your motivation fails you, you're tired, or there is too little time to cook much.

Buy good kitchen tools! make your time in the kitchen a pleasure. I always feel better when I pull out my Global Chef's knife. Find tools you love and use them often (we all know calories are fewer and portions are smaller when we cook at home)

Try new kinds of produce. Every week try one thing you've never tried before. More produce generally means lower calories, so get those veggies in!

[BlueToBlue]

I eat a green salad (mainly just lettuce, radishes and/or cucumbers, and low calorie dressing) with my dinner almost every night. Junk food was never my problem, portion control is (you'd think I was starved as a child because I'm always worried I won't get enough to eat). The salad adds only 20 to 30 calories to my meal but helps me feel full.

Leftovers are my friends! Any dinner I make has to feed us for at least two nights. Since it's just my SO and me, and most recipes serve 4, this is pretty easy to do. But if I'm making a recipe that serves 2, I double it. If a recipe serves 6, sometimes I freeze the last two portions for a quick meal later when I don't feel like cooking (and sometimes we just eat the same thing for three nights). In fact, I have a couple of casserole recipes that serve 8 and I have been know to make us eat the same thing for four nights!

Mandalinn's idea to have a list of super easy dinners is also a good one. I always have salmon patties, pre-seasoned pork tenderloin, and chicken sausage in the freezer because I know I can make a quick, easy, low calorie meal out of any of them. I also keep a jar of low calorie pasta sauce in the cupboard and turkey meatballs in freezer (and there's always pasta in my cupboard ).

- Barbara

[determined2succeed]

Excellent comments/advice!

Others feel free to share what works for you and makes this easier! ;-)

We can do it!!!!!!!!!!