The most successful plan I was on for weight loss was based on Weight Watchers food exchanges (they called it Selection) system. Showing my age I know. From there, I read about a new concept called Calorie Points from an article in Shape magazine in the 1980's. It was an easy way to count calories that dieticians used, long before WW ever came up with their convoluted system.

So I combined the two. I knew a fruit was 60 calories (1 calorie point), a protein 75 calories (1 calorie point), a fat was 1/2 calorie point, etc.

I stayed on my own hybrid plan for years. Honestly, I just lost it all and gained weight when the Weight Watchers points came out!

I think the food exchange system is an easy way of counting calories, even without the calorie point system that intrigued me so.

I'm glad to see a thread on it. Yes, I saw TOPS has cards one can use. How great of them to give downloads. I particularly like their diner calorie pad. So cute and useful!

Good morning!

Coffeebrain - Yay for you, tweaking your own plan! I am convinced that we do much better when we do that to fit our own lifestyles and tastes. After all, this if for life, so it has to be something we can live with.

Colleen - the hot chocolate worked out for me yesterday. Thanks for suggesting it.

JoJoJo - how did you do yesterday?

Well, I found out that 7 breads is too many for me! Four or five is plenty. I do keep them healthy - whole grains, yada yada, for the most part. Also, 10 oz. proteins was 1 too many, so I've lessened that exchange, and increased my veggies. I would like to decrease the fruit, too, but won't just yet. When I figured my calories for today, after planning it all out, I was right on target. Seems 1700-1750, with 200-300 extra on Sundays works for me, and keeps me happy.

Off topic - my county in Indiana was hit hard with ice. All of our roads are closed, and even emergency vehicles are sliding off the roads. Scary business! My DH Neal had a doctor's appt. today, but I'll reschedule.

Have a good day.

Checking in -

This is a difficult time of year for anyone who is trying to lose weight or to maintain that weight loss. There are so many tasty treats lying around, just calling my name.

I really don't want to gain any lbs., and I would like to cheer in the New Year at the weight I am. So I am taking it easy, saying "No, thank you" a lot, and enjoying the season.

We are expecting the school children from our parochial school who will be coming to sing carols to us this morning. That should be fun.

I hope everyone is having a great day. Let's enjoy this Christmas season.

Glad it helped.

This thread has really inspired me to be more diligent about including my dairy, so I tried something new (well old, really) and that is milk jello.

My grandma used to make it with regular jello. If you use milk instead of cold water, the jello sets up in two layers. A creamy bottom layer, and an almost clear top layer. With orange jello, it tastes kind of like a dreamsicle.

You dissolve the sugar free jello in 3/4 cup of hot water. Then you add three or four ice cubes. When the ice cubes are melted, you add a cup of milk, and refrigerate until it's set.

I forgot about the ice cubes and used a cup of hot water and then a cup of milk.

DON'T DO THAT. If you pour the cold milk into the hot jello, it will curdle the milk, so you get threads of curd in the creamy layer. It still tastes good, but has a weird texture.


An other variation is to whip it with a hand blender after it sets (you can do that with plain sugar free jello too - or use a carton of yogurt in place of the milk).

I love whipped jello, because it's light and creamy like a mousse.

Checking in -

The carolers came right on time yesterday morning and we really enjoyed having them. They were 1st and 2nd graders from our parochial school, and they did a great job with their singing. It put us right in the mood for Christmas.

I did make that milk jello that Kaplods mentioned yesterday, and it turned out just fine, a real treat. I used Almond Breeze for part of the milk, and that worked OK.

Let's make this a great day.

Just popping in to say hi, and that I am OP, but just don't have a lot of time right now to chit chat. Neal had back surgery the 6th, and has some complications from that. We just got back from the doc, and I'm behind on everything. I will be back when I can chat more.

I am thinking about doing my Deal A Meal cards again but I was wondering how to update them. Some foods that were not available back when DAM came out are available nowadays, like almond milk or coconut milk.

Hi, Canadianwoman:

I use the Foodmover, and never had the Deal a Meal cards. However you could check with the Richard Simmons site and see if you could get a specific answer there.

I do know that almond milk is 30 cal. for 1/2 cup (also 4 carbs, 1 fat, 1 protein) so I count it as 1 extra on the Foodmover. I do use almond milk upon occasion.

The coconut milk is 50 cal. for 1/3 cup (also 4 carbs, 4 fat, 0 protein) but I've never used coconut milk.

Any dietary plan needs to be 'tweaked' at times, we just have to do the best we can.

As for me, it's 1 week until Christmas. I am trying with all my might to resist the tempting treats that are calling my name with great gusto this time of year. But I am hoping to get to 2011 without that Holiday weight gain that can so easily happen.

Let's all be careful with what we eat today, and every day.

Thank you Jo. I am not a member of the Richard Simmons website but maybe I will email over there and see if someone gives me an answer.
I am just kind of wondering.

I just did an online grocery order. I got a $30.00 credit so I figured what the heck. I ordered lots of fruit, nuts, lean meats,veggies and a loaf of bread I have been wanting to try for a while. It is a cranberry and pumpkin seed loaf.
Groceries arrive here on Monday so I will start back on my deal a meal then.

I don't celebrate Christmas so no problems with starting now.

There are a few ways you can determine the exchange values for any food.

You can google the food name and the words "diabetic exchanges." Many diabetic websites have huge databases of foods.

Some of the diabetic sites let you put in the nutrition information from a lable and will calculate the exchange (I don't use this one, so I can't recall any of the websites specifically).


If you have the nutrition label you can calculate their exchange value.

There's a "how to" chapter on doing the calculation in the book "Exchanges for All Occasions" (at least in the 4th edition). I bought mine on amzon.com.


Here's a website article that explains it also, although it's not as clear on how to calculate the values for combination foods. It requires a bit of trial and error math, and it's not an exact science, meaning we both could come up with different answers and they'd both be right.



http://www.livestrong.com/article/31...for-diabetics/

Hi all,

Colleen - thanks for the info on the book. Casseroles, soups, stews, etc are sometimes time consuming to calculate.

Jo - I'm trying, too, to avoid all the Christmas goodies everywhere! So far, so good, but next week will be a nightmare for me (and probably for almost everyone else reading this, lol).

Canadianwoman - the bread sounds good. I have trouble leaving food like that alone, though, so I freeze each loaf in thirds when I make or buy them.

Coffeebrain -

Once again, I was short one-half of a milk exchange and 1 fruit for today. I added 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 a banana as a snack. Plan, plan, plan!!

Does anyone know of an exchange app for smartphones?

Have a good weekend!

Checking in -

Today was church and Bible class, then we went to a restaurant for lunch. Restaurant eating presents its own problems, but I do have my handy little Richard Simmons Food Mover Restaurant and International Food Exchange Booklet plus my little Carb & Calorie Counter booklet. These booklets help me make a good guess at the exchange intake.

It is cold and rainy here today. And if it freezes tonight, as it probably will, tomorrow will be a real mess.

But we keep smiling -

I'm looking forward to trying the bread. Good idea on the freezing. I may just do that. Since my youngest son has finished highschool, I still have an abundant supply of sandwich baggies so I just might put a slice in each one and freeze the whole loaf. Then when I want a slice I can take one at a time.
Good breads are my downfall.

I am really looking forward to the brazil nuts I ordered. I can have 6 nuts for each fat exchange (4).

Anyway since my groceries will not be here until 6 pm today, I thought I would start tomorrow and that way I can further indulge in the chinese food we ordered last night for lunch today.

I love my CalorieKing counter book for just that very thing.

I'm starting my traditional Christmas jerky today. We're visiting my family in Illinois this Christmas and I was told (jokingly) that I'd better bring jerky or I'd be in big trouble.

I love it myself, but the salt aways adds a few pounds of water retention. That's not the problem, as if I'm on plan it disappears in a few days. I just have to be extra dedicated to documenting absolutely everything so that I don't try to convince myself that "it's only water rentention," when it's really lack of portion control.

The jerky is low-carb, but it's also addictive, and there's not a food on the planet that I can't find a way to eat enough of to stall weight loss (well maybe iceberg lettuce, but I wouldn't even guarantee that I couldn't find a way to overeat that - maybe by deep frying it or something).