Sorry, those fun characters were picked out by my 3-1/2 yr old!

I got tired of boiled chicken breast and steamed vegetables very quickly and these three items I have found to be indespensable to make otherwise bland food more palatable.

I use the Parkay butter substitute that comes in the blue spray bottle. Not the pour bottle that has a lot of calories but the smaller bottle with the spray pump. I don't use the spray pump and usually cut the stem off. I pour it directly from the bottle and drizzle it on veggies. There are NO calories it the stuff and if it is at room temp it tastes (to me anyways) JUST like melted butter to me. I love the stuff so much I probably go through 2 bottles a week.

Another product I use it in the Asian food section of the grocery store in my neighborhood they sell Gyoza Potsticker Sauce. Comes in a bottle the size of a regular soy sauce bottle. I now use this instead of soy sauce which as we all know has a zillion mgs of sodium and makes us retain water, or it does me anyways. It doesn't taste exactly like soy sauce but it tastes good and again it tastes a little salty with 1/10 the amount of sodium of soy sauce.

And finally another item that is now indespensable in my kitchen is a bottle of Teriyaki sauce that I again get out of the asian food section. I use this instead of dressing on salads.

I love salads and I have been eating one just about every day but realized that the salad was low in calories but the dressing I put on it, even the low cal stuff, added most of the calories to the salad. I use a capful (it's a pretty big cap, bigger than a soy sauce cap) on a salad and it tastes great to me and only 10 calories.

These 3 products I use a LOT to make my food taste better. I am constantly on the look out for other things as well. I joined Weight Watchers a while back and the WW leader talked about finding alternatives to all the condiments we normally use (dressing, sauces, dips etc.).

If anyone has any of their low calorie tricks to post I would most welcome them. I am divorced and a bachelor now and do most of all my cooking now.

teriyaki sauce is a good idea never thought of that. I barely eat snacks but when i do its like 20 cheezits or a string cheese maybe an all fruit shake. Since i dont have snacks sometimes i binge at night time when i eat supper ..... . Now since i have came to this site ive made it my goal to work out everyday for atleast a month nonstop. honestly in the mornign i dont eat breakfest im not hungery in the morning till about 10....idk why i work out for about 30min in the morning cardio then strength training (squats situps pushups ect...) and some yoga....(yes i said yoga wife wants me to do it with her) and thats for about 20min also. I get up in the morning at 2-3 in the morning to work out and 10 is when im starting to get hungry that just doesnt seem right.

(if i have bad spelling its becasue im rushing to head out the door for work )

with that stuff the labelling regulations are such that if a serving size is small enough (e.g. 1 spray), they're allowed to claim that it's fat-free or 0 calories (even though it's not). if you're using it in large servings (not spraying) there are quite a few calories in it - 832 total calories from 93 grams of fat per bottle according to the site below:

http://higherbar.wordpress.com/2007/...d-food-labels/

I get the strongest parmesean cheese I can find from a good italian grocery store, and sprinkle a little on steamed veggies. You need very little for a good flavour, if it's the strong stuff, and the taste is great with very little calories.

hey everyone just thought i would come and check myself in :P wow i feel better knowing that there are other guys in here this is a great site i have alos been lurking around here for awhile i did post here and there! i am just a lil shy to say things I am overweight i have been over weight my whole life i used to weight 257 ten yrs ago then i went down to 178 and now i am back to 239 and climbing i am ready to lose weight but i dont know how exactly i want to do it the right way and safe way!! Being over weight has made me depressed my wholelife and right now i am with the girl i want to spend the rest of my life we have been dating for awhile now but being overweight has taken its toll i worry about what she thinks and it got me lowself esteem i want to change that and be happy and live healthy and this site is the thing to do thanks

OMG! Froggie your right!!! Thank you so much for posting this! Well so much for the fake butter! I am tossing what I have tomorrow!

I'VE BEEN USING THE STUFF ON EVERYTHING!!!

OOOHH! I'm PO'd!

morning. just found this. we did have a mens forum years ago but it never reallygot used. hopefully this will work out.

i'm Simon in the uk. 27 just under 300lb. and i do know of another guy on here so i'll try and drag him along.

You know, if it's working for you while using it, maybe try using it in moderation. I mean if it makes bland food taste better, and you're getting results, I'd think reducing the amount you use couldn't be all bad... Just a thought!

Just checking in. Lost 130 lbs and hit goal. now I am trying to keep it off. Have done so for over a year, but the battle still rages on. Keep up the good work everyone

Was waiting for you to find this thread

You have any advice for us men that havent met our goal yet wating habits works out routines ect....

I have read a few of your posts and you are very inspirational to us who have not finished our goal.

ya mean after we hit goal we can't just kick back and enjoy good food again!

I was checking out your pics - very, very impressive.

130 lbs down - how's the loose skin where you lost so much? Starting to shrink some?

Oh, and a question - I know you did WW. How was your fitness regimine while losing the weight? Weights and cardio? The entire year?

Again, awesome inspiration!

yup, diet food....if it seems to good to be true, it probably is :P