I am getting pretty tired of "fad" diets getting a lot of attention, when it all boils down to the amount of calories you consume/burn. When before it was all about how many fat grams something has, now everyone is advertsing carb grams,...I think it's sad. I wish the amount of calories were put on the screen more often. The restaurants are trying to smoke screen the true way to lose weight by playing on the latest fad. Carbs don't make us gain/lose weight. Its the after effects of eating too many carbs.....you want more carbs! And that just equals more calories.

I think, as with fat grams a few years back, that too much attention is being focused on how many carbs we eat, when in fact, the public deserves to be educated on the true way one gains/losses weight. Calories in vs. calories out. Our society needs to work more on eating less food, not tricking our bodies into allowing us to eat more. I am working SO hard in portion control right now, because I know I eat way too much food, and I think our society as a whole tends to do this as well. We need to stop stuffing our guts!

Heidi

I just got done reading the thread and decided to add something that got me thinking... Everyone is preaching Low Carb/No Carb... I have a few people at work doing it and are struggling... they get cravings for stuff and then go crazy and regret it. I'm going to step out a little bit but lets think about this- Since the beginning people were eating bread... drinking wine... look at the Bible.... Its a staple. Carbs are not the enemy... how much we eat is the enemy. And alond the same lines... supersized french fries at fast food places are the enemy. We need to start a movement to push "normal" sized portions.. A cheeseburger and fried would be ok once and a while if it wasn't 1/2 lb of greasy meat with 4 cups of lard laden potato sticks! I think its up to us to start letting the food industry know what we want.

Sorry about the rant! I'm off my soap box.

Hmmm. I have to disagree with you, Paragoddess, regarding the fault of the food industry. Seems to me that yes, maybe we have fallen victim to supersize and effective marketing. But when it comes down to it, I am responsible for what I lift with *my* hand to put into *my* mouth. Supersize is a choice. Good carbs are a choice. I have the free will to make a choice. I have to live with the consequences of any of my choices, no matter what they may be. Best bet - make educated and informed choices. Cogita tute. (think for yourself).

I think the food industry is rethinking their markets by the onslaught of "low-Carb" choices they now produce, including fast food. A few years from now, it will be something new or something rehashed. All industries spend much money on market research. This time, though, I think they got slapped upside the head with the low carbers abandoning the fries, no whatter what size, at the drive-thru.

dip

Gotta agree with Dip here.

It's the American way - capitalism. The food industry, like other industries, does its research - finding out what market trends are and coming out with products that meet (or appear to meet) those trends. Actually, since the FDA has not yet come out with a definition of "Low Carb" (I'm sure they're working on it though - just like back in the 90's when there were no legal definitions for "Low-Fat" and "Light") of course like any other free enterprise, the food industry is taking the ball and running with it. However, us consumers have the right and (hopefully) the knowledge to do our *own* research and decide what is best for each one of us individually.

Since I learnt the hard way in the 1990's that calories -whether they come from protein, carbs, or fat - don't just magically pass through the body without being stored - I've come to realize that there IS no such thing as a 'free lunch' (yes, if you eat too much protein, it WILL make you fat). I can't have my cake (whether it be low-fat or low-carb or whatever) and eat it too...personally at this point, rather than eat a box of tasteless Snackwell cookies, I'd rather have one or two REAL cookies that I can really enjoy.

Kind of reminds me of what Rosemary Green said in Diary of a Fat Housewife which I've quoted oftimes before...
My hubby Jim is a bassist for a singer/songwriter named Shree Dove - Shree wrote a song about his grandmother and her soul-food cooking titled "Miss Adkins Kitchen". I LOVE the second verse:

At this point I ride a balance between ENJOYING my food and at the same time wanting to NOURISH myself the right way...for me, that means eating clean, fresh foods most of the time with an occasional treat - NOT some fabricated wannabe lowcarb food...

Boy am I glad I opened up this thread! You guys have some great points and tips about things. I am going to do the salad plate portions April, and dip, great idea about the to-go box! Thanks chickies!

Mrs Jim, I never met anyone who read "diary of a fat housewife" could definitely see where she was coming from. I also agree we must enjoy and nourish. Moderation is important. Sometimes you have to give in a little and work out more. I wish I could follow this myself. I've struggled for yrs.

and congrats on all the weight loss. phenominal!!!!!!!

I agree, you have to live your life and enjoy things here and there.. Moderation is the key to health... Keep up the good work...

Everything in moderation is in the Bible, as well. It works, it's right, that's all there is to it. I think paragoddess was saying that people should "think for themselves" when it comes to being told that no/low carb is the magic miracle cure for fat. It *is* being shoved at us from every direction these days.

As for the smaller portions, that would be cool. It doesn't do much for the companies but I don't see them putting WW points on food, either. They DO advertise this low/no carb business quite a lot. If they cut portions they'd have to cut prices and they don't want to do that. I guess essentially they are saying "You can go to **** in a handbasket for all we care as long as we have your money." That's enough to keep me away from fast food.

so much wisdom here! i'm gonna borrow the 'cogita tute' and the 'calories don't just magically pass through the body without being stored.' truly words to live by, no matter how we approach our weight control.

and i'd LOVE to see smaller portions in restaurants. it IS annoying on some levels to take the leftovers [even though heating them up is what passes for cooking in my life!]. it really is all about the money. we pay the same amount whether we eat it or not, or if we take it home. i'd rather pay less and have fewer leftovers!

my biggest concern about the food industry's focus on low carb eating: somehow, someway, they're gonna figure out how to charge more for the same food!!!! it's ALWAYS been fairly easy to eat low carb, if you just paid attention. in every single restaurant [other than fast food places], it's ALWAYS been possible to get some grilled protein and salad. and make them take the bread basket away, and skip the potato. some places would sub a veg, but with the salad, that wasn't always necessary.

i'd much rather eat the real food that some engineered icky tasting chemical laden fake. a real chocolate cookie. not 8 low carb ones!!!!! a perfect biscotti...

just leave the pretzels on the other side of the room, though.

I was out with my husband and my youngest child when we went out to eat. I had a water and grilled chicken sandwhich, no mayo. I had a couple of my daughter's french fries. I looked at my husband and said 'you know, according to the package of fries we have at home, 10 french fries is a serving. There are about 4 serving of french fries in this one small pouch of fries.'

He didn't like what I was saying because he was enjoying the fries. But you are right! Restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, are more about getting 'more for your money'. Super Size It! We want to 'save money' so we Super Size it. We don't want to waste it, so we eat it because it's there. That's where we fall into that trap. Do you know how many calories you consume with say...a big bacon classic combo, super biggie fry and a biggie soda? Your whole day's worth of calories and about 4 days of fat grams. No kidding! You can research this one online. It's scary. Even going 'healthy' is not so healthy. I got a spinach chicken salad at Wendy's. I couldn't find it online, but their other grilled chicken salad was 700 calories!

Subject change: I have not read Dr. Phil's book..but I like the idea behind his weight loss. I like that he addresses the fat that we have emotional needs to be met while we're taking the weight off. I don't think anyone else has addressed that..not the whole person like that. I'll have to check out that book.

Still on the plates theme: we just recently went out and bought a whole set of Japanese style dishes. All of the dishes are small - doll house size when you first look at them.

If you shop around you can find all sorts of different patterns and shapes, and they seem to be quite cheap too! I expect that in the US the range will be greater, but I can't imagine that the plates and bowls will be!

Does it work? Oh yes! We finish every scrap of food and make oursleves wait for 20 minutes before we get seconds. Then we freeze them anyway!!!

I put down my 1 lb per week success to those plates - well that and the exercise and iron willed self control!!!

Paragoddess - in biblical times bread was made with wholegrains, and unbleached flour that was ground by hand - unfortunately most breads are not made that way these days - but you are right it was the staff of life!

After a year or two of trying to consume "low-fat" products and finding them lacking in taste, nutritional value and often overloaded with sugar I decide I was not going to buy them any more.

My approach is to eat fresh produce, organic when I can find it and the price is reasonable and stick to farm raised beef and grain fed free range chicken. Eating as naturally as possible ( few prefab frozen foods or processed items) works for me. I am now eating whole grain breads, whole wheat pastas and cousous and naturally light dressings. The only low fat products I eat are milk and dairy products like cheese and yogurt. I eat gelato which is lower in fat naturally than ice cream and tastes delicious.

When I eat out I try to order from the appetizer sections and get things like Julienne salads with the dressing on the side or steamed mussels in a tomato or wine based sauce. I avoid anything loaded with cheese or deep fried - haven't been to a Mexican restaurant in eons! Sometimes I will order a steak sandwich with salad instead of fries and then just ditch the bread. I have also split and entry of spaghetti with my friend - it came with 2 slices of garlic bread so we where both stuffed at the end of it - can't imagine eating the whole plate! I also try to order fish or chicken breast if it is baked or broiled.

Vmelo, thanks for the book suggestion! I've ordered the book and can't wait to read it. It sounds like what I've been saying all along, and I'm very anxious to read her research and opinions. It's very difficult to see someone struggle with a specific diet because it's what "everyone else" is doing, when that diet isn't right for them. It all comes down to lifestyle and personal tastes. If you like high protein and low carb foods, then that type of diet is going to be successful for you, because you can stick to it. I personally lost a lot of weight in carb heaven, lol, because I was able to stick to my plan. We all have different tastes, and it's important for our diets to reflect that.

Thanks!

Going back to the topic of carbs ... I have noticed that when I cut down on my carb intake, my cravings for sweets and other bad carbs goes away. I don't know that this is necessarily true for many people.

IMO it's more about cutting back on cals than anything-especially even if it's just smaller steps from opting for a diet soda rather than the full calorie one. These steps make a difference and in combination with moderation and portion control-I think we're all much better off.