Greetings all from LA...I just posted something the other day on a thread about how easy it is in Judaism to find reasons to overeat and overindulge...I am dreading Passover...as usual. I also work in a synagogue full time and am limited as to what I can bring for lunch.

Best...

Julee

Avi that is a very interesting question! I am also religious. I have on occassion asked H" to help me with the whole weight loss thing in general but overall I generally see the 2 as seperate. Not sure why though.

Charisma do you keep kosher?

Has anyone found any good kosher diet treats or snacks. I always reqad all the posts about various products only to find out they are not kosher. Also we keep chalav yisrael so that makes things harder.

Elmommy come join the challenge!

Hi! I think that's interesting, that the quality of determination is in the Torah. I've never thought about that before, but certainly you are right, it is there. And I need it, in abundance! Today is Friday. Last night I prepped the Shabbat meal, and I have the works - chicken, soup, fish, cholent for Shabbat lunch, kugel. Challah! Yum! How will I not eat? I joined here on Monday, and I've been so good. How do I abstain from the yummy food?

I do pray every day, and I do ask for will power. While I'm in the midst of praying (davening), I do feel inspiration. But then I guess I flunk out when it comes to the free will part, when I am faced with the food.

So maybe I need to think of how determination is in the Torah, is in our forefathers, and is in our blood. And maybe my prayers led me here! Truly, since Monday, I've been great!

I'm glad you're here, too!

For me the trick is not to abstain from the yummy food but rather to abstain from eating too much yummy food. As a calorie counter I know I can eat whatever I want, but I have to watch the portions. I can have the challah and kugel - but I have to figure out how much is a reasonable portion for my daily caloric intake. I think this is the only sort of diet for me because I love food, and I don't want a book telling me I can't have something I love.

I keep Scripturally kosher, but not rabbinically kosher. I won't eat any of the unclean foods or cook mammals with dairy products, but I do eat chicken and turkey with dairy. I buy products that are either marked kosher or, when exploring the ingredient list, I do not see a reason other than lack of certification that they would not adhere to the dietary rules.

Still, this eliminates a lot of snack and treat foods. Earlier this week I discovered these wonderful kosher marshmallows in the Passover section of the grocery store. They are rolled in toasted coconut and are a wonderful treat at 32 calories. I tend to eat fruit and/or crackers as a snack, so finding kosher ones isn't a difficult thing for me. I can always do a square of dark chocolate and finding kosher chocolate isn't difficult. Of course, keeping chalav yisrael would make it a bit harder, I am sure.

Right now I am really struggling with finding low-calorie dessert recipes for family dinners. I won't use products with artificial sweeteners (Mom's allergic and I think it's unnatural) and it seems like every recipe I find either uses Splenda or Jell-o, which of course isn't kosher. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Abstaining does not make you stronger...it makes you angrier...especially if you wen to all of the trouble to cook it and then you can't eat it. The key is portion control and moderation...and being visually familiar with what 1 serving actually is. One trick that I was taught with buffet style meals is that you only get one trip to the line. Another thing that my husband and I do is that we eat dinner on our salad plates.

One of the hardest things to find that is kosher would be light cheeses. I am personally on WW and almost all if not all of their cakes, snack bars, etc. are heckshered but they are all dairy.

I don't think that the key to my weight loss success lies in the Torah or with HaShem....it has to be within me or it is nowhere. Both Torah and Hashem provide sources of strength and inspiration...but they won't lose the weight for me, exercise for me or cook my meals. If we are creatures of free will then we must exercise it and strive to be our best selves.

julee why are you restricted with what you can bring for lunch?

Avi i have the same problem as you in regards to shabbos. I generally limit myself to 1 slice of challah and remove it from the table. I split a small piece of gefilte with one of my kids. If I am having salmon then I eat that as my main and only have a bite of chicken. I try to make healthy kugels too.

charisma have you tried stevia or agave nectar as a sweetener?

julee I also eat on my salad plate!

Good shabbos everyone!!

2Beautiful: the building policy is that you can only bring in dairy/pareve from home. They do serve the kids in the Day School hot lunch and they do 3 meat days a week..but the stuff they serve is junk and it's usually high in fat and carbs. So I can't bring in turkey or chicken...and I don't eat red meat anyways. I could bring in meat from one of the kosher restaurants up the street but I don't want to buy lunch every day....so it's a lot of vegetarian stuff for me for lunches.

Good Shabbas!

We are mainly veg here - I have some good recipes that are relatively healthy (for a Passover recipe). A great veggie sheperds pie and a matza "kugel". YUM! LMK if you'd like them.

Oh, looky! This thread is active.

To the question about how religion plays into this, I'm agreeing with the idea about drawing from the determination of our ancestors. Think of all they have been through. Surely we can resist eating a whole chicken or challah in one sitting! A reasonable portion of each is enough.

We need to keep ourselves healthy because we need to be ready for any challenges that come our way. And, we have a right to enjoy our lives as much as possible.

The praying to H for strength at each turn has never been effective for me. Drawing on my own strength and resources, which I have been blessed to have been given in life, even though I sometimes forget them, has been more effective. The praying for strength at each temptation seems more of a Christian concept to me....not that there's anything inherently wrong with the idea if it works, but it just doesn't help me access my own G-d given resources.

I'm not religious, and I don't keep Kosher. But having grown up Jewish and being a very spiritual person, I identify.

I haven't tried stevia or agave nectar. My mother is understandabley nervous about anything that isn't sugar, but for my own purposes those might work. Thanks for the tip!

Well, I flopped this Shabbos. I had such a great week, I am so happy I found this site. I had been drawing such inspiration. I had begun walking with a friend during lunch, and I flopped! I came home Friday and immediately "sampled" my food: I had a full bowl of chicken soup, with matzah balls which I had decided to make this week. I had a full piece of chicken and kugel. Then after candle lighting, I ate a full meal. Then today I had a full lunch (challah, chicken, cholent, kugel, cake for desert). Why did I do that?! In truth, I didn't nosh all day like I would have normally done. (Isn't that sick? After all that food, why would I then nosh?).
I need help. Partly, I know I emotionally eat. My marriage broke up this year (husband had affair, stopped keeping shabbos, very messy, custody still not settled). It's been an unhappy last 3 years at least (been married 26) and I packed it on. Whenever I think about him, the marriage, his betrayal I EAT!. I need to stop.
I'm going to Israel for Pesach, and had promised myself I'd lose beforehand. Now I feel like I have 2 weeks to keep the promise to myself. I know that's nuts, but that's how I think.
I do think it's a religious issue to be healthy. My son tells me the Rambam (Maimonides) says it is forbidden to eat when not hungry. If only it were that easy! Then, when I can't abstain from eating, I feel guilty. Not just because I failed, then I begin to think I failed my children as well, because if I'm not healthy enough to be here for them, my ex-husband will get them, and he's an incapable hypocrite. Then, on top of that, I feel I'm actually sinning.
Boy, I need help!

I can see it as a religious issue in as much as we are expected to constantly keep ourselves in check and strive to be our best versions of ourself. I agree with battle that turning to a page of scripture or praying to an external source for support does seem very Christian. I know that in the Al Het and in the Ashamnu prayers that gluttony and indulgence come up on the lists...but those are also public confessionals...we beat our chests with the rest of the congregation..but that doesn't mean that every time we are tempted by cake or that we over do it at dinner we should start davening.

Not once in my 35 years has G-d put food directly into my mouth...and by the same token not once has G-d convinced me to not eat when I was not hungry (and neither did Rambam for that matter). That was me, all me, every time. Restraining myself, maintaining control and not making excuses for overdoing it are all on me.

Avi: You Can eat the Shabbat foods you want to...but you have to be mindful of portion sizes and what else you eat that day. If you know what one "serving" of Challah is, and then you don't go back for more (my weakness), and you know what one serving of chicken is...etc etc and then you up your veggie intake...you can still walk away from the table feeling satisfied and not stuffed and still feel that you participated in the meal. I go to a number of Shabbat dinners that are all potluck with my youth group kids...and I just have to really think about what I am doing. Often I will bring my own entree since they usually serve pasta and things like that. I also make sure that earlier in the day I ate a little bit less so I have enough points for dinner (I do WW).

Clearly your ex cannot be your source of support here...but I also know that trying to do this solo can be daunting and border on impossible.

Good Luck!!!

Hi Julee, I just looked at your blog - you had a nice wedding! Thank you for the tips on portion control. I just need to be able to do it!

Tonight my married daughter and her husband came over just to hang out, and then it was dinner time so we went out. I was sort of proud of myself, because instead of getting a steak sub and fries, I got a schwarma platter, lots of salad, one small pita, no fries. I know it wasn't the healthiest choice, but it also wasn't the worst. I made a step in the right direction. Yay!

Congratulations! After all, a successful diet is just a series of steps in the right direction

Avi:

I don't eat red meat...so when hubby and I go to the falafel place that we love...he gets the grilled chicken and I get the chicken gyrops or turkey shwarma..and tons of salads and pickles.

Just opting out of the fries was a great choice..and I'm sure it was a tough one.

Thanks for the nice comment on the wedding. It really was everything I had hoped for.