Irish ~ In a way I am fortunate because my DH has finally decided that he wants to lose weight himself. I avoid buffets at all cost but on occasion DH still insists that he needs to do it. We usually choose a place that I can order a meal and he can buffet himself. What I have notice with buffets is usually the food doesn't even taste good and its low quality food. Meats are all breaded or look like they have been sitting there all day decomposing. I never noticed this fact until about a year ago.

Laura ~ I would have to say that you are in a harder spot than I am and I dread the last 10 lbs. They so those are the hardest to lose and to keep off. Thats what I need, more challenges in life. LOL! I am joking on that. Keep up the good work.

I am such a nut. This week for some reason I have been looking back on my weight loss journey when I realized that I have never lost more than 10 lbs in a year and kept it off. What is up with that? Yes I have always kept 10 lbs off but at this rate it is going to take me 4 more years.

Zenor ~ How did you do it? I started last January when you did and then wasn't moving fast enough for my satisfaction and went back on that other program. Now, I am determined to never go back to the other program and want to do this for the rest of my life. I think the trick is not slipping up on the weekends like I did last weekend. ARG! The scale is stuck still. Maybe I need to jump on it or something. LOL!

GOOD MORNING!

Well I did a calorie count estimate on another page and for me to lose moderately I need to keep my calorie count around 1600 calories. I have been around 1700 which will be a loss but not as much.

I now remember why I don't eat nuts or peanut butter. They stall my weight loss. I don't know why but they do and I have been eating some type of peanut butter every day since Saturday. Today I am peanut free and we will see what happens. I figured this out a while ago and forgot that nuts are a no no for me for some reason.

Why have I gone in the last week from a person who doesn't eat dessert to a person that thinks they should have it? I wasn't raised eating dessert and never have been one to make them. Now, I found all these wonderful ways to make low cal desserts and 100 cal packs of desserts that will fit in my calorie count and I think I should have them. In order to have them that means I am leaving out healthy things like fruit. ARG! I just want to smack myself up side the head sometimes. Just because I am calorie counting and have freedom to have whatever I want doesn't mean I shouldn't eat healthy. I think this is why I failed the last time. Calorie counting doesn't equal eating junk. Junk doesn't work in my body and I know that.

I was reading success stories yesterday and this is what I figured out. I didn't see any of the success stories that weren't eating HEALTHY!

I read RocknRobin and Zelma's story and it made me realize that I have to find what works for me, my body and figuring it out doesn't happen over night. In order to figure out what works, I have to concentrate and make it a priority. Doing that made me remember nuts doesn't agree with me and that out of the blue I am a dessert hound.

Well I better get going for now and will talk to you all later.

Lara, I'm the same way. I never used to be a big sweets person at ALL - my cravings tended more toward salty snacks like chips and cheese and crackers. But the past month or so, I've had insatiable cravings for sweet things! I've tried having a tiny bit of something whenever I get a craving, having one big binge... nothing has helped get rid of them. Don't know why I all of a sudden changed, but it's really frustrating.

Grammy~ I really think it was a combo of things that worked for me. Leaning more towards a whole foods diet, high fiber foods, lots of veggies, lots of fruit, lots of water, no artificial anything, no HFCS and measuring everything out. I still measure stuff out (especially oils and other fatty foods.) I also think that my supplements help in some way, even if it's just to make me feel better. I take a multi and an omega-3 supplement. If I had to pick one thing, I would say that fiber is key. It made me feel full longer and high fiber foods are usually high in calories too.

Scenestealer~ Maybe it's the weather? You're fairly north as well. For some reason I crave more sweets during the winter. At least it seems that way for me.

I'm trying to be really good calorie wise today, so I can go over tomorrow. DH and I are going out for dinner to a great little bistro. There food is so yummy! It's usually fairly healthy though too, so it should be too bad.

Irish -- I can totally sympathize. My girlfriend has Crohn's disease, and is currently on the mend from a minor flare, during which she dropped 10 pounds really quickly (and believe me she didn't need to lose them). So her challenges with food are totally the opposite of mine. She needs to eat really calorie dense, high nutrient food because she doesn't absorb nutrients very well. It's not that I'm jealous, obviously, I'm very grateful for my health, especially when I see her in pain. It's just that it's a struggle for her to keep weight ON when she's sick, which means trying to plan meals for the two of us can be a little wacky.

Zenor and Laura I think some of my freakish behavior at this point is leaving the strict program I was on. They didn't allow any dairy and you could have a dessert but it usually meant giving up your regular carb like rice or potato so you could have the dessert. Really wasn't an option for me since I wouldn't sacrifice my normal carb for the dessert. With calorie counting you can have both as long as you are in your range. I don't know as I really want to allow that to be a way of thinking. It is healthier to have the apple or orange than the piece of cake and we all know that. Now I am not saying I will never have another piece of cake but I don't feel it should be on my plate every single day.

Zenor thanks for sharing your success and what you do because I need to see and hear that its not all about going crazy eating all kinds of processed food even though your within your calorie count. I will find my balance and today I am facing the reality that I have to start cooking again and stop eating so many frozen meals. BLAH!

Does anyone have thoughts on Flatouts, I have the reduced calorie? I have some and I am thinking about spreading some type of tomato sauce on it with some homemade turkey sausage I make (willing to share recipe if anyone is interested), FF sliced cheese (I think it taste and melts better than the shredded version) with bell peppers and mushrooms.

Well I better get going because I need to stop at the store tonight and I will talk to you all tomorrow.

Wow! I didn't realize what a powerhouse Chickpeas are until I read up on them today. I decided that when I decide to have a food in my life I want to know how healthy it is. I found a roasted red pepper hummus that is fat free at the local grocery store and I had it this morning with yellow/red/orange pepper strips. I am going to look to see if they have a plain one that I can put difference spices and such in to get a variety. I now I could make my own but it sounds time consuming.

Upping veggies today and sticking with just high fiber starches such as oatmeal and fiber once cereal. I think I am going to have a sweet potato, chicken with asparagus for dinner.

Today for lunch I have chicken taco salad without dressing and chips. I make my own taco seasoning and coated some chicken breast with it and baked it. I don't even need dressing and it is excellent. To go with it I have fat free strawberry yogurt which I will mix Fiber One cereal with. YUMM!

Well I better get going for now and I will talk to you all later.

I LOVE chickpeas in any form, but most of all as hummus. If you have a food processor, it's really not that time consuming to make, and it's much cheaper and of course you can control the balance of ingredients, both for taste and calories. (I like mine with lots of lemon.)

Seriously, just chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon and garlic, then whirl it all up together. (This is assuming you buy your tahini and not make it yourself. Now THAT would be time consuming.)

Coldbrightday ~ I have thought about making my own and go from there. Now to you cook your own chickpeas or buy the canned? My favorite is the fat free roasted bell pepper that I buy at Krogers. Its not their brand, can't remember the name brand, its good but your right it is pricey. Might have to give it a try. I don't even know what Tahini is, LOL! I will probably just buy it already to go.

I've done both. Cooking your own does involved planning ahead a bit, but at least they don't require much actual work. Just let them do their thing til they're done. Lately though, I use the canned more often than dried. I generally rinse them off first, which makes them taste fresher and also reduces the sodium content.

Tahini is ground sesame paste -- basically sesame butter, like peanut butter. You only need a little, but it gives hummus that characteristic "hummusy" flavor.

thankyou Laura. I'm still wandering in and out of different threads but I really appreciate your welcome. I'll be here a lot. Jackie

Thanks Lara for welcoming me, and I do have a couple of questions that I can't seem to find the answer to anywhere else. I saw on another thread that when you are in menopause you have to lower your calorie count to take that into consideration. But, does anyone know how much I should lower it for that. Also, I'm on HRT and that tends to make you gain weight, I heard. Should I lower my calorie amount for that too? On a different note, now that I've started calorie counting I want to lower my amount of starches each day and maybe increase my fruits and vegies. Should I wait longer to do this until I get better at calorie counting, or should I just jump in with both feet? I've decided that whatever I do, I have to live with this plan forever, so I want to make liveable changes. I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks. Jackie

Tinygrammy ~ Here is my thought, now I am not expert but over the years I have learned a lot. First, jumping in both feet can be dangerous. If you are a strong person and are able to make change easily you may be find but usually gradual change works better.

Now some would probably argue this but I think there are some good starches out there. Examples are oatmeal, Fiber One Cereal and there are other cereals but those are the two I eat. Loaded with fiber and heart healthy stuff. Also sweet potatoes and some squashes are very healthy. If you want to eliminate them thats your choice and for some people its key to losing weight but I just don't want to totally give them up and they help keep my fiber intake up. They say most Americans don't get enough fiber but veggies have fiber also.

I do suggest increasing your veggie intake. I am working on that myself. I am trying to get it up to at least 5 servings a day or more. They are full of good for you stuff, help fill you up and are lower in calories.

I also eat at least 3 to 4 servings of fruit a day. I consider that my dessert. Was having a little trouble for last week thinking that dessert was OK because I found some healthy was to make cakes and such but you know I was never a dessert eater to start with so why would I give up my fruit for dessert. That is exactly what I was doing so I could stay in my calorie count. I am not saying I will never have the occasional piece of cake or whatever but on a regular basis I am going to use fruit as my dessert.

I agree totally what ever you decide to do has to be something you can live with for the rest of your life. It has to work for YOU! What works for one person may not work for another. I just left a wonderful program that not only promises quick weight loss but does help you to lose weight fast. Thing is, I could do it for the rest of my life. I like to eat out, I like dairy and I don't like having to cook everything, I mean everything from scratch. If you stray just a little boom it comes back because it limits your sodium intake. I couldn't even buy stock or spaghetti sauce from the store. That is not realistic for me. So I am using that program as a base and finding the healthiest forms of the things I miss. I found stock that is very low in sodium, spaghetti sauce low in sodium, pasta that doesn't raise blood sugar, Hummus that is fat free, Fiber One cereal, fat free yogurt, fat free cheese. My biggest suggestion here is read the labels and if you don't know how there are web pages that will teach you. I try to stick with things that I know what all the ingredients are. I work with Chemists and lets say I don't want their stuff in my body.

On calorie counts. I have read lots of posts from people and suggestions. There is really no good answer because we are all individuals and what works for one won't work for another. If your not losing at your current count and have been doing it for a while the best suggestion I have seen came from RockNRobin, lower it by 100 calories for a while and see what happens. You don't want to go to low to soon. As a calorie counter I am sure you are doing a diary so go back and evaluate what your eating and double check your calories. It is trial and error. Some people are lucky and just lose as soon as they start reducing their calories and can eat more than some. Me, I am not so lucky and I started at 1700 and I don't seem to be losing but I am perimenapause so I know what your talking about. I have the feeling between just coming off a very reduced calorie plan and being perimenapause is slowing me up. I am also still making changes and doing research.

Coldbrightday ~ I read my container of hummus today and it doesn't have the tahini past in it. I didn't realize that most hummus has it in there and that is why there is some fat. I like it without the tahini so if I were to make it from scratch I would leave that out. The company that produces what I buy is Oasis Classic Cuisine out of Toledo, Ohio. They grown their own organic chickpeas but some of the other things used are not organic but its really good.

I decided that once my yogurt that I bought with fruit in it is gone I am switching to plain and adding my own fruit. It may not be as taste but I will get used to it. I bought the FF Yoplait Light which is only 100 calories but it has HFCS in it. GRRRR! Why do they have to do that?

I have also started using a little honey instead of artificial sweeteners to my oatmeal in the morning. Yes it adds calories but I am trying to get away from them and I can adjust. I actually really like the taste of honey, always have. I started drinking my coffee black in the morning also. I need to get my sweet tooth under control and my parents, retirees, meet with a group of other retirees and they discussed the research going on with artificial sweeteners the other day. One article stated that they are noticing people that have high usage of artificial sweeteners have more trouble losing weigh than nonusers. I know there is Stevia but it tasted bitter to me but I have since read articles that lead me to believe I just used to much of it. So I may give it a try again.

Ok, so I am turning into a nut but I really want to do what is best for my body and that is why I am researching food.

Grammy: I will not use artificial sweetners I have researched it and they have been linked with obesitie, diabetes (ironic eh?) migraines (i get them when i use aspertame) and other really bad things. Try Agave less bitter then stevia or use the stevia powder instead of the liquid.