Well..since I've heard I'm "in a class all by myself", I thought it appropriate to start a thread based upon a 44yr old woman's journey to maintain optimal health and weight, while eating delishous gourmet foods and homemade decadent desserts. So far I've been "maintaining" like this with NO PROBLEM for the past 2 months (not counting most of my life being thin). The way I see it...I'm looking ahead...not back. This is going to be the NEW Jan Brady!

In this thread...WE LOVE FOOD. In this thread...WE LOVE TO MOVE. In this thread...WE MAKE NO EXCUSES or APOLOGIZE. In this thread...WE LOVE LIFE & LIVING IT. This is a HAPPY PLACE.

I'll also be adding in weight training to my new journey. This should be fun and exciting. I want to see just how "tight" and "firm" I can get these buttocks at my age! I'm loving the challenge and am hopeful.

Feel free to join me if you wish. I will posting pics along the way. I will talk about my triumphs, new self discoveries, accomplishments and failures. As always, I will keep it REAL & HONEST.

Ok...without further adoo...here goes it...

The past few days have been cookin, cookin and more cookin. The end results is 5 main entrees (enough to cover all my meals for a month or better). I say "or better", because some days, I just like a grilled chicken/spinach salad, instead of a hot lunch. Also did some Sams Club/Costco shopping and picked up a few LOBSTER TAILS (yummo!) and a package of ANGUS DELMONICO steaks (aka Prime Rib..double YUMMO!) Not sure when I'm going to treat myself to those meals.

Anyhoot...today I'll be turning my kitchen into a bakery. Here's what's on the menu (all made from scratch):

1. Carrot cake
2. 2 batches of Pumpkin Raisin Muffins
3. Chocolate chip cookie dough (to bake as needed)
4. Oatmeal raisin cookie dough (to bake as needed)
5. Pistacchio Cranberry Biscotti

Since I HATE cooking, I like to make all my meals and desserts in one BIG SHOT and not have to worry about food for at least the next month. It's alot of work (I'll admit), but sooooo worth it the rest of month.

More power to you if you can maintain on that. I make cookies, too I eat one to see if they are OK and take the rest to my church.
I personally, love decadent deserts, too, but do not have them in my home. I save those for dining out where I have just one. Good luck, come back in 3-6 months and tell us how this is working for you.

Found this article and had to post it...interesting, to say the least.

Diet foods that appeal to your inner glutton

When's the last time you were guiltily scraping your way to the bottom of an ice cream carton and noticed this message: "150 calories per pint"?

Yes, per pint.

Foods aimed at helping you slim down have been around for decades, but a recent wave of ultra-low calorie products - such as the 150-calorie per pint dessert Artic Zero - is making a direct appeal to our national sense of gluttony.

"What we're seeing here is a strategy that says Americans like to stuff their faces," says food industry analyst Phil Lempert. "And these mean we don't have to sacrifice."

With two-thirds of American adults overweight or obese, health officials have long warned that ballooning portion sizes are a major factor. Now food manufacturers are testing whether the desire for big servings can make peace with our need to shed pounds - or at least make big profits.

"It's fine to eat one serving of ice cream, but I can't remember the last time I sat down with a pint and ate half a cup," says Amit Pandhi, CEO of Arctic Zero, Inc., whose pints of "ice cream replacement" prominently feature the 150-calorie message.

"We feel like a serving is an entire pint. And if you're looking at it from that point of view, our product is the only one where you can eat a whole pint and not feel like you're doing something terrible," says Pandhi.

Similarly, commercials for MGD 64, a 64-calorie beer from Chicago-based MillerCoors being heavily marketed this year, pits a tiny martini or petite glass of wine against a cool, full bottle of brew. Meanwhile, the website for its competitor, Anheuser-Busch's Bud Select 55, promises no pain and no gain, boasting that you can burn off the product's 55 calories with - ready? - a 54-minute nap.

And though Tofu Shirataki noodles from California-based House Foods America Corporation, offer two 20-calorie servings per 8-ounce package, it's understood that you'll eat the whole bag.

"Most people eat the whole bag for a meal," says Yoko Difrancia, the company's marketing supervisor. "The whole bag is more realistic."

Which means that if you were feeling a need to binge, you could pound down a pile of noodles, a couple brews and a pint of "ice cream" all for 300 calories - the same as one McDonald's ( MCD - news - people ) cheeseburger.

Consumers seem to be buying it. Sales of Arctic Zero, introduced in 2009, have grown 15 to 20 percent per month for the past 18 months, Pandhi says.

Many of these products are achieving their low-calorie status with different ingredients than similar products in the past. Arctic Zero is made primarily of whey protein and gets its sweetness from organic monk fruit, an Asian gourd the company says is 150 times sweeter than sugar. Tofu Shirataki noodles are made by blending tofu and the root of konnyaku, an Asian yam.

Health advocates, dietitians and government programs decry the American propensity to over indulge. But what if we were meant to eat as much as possible? UCLA neuroscientist Dean Buonomano says in his new book, "Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives," that the human brain was designed to guide us through a world in which dying from starvation was a greater possibility than becoming obese.

"There is little doubt that our proclivity toward overeating is in part a product of the fact that we were programmed to derive pleasure from eating, and that in the modern world many of us have essentially unlimited amounts of food at our disposal," Buonomano said via e-mail.

In 2000, Penn State professor Barbara Rolls began promoting what she calls volumetrics, an approach to healthy eating that shifts the focus from reducing portion size to reducing the number of calories per portion.

"When people sit down to a meal and don't know the calorie count they tend to take a set amount by weight and volume," says Rolls, whose new book "The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet" will be published next year.

So she says the solution is not to reduce the volume of food on the plate, but rather the number of calories in the same volume (called the calorie density). She urges people to do that by adding plenty of water-rich, calorie-light foods, such as fruits and vegetables. "The idea is not that you can or should eat a much bigger volume than you typically do," Rolls says. "It's that if you eat your usual amount you're going to feel full but with fewer calories.

Some experts say there's a place for these ultra-low calorie products in that kind of equation. Lisa Lillien, creator of the daily e-mail service Hungry-Girl.com and author of five cookbooks, relies on many specific products, including Tofu Shirataki noodles, to create satisfying, abundant, but still calorically light meals.

"The Hungry Girl philosophy is, `How do you swap out certain foods for other foods so you can make recipes taste great but still come in with fewer calories?'" Lillien says. "I want to get the biggest bang for my calorie buck because I like eating a lot of food."

Health advocates and dietitians remain committed to the idea that portion sizes must come down. But they say these products could offer baby steps to people struggling to control their weight. And they might also be useful when you feel that binge coming on.

"We have some die-hard fans who've told us they've eaten five or six pints in a day," says Pandhi. "We believe everything should be eaten in moderation. But if you're going to choose five or six pints of ice cream, it's definitely healthier to choose our product than a full-fat premium ice cream."

Hmmm...I think I smell a rat...but any thoughts on this ladies? Anyone try this Artic Zero? I'm having trouble believing that the ingredients are not some kind of "frankenfood" and is "all natural" at 150 cals for an entire pint. I also have a hard time believing that it's going to keep me away from Baskin Robbins when I'm in the mood for a pint of good icecream.

I've tried Arctic Zero, and I think, if you search, there are some threads about it on 3FC.

IIRC, the reason is calorie count is so low is that they subtract all of the calories that come from the insoluble fiber (which is legal, since those calories cannot be digested by the body and pass through us). Their source for insoluble fiber is monkfruit, I think, which I tolerated better than inulin (chicory root fiber) which is what's used by most of the "fortified fiber" products: Fiber One, Fiber Plus, and other bars/cereals.

As for taste, I remember liking the chocolate mint. The texture was closer to sorbet than ice cream for me, but it was nice and cold and hit the spot at the time. The article you included was right on - I'm a strict calorie counter and measure everything (that's what works best for me) and it was really nice to just open a pint of something and eat on the couch. However, in the final verdict, I decided I preferred the taste (and cheaper cost) of a frozen individual pudding cup. Not as much volume, but more to my taste.

I haven't tried Arctic Zero, but it's an interesting idea. I have one of the Volumetrics plan books and I have to admit the theory makes a lot of sense. Sometimes eating a small portion of a really good rich food isn't as satisfying as a big portion of a less good, less rich food. The whole idea for weight loss is to reduce the calories you are eating, so if you can't handle lowering your portion sizes it seems like the obvious choice is to reduce the calories in the same size serving.

This makes me think of the new WW plan where fruits and veggies are "free". My sister is on this plan and is having success with it, and I think it's partly because if you want to snack while watching TV, you can get yourself a giant mixing bowl full of grapes and munch away. It's far fewer calories than the mixing bowl of potato chips or nuts would be.

I was reading up on the noodles the other day too. I saw a blog post talking about zero calorie "miracle noodles" and had to look them up. Basically they are noodles made entirely of water and fiber. I don't know what sort of process is required to turn them into a solid object, but water is zero calories and fiber passes right through, so you can eat all the noodles you want for zero calories. I bet they don't taste very good though.

I'm totally opposed to these zero calorie "foods".

If you stop stuffing yourself ever- you don't want to anymore. It makes you feel awful. Why do we feel like it's our god-given right to stuff ourselves to the breaking point?? Yuck. To me that is NOT the way to go. At first, eating 1 serving seemed like it was so pathetically small. Then, I changed my mind. I realized that 1 serving was NORMAL. The portions I used to eat were disgustingly, horribly, ridiculously over-sized. After some time, I really accepted this notion of normal and it was no longer difficult.

I realized that my body gives me a signal when it's hungry. It's called HUNGER. And when I feel it- in my belly mind you, we're not talking EMOTIONAL HUNGER, I eat. If I feel emotional hunger, I deal with it another way- talking, writing, exercise, etc. My body gives me another signal when it's FULL. It's a physical feeling. When I feel it I STOP EATING. I know, crazy stuff here, right?

The trick is this: if you start eating when you are NOT hungry- you never get the signal to stop. When you eat when you are hungry, eat slowly and mindfully, enjoying every bite. Do not distract yourself with TV or internets. Pay attention to eating. If you don't pay attention you might miss the FULL signal.

I love reading the exuberance in your posts. I love how positive you are about this whole thing.

That said, I look on at you wistfully. No can do, unfortunately.

My relationship with my food & my body has been profoundly neurotic for decades now. I've talked elsewhere on these boards about what it's like to have an eating disorder. I've been through anorexia, which after about a year of getting progressively worse, turned into bulimia, in which I binged and overexercised for hours at a time as a method of purging. (Yes, one doesn't have to throw up to be purging.)

Now one of the weird things about my anorexia is that, even while not eating, I became more obsessed with food than I have ever been in my life. I was riveted in a nearly pornographic way by magazine pictures of it. I could watch food shows for hours on end. I would read cookbooks the way some people read novels. I would stare at food in bakeries & inside plate glass cases.

I also baked at home with an insane intensity, far more frequently than I ever had when I'd been overweight. I did this every weekend, not just one weekend every few weeks, as people do to store up things or before Christmas. I prided myself on my incredible self-control & that I'd only taste a little. Really though I was licking spoons & such all along, torturing myself with the tastes & smells.

This was all about control.

Until the control broke, quite spectacularly. It didn't happen immediately, though. It happened after more than a year, during which I got my weight down to 107 & STILL wasn't satisfied. I think it might even have been below that when I binged for the first time. Then, in horror for what I'd done, I hurried off to run six miles at the local nature center. I ended up retching in the middle of the bark-covered path because I was so sick, with a distended stomach from an overload of sugary raw dough. That became a pattern. Not the retching, but the exercising afterward to exorcise the demon. Kind of like a person trying to walk off a heavy meal, but to the "nth" degree.

Anyway, years have passed since that period in my life, years in which I've seen therapists, read all kinds of self-help and eating disorder books, taken medications, let my weight balloon back up to probably something near 260. (I never weighed myself at my worst, so I'm guessing based on my doctor's scale reading.) Back in 2007, when I became determined to lose weight in a healthy way, I was also determined not to exhibit any of my past behaviors again.

That included baking the way I had. Now, maybe once every month, depending on the weather -- I don't bake as much in the heat -- I'll make up a batch of healthy muffins & freeze them & take them out one or two at a time for breakfast. Or I'll make a whole-grain bread recipe that gives you two loaves, freeze one loaf & eat the other slowly over nearly a two-week period, slicing a little each morning for breakfast. (I tend to bake bread if I've got company coming. They like my bread.)

Unfortunately, given my past history, doing anything more is tempting the devil.

Once, I made a pumpkin swirl cheesecake for Thanksgiving that my family really wanted. It was painful and difficult. I'm not doing it again. That's what bakeries are for. Believe me, there are many fine food establishments in Manhattan run by artisans & perfectionists where I can pick up quite wonderful baked goods. I'm willing to pay the prices they ask to keep from putting myself in a bad situation.

Understand that I'd like to be more like you, Joyfull, but all the wiring in my head is messed up. This is something I will always have to work at.

I like seeing you happy. There should be more happy people in the world.

I support you & this thread, in spite of my incredible downer of a post.

saef, I don't think your post is a downer, rather I find it very enlightning. I was never into anorexia or bulimia but I could put away a whole pie or cake or half a gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Eating to the point of great discomfort. That is why I don't keep those foods in my house. I do like to bake but I give it all away. I only eat deserts at restaurants or maybe at a friends house where I only eat one slice, or piece or scoop.

Joy! Count me in!!!! Finally a place where I feel I belong! It's taken me a long time to figure out what works for me and I've gained a few pounds in the process, but those are finally melting away and I'm finally understanding ME and MY body and how maintenance works for me and I'm not going to apologize or question it anymore!

You go girl! I've been spending a little less time on 3fc lately, but when I do I'll be stopping by here for sure!

Oh and I too am ANTI zero cal diet food too (with the exception of skinny cow). First off they taste AWFUL, second of all most of them are processed junk!

Ok, Joyful, I have a challenge for you. You say you hate cooking. Maybe this is another area where you can change your mind! I used to hate cooking too but I figured out how to make it oh so FUN! I play music in my kitchen and I sing and dance around while I'm cooking. I don't think of it as a chore anymore- I think of it as an art and a hobby. I've learned to LOVE shopping for food, preparing it, and of course eating it

I still have a big cooking day on the weekend because sometimes that work week can get hectic. But I don't dread it, I actually really look forward to my Sunday cooking and Singing extravaganza!

Just invented a new recipe last weekend and it was SO good. I've never really been that into baking before, but now that I'm trying Vegan baking, I'm loving it. Here's the recipe if you want to check it out. All my carnivorous coworkers loved these muffins too

Kate's Vegan Strawberry Coconut Muffins

I too am opposed to zero calorie fake foods because they promote mindless eating. I must mention, however, that the shiritataki noodles (and konnyaku in general) have been used for many years in traditional Japanese cooking. They are not pasta in the Western sense at all. They really are about their odd texture.

I also can not have some things around. It starts that crazy-making cycle of obsession that is just not worth it. I went through the whole control thing much like saef and was so proud of my ability to bake like a mad woman and not eat the goods, etc. When I crashed after a few years it was not pretty and I was in a worse place mentally than before. We are all different and I look forward to seeing your "joyful maintenance"

Sorry to thread jack....but saef, I just wanted to thank you for your post. I have lurked on this board for YEARS and am only now getting more involved because I've seen posts like yours, help other people. I see a lot of myself in you, and your past/current patterns. I love that you can be very forthright about it, and call it like you see it. I always appreciate your posts.

Ok Joyful! I also love to see someone so optimistic about the maintenance part of this journey. I'm basically in maintenance, and I could learn a lot from you and your attitude. Like saef, my history with food and disordered eating and my body are probably far too whacked out for me to take the approach you do, but it doesn't mean that I can't learn something from your "joy". Good luck, and I can't wait to see how your health and fitness progresses!

Yay, Joy! You will do fantastically. I love that you want to figure out how your body works in different workouts/exercises and with different foods. It keeps life interesting, that's for sure! I might need your carrot cake recipe...I am a sucker for all things baked.

I have tried the noodles and found them DISGUSTING!

I've also tried the Artic Zero and it was OK. Definitely not a substitution for real decadent ice cream. I eat a healthy choice fudgsicle most evenings for my "treat". I like the taste and it satisfies my sweet tooth without overindulging.

And WW "free" fruits aren't free. They are "Zero Points" fruits and you are supposed to eat them UNTIL SATISFIED. Some people overeat the fruits thinking they are free (like eating 6 bananas a day and a pound of grapes) and wonder why they don't lose weight. Moderation is the key.

Thank you everyone soooooo much for your support!

Saef - You are by no means a Debbie DOWNER! Actually...I love your candidness and frankness...and well...New Yorkness! I am honered to have you here.

K8yk - I took your "challenge" last night and popped in my Debarge CD and "oooooooooooooohhh I LIKED IT!" You were RIGHT! It did make cooking a whole lot more fun.

Paperdollme - I also took your suggestion (from prior post) and I made QUINOA FLOUR. I used it to cook my cranberry-pistacchio biscotti's. CAME OUT AWESOME! THANKS!

Emme - I got my carrot cake recipe from a cookbook. It's called, "The BEST Light Recipe" from Cooks Illustrated. I just doctored it a little (which I'll explain below) for slightly better health value...yet in all it's yummy and the homemade cream cheese frosting will make you pass out of JOY!

Ok folks...I'm done with the pastry cookin. You might all be thinkin'.."hey...what the heck? this is a weight loss site and she's baking biscotti?" Ok..ok...well hang on to your hats...the one thing that's important to know about WHY I COOK all my foods, is because I can control the "health" factor. All the items below were baked with Organic Crystalized Cane Sugar Juice. See below:

1. Cranberry-Pistacchio Biscotti (w/added quinoa flour & flaxseed)
2. Pumpkin Raisin Muffins (fat free) (w/flaxseed, pumpkin & no sugar added applesauce and 139 cals a muffin..mmmm...so moist!)
3. Carrot Cake w/cream cheese frosting (w/nutiva coconut oil, 1/3 fat cream cheese)
4. Oatmeal Raisin Cookie dough (w/nutiva coconut oil & butter)
5. Chocolate Chip cookie dough (w/nutiva cocnut oil & butter, flaxseed and oat flour)