These ideas/tips may or may not be helpful but you never know, right? Please share any tips you have for making this way of life a little easier! Here are some of mine:

1) During a meal, drink a sip of water between eat bite. (If I dont, I seem to eat more. Water also helps to fill me up.)

2) Once I've fixed my plate I make sure I put up all the food before I eat. That way if I decide to have seconds its more of an effort. Usually I find I'm satisfied and dont bother.

3) When I'm fixing things for the kids or baking for school, etc I dont nibble or taste or even lick my fingers, lol. I keep a napkin at hand to wipe off those messy fingers. It just helps me to refrain from actually having a helping myself or causing a binge when I'm not hungry.

4) I buy the unsalted, roasted peanuts in the shells. That way I have to crack the shell before I can eat the nuts instead of just shoveling a handful in my mouth!

I'll post more as I think of them and/or use them!

thanks for the tips gavinsmom........... the only thing i can think of at the moment is watching serving size i especially do this at night when i really want to munch something, i take exactly the suggested serving of whatever i want and then put the rest away, take my portion to another room and eat it......that way it requires an effort to get more and it gives you time to think about wether you want it or not.

Good idea Jodi!!

Also, when I cook in advance I always try to store the food in individual servings before I freeze or refrigerate. For example the sf, ff puddings I make and then store in washed/cleaned plastic yogurt cups. That way I dont eat the entire 2 cups of pudding at once! Whenever I prepare something, I always transfer it to several smaller containers.

Blimey, you are both a bit more organised tham me....... But what tips do I have? Ummm, well, when I make a cup of coffee to take to my desk I also make a cup of herbal tea and take that too, so that when I have had the coffee i can chase it with the herbal tea in order to keep my hydration up.

What else? I eat later in the evening so as to have less 'trawling' time between end of supper and bed.

I bought a George Foreman Grill for doing red meat on. I figure that if I have red meat (like steak or lamb or something) once a week, even if it is a lean cut, then over the course of a year, that is fifty odd portions, and if I can save say two teaspoons of fat from going in to my mouth that is one hundred teaspoons of fat over one year and that has to be worth a couple of pounds.

Great idea to have a tips thread.

I have v-8 first thing right when I wake up and also as I'm making dinner so help fill me up a little and a glass of water before each snack to prevent going overboard on snack portions.

Exercise-I walk the three blocks to the post office instead of dropping mail in my mail box. If I think I'm running an important errand, I don't even realize that I'm exercising.

The only thing I can think of right now is :

When I get ready to eat a meal, I drink a Dasani 16.9 oz water before I sit down to eat. That way when I sit down my belly is already filling up and I eat less

I also use the tip about wiping my hands while I am cooking to prevent cravings. All those nibbles and taste tests really add it!

My tips:
- when you cook, have a big glass of water on the counter and sip it as you work
- wear surgical gloves when baking goodies - it keeps me from licking my fingers
- use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate
- plan every day using www.fitday.com
- clean your teeth when you have the munchies

Here are my tips:

1. Hire a cute chef to do all your cooking and baking then you don't have to worry about tasting anything.

2. Put a combination lock on the fridge and cupboards and only let hubby have the number. That way you can not snack in between meals.

3. Hire a hunky personal trainer to come to your house everyday and give you a great work out.

4. Have a personal shopper do all the shopping then you will not be tempted to buy anything that is not healthy.


with my tips. If these are followed to the t then you will be at your goal weight in no time.

Where does the miracle doctor fit in:

You know the one that makes me look like I did.....

Before having kids

I plan my menus for a month (including snacks) and a shopping list for each week and print them off -that way I go to the store each week armed with a list and each day is set out for me.

It seems a little weird but it really helps me keep on track - I really need the structure.

My grocery lists also get me in and out of the store faster as I know exactly what I am getting and skip aisles that I am not supposed to be in (pop and chip aisle to be precise) and I don't end up buying extras so I end up saving $$$ too.

I keep a list on the fridge of stuff we have run out of that week so that I don't forget to get that item and I have a look through the fridge and cupboards before I go to the store so I don't buy duplicates - nothing like having 27 boxes of SF jello in the cupboard (all one flavour too )

- Brush immediately after every meal. Sounds stupid, but I don't have sweet cravings after meals if I do this. i'm sure my dentist will love me after this diet.

- After shopping, wash -all- of your lettuce and dry in papertowels. don't let it sit in the refrigerator without being washed and stored. Store in large zip lock baggies. That way a salad is never far from making, as well as having freshly washed lettuce leaves for lettuce rolls.

- Once a week or after shopping: cut up things like peppers, celery and cukes and store them in zip lock baggies - easy to grab for munchies, or for cutting up in large pieces for stir fry or other meals.

-store bought hummus is GREAT! just be careful on ingredients (most are really pretty healthful and SBD friendly)- makes a nice accompaniment for those cut up veggies.

- if you can, buy ready sliced l/f cheese and lunch meats (alpine lace lite swiss is fabulous). and i ALWAYS keep lowfat string cheese sticks on hand.

- keep a bag of peanuts or your favorite nuts with you at places like work. i don't worry to much about going over my limit, if the next choice is a candy bar or a bag of chips.

- ready made containers of s/f jello are great.

- 6 oz cans of v8 tomato juice.

-before leaving for work in the morning, get out a piece of meat for dinner to thaw. that way, you'll feel guilty if you don't make it and are less likely to grab a box of mac and cheese. at least, that's my philosophy ;-)

keep SBD dressings, marinades, etc ready made in ball jars.

just tried the Steels BBQ sauce I bought from alacarb.com and it was excellent! highly recommend their stuff....