1. Eat as much fruit and vegetables that I can, because it is extremely hard to overeat these foods. This shall displace calorie dense foods, and they are loaded with nutrition.

2. Eat protein. Protein will satiate me. In the day ~ cottage cheese, yogurt, tofu, and even occasional tuna, are good chioces. Beans with brown rice in moderation, since I tend to overeat starchy carbs most in the afternoon.

3. Eat some plant fat rich foods ~ nuts, peanutbutter, olives, avocados ~ but use self control.

4. Avoid 'habitual' eating of simple carbs (sugary foods, white flour breads & pasta, russet 'white' potatoes, white rice) for life. Natural or not, they are very easy to overeat, and not nutritious choices. These are foods to use once in a while only.

5. Avoid foods that are salty. These are also easy to overeat. In fact, to get many more health benefits besides just weight loss>> avoid all packaged foods.

6. Avoid animal fat foods — cheese, cream, ice cream, butter –I will have to learn to live eating very little, and not use them as binge food.

7. Tea, soup, lots of water, and high fiber low calorie density foods will fill me up, and the extra water will help me avoid dehydsration.

8. Isolate and eliminate other non-hunger causes of eating –boredom, stress, depression, habit while emailing — and replace them with a different habit …. like making a ritual pot of tea, or sucking on a couple of sugarless Ricola LemonMint drops, until the hunger/craving goes away.

9. Practice eating smaller portions, and focus on protein portions. In the long run once my stomach is used to staying small, it will be harder for me to overeat — or binge– in the same way that I could when my stomach was being stretched large at lunch and dinner.

10. At dinner, fix a nice entree for the table (for DH), and ALWAYS an equally as nice vegetable dish, as main focus. 'Pig Out' on the vegetables until I am getting full, then practice control, and allow myself a very small portion of entree. This is the real discipline, and the key, I feel, to my achieving and maintaining a slim weight.

11. Walk *every* day. Even better, multiple times per day. Implement “Life is a Gym” philosophy, and walk longer distances when shopping. For sure an hour of walking per day, split up into an errands outing, doesn’t technically feel like exercise, but it is, and is a good Lifestyle habit.

10. Never forget that I am dieting to lose weight and that most importantly I have a goal. I must focus unceasingly on this goal so I will find an eventual balance , which is the LifeStyle of eating which I can achieve and maintain a slender weight.

13. Don’t try for or expect rapid results. It will probably take a few years to safely, permanently, and healthfuly lose my 50 pounds. (10 gone so far, over a year)

14. Avoid all the hype --for my mental health -- for it derails my focus, and causes money spent, unnecessarily. Avoid quick fix diets and market- motivated solutions like specialized exercises, eating pattern discoveries, metabolic enhancers, herbs with strong effects, vitamin and mineral supplements.

15.. Take it easy. Love the process of metamorphosis, and LIVE NOW.

Sounds like you have plan in place. Congratulations on the ten pounds lost. I need to loose a total of 50 pounds, too. So far, I have lost 36 using some of the same steps you outline, so it works!

Great set of guidelines, Hermit Girl,

I particularly liked:

__________________
XXXXXXX 7 XXXXXXX 14 XXXXXXX 21 XXXXXXX 28 ||||||| 35 ||||||| 42
Completed Beck Program-day 28. 14 to go. Keep going!

This is more helpful to me than you know. Just some good common sense to put into common practice.

Good luck, and love your sensibility. Especially about "Avoid the Hype." It really helps to be reminded how easy it is to get pulled into the hype and get distracted from the original plan.

The golden rules of a healthy lifestyle! You've nailed them. It is a lovely list.

Thanks folks. Now, learning to *live* by these guidelines is easier said than done. But, having focused guidelines is the first step. Right?

I think you hit the nail on the head!

I've fallen off many times and TODAY I determined iI have to see this through! Seeing your posting the first time I've logged on in months is exactly what I needed! Thank you

Hello everybody, I've edited my Master Guideline list, refined most of the points. I added a very important one though ~

>>10. At dinner, cook a nice entree for the table (for DH), and ALWAYS an equally as nice vegetable dish, as main focus. 'Pig Out' on the vegetables until I am getting full, then practice control, and allow myself a very small portion of entree. This is the real discipline, and the key, I feel, to my achieving and maintaining a slim weight.<<

You see, I love, love, love to cook everything from scratch, and my DH is slender and hard working and it feels nice for me to continue cooking fabulous traditional things for dinner. I just have to ALWAYS cook a vegetable dish, or a large salad in addition. I can park the entree on his side of the table, and the vegetable dish on mine, and I can eat mostly vegetables, and he whatever he wants, which isn't usually as much vegies as I eat anyway. It's a deal!

Remember though, that just because he is slender and healthy appearing on the outside that he also needs to be healthy on the inside.

My roommate is a tall thin girl, and she eats mcDonalds everyday.. where she is thin, I am healthier

This is a good side topic. The truth is, DH eats way better than I do. In fact, I pack his lunch : turkey or roastbeef sandwhich on wwheat (with nonfat yogurt sandwich spread I make, sliced tomato, lettuce) carrots, homemade cookies with half the butter and flour and twice the whole rolled oats, wheat thins in replacement for potato chips, juice in replacement for soda, and 2 bottles of water. I end up eating all kinds of starchy carbs in the day.... and sugary sh*t. If you add it up, he eats way better, and I need to follow suit. Perhaps I should pack two lunches side by side, and then I might be more inclined to eat what I already set aside> what do you think folks?

My DH and I basically eat the exact same thing, except I give him some healthy extras because he is thin (and was told by his doc not to lose any more weight).

His lunch today
Salad
Chopped up veggies (carrots, celery, sweet red peppers)
Rice with a bean casserole (kidney beans, shredded carrots, broccoli, onions and spices) and sweet potato samosa filling (mushrooms, cannelini beans, sweet potatoes, onions, peas and spices)
An apple
PB sandwich (natural peanut butter on 100% whole wheat bread)
He also keeps whole grain cereals at work to snack on if he gets hungry

My lunch
a tangerine
an apple
a salad (bigger than DH's and with beans)
Green beans with bean casserole and sweet potato samosa filling
cut up veggies (celery and carrots)

I basically make our lunches side by side and modify mine as need be.

Hermit,

Tell me more about the yogurt spread you make!

Gladly! Poor about a pint or however much yogurt (nonfat or lowfat) in a sieve lined with a coffee filter or paper towel, and prop over a bowl to drain into. Let sit in the fridge overnight. The yogurt drains off, and thickens a lot, and in one night you should have a nice thick consistancy. In several days, you should have cream cheese consistancy (and yes, you can substitute this for cream cheese in cheese cake, I've done that many times!)

To the thick yogurt, add whatever spices you like. I put in to taste : onion powder, bouillion paste, frozen chopped basil, sometimes nutritional yeast. It's great, and lasts a while too. If you can't stand the texture of all yogurt, one could mix it part/part with mayo, if one must.

Thanks! Sounds like a great substitution!