Sweet Temptations

Let’s face it – if we have a weight issue – and who doesn’t these days? – it’s most often due to a lack of willpower. We tend to use food, particularly desserts, as a salve for other things going on in our lives that make us uncomfortable – things we’d rather not deal with - or forget - or gloss over with something we know we love, like food to switch our focus, if only for a moment.

Once you’ve decided to pay more attention to how much you are eating – you may decide that not having certain items in the house is the best way to battle temptation. If it’s not in the pantry or refrigerator, you can’t eat it, right?

A friend mentioned that she has bought several cupcakes with the idea that she will only eat one a day. If she can do that, keeping track of the calories, that’s great. But what is going to keep her from diving into a second one or a third or even all of them if temptation gets the best of her? Many of us wouldn’t stop at one. If we didn’t struggle with willpower, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. After the first cupcake – it would be too easy to start justifying the second one:

‘OK, so if each cupcake is X amount of calories, I’ll subtract the second one from tomorrow’s calorie count. It’s all about our total calories for the entire week, right? 3500 calories is 3500 no matter how you slice it. A pound is a pound, right?’

But you know what will happen. Tomorrow rolls around, you’re hungry for sugar – you not only don’t like the idea of subtracting last night’s cupcake from today’s calorie count, but you also don’t like the fact you won’t get today’s cupcake. And then there is the shrug-your-shoulders-and-eat-it-anyway, excuse. You only live once, right? And it’s only a cupcake for heaven’s sake.

May I offer a suggestion? Don’t buy desserts in multiples. Resist a full-sized cake or pie or a dozen donuts or anything that’s going to give you more than one serving of dessert, unless you have someone at home to share it with. You’re only making your battle with food, harder. Yes, if you can eat only one cupcake like my friend believes she will, you’ll feel proud of yourself in the morning, knowing you struggled and won the day. But how will you feel if you ‘slip’ and have two or all? You’ll probably feel physically bloated and a little ill from the sugar rush – but more importantly, you’ll risk feeling a failure – disgusted with yourself for not finding that elusive willpower. Not a good way to strengthen your resolve and be proud of what you’ve accomplished. We don’t get very far by taking two steps backward. Do yourself a favor. Buy one cupcake. Eat one cupcake. Be proud of yourself. Move on.

Stress Really Bites!

Stress eating. I think it hits all of us who struggle with the pounds. It’s about comfort. Stress makes us feel upset, unsure, and unstable - stretched and pulled all different directions. A child can hug a teddy bear, but where do adults go for that feeling of security and balance again - to recapture our peace and calm? Well, for many of us, it’s our refrigerator or pantry. What’s more comforting than sitting down to a bag of cookies or a big piece of pound cake? (Aptly named, by the way.) Or perhaps instead of a sit-down nosh, your stress eating manifests itself in grazing all day long. Sort of like a smoker who is comforted by the feel of their lips curled around a cigarette – some stress eaters are comforted by mindless hand-to-mouth nibbling.


Of course the obvious problem with this kind of self-comforting effort is the additional stress we inflict on ourselves when we see the results we’ve “gained.” More weight on a body that doesn’t need it and a mind that doesn’t want it, equals what? More stress. Yikes! The very thing we’re trying to salve only gets worse.


Here are 8 tips, (thank you MedicineNet.com) to help us get over or at least get through stressful moments and hopefully keep us from wrapping ourselves in a blanket of calories to feel better.


1. Anger Management – practice letting go, making a conscious effort/choice not to become angry or upset – too much energy and thought is wasted on this often unproductive emotional state.

2. Breathe – slowly and deeply. Take three deep breaths and release them slowly before reacting to the next stressful situation.

3. Speak slowly – slowing down our speech enables us to think more clearly and react more reasonably to stressful situations.


4. Time management – select one simple thing you’ve been putting off and do it now. Return that phone call, make that doctor’s appointment. Having an undone task or responsibility hanging in the backs of our minds adds to our daily stress level.

5. Get out – fresh air really does help! Don’t be deterred by bad weather or a too full schedule. Take a few minutes – even 5 – standing on a balcony or on your front porch – it can rejuvenate you.

6. Drink water – dehydration can add to our feelings of anxiety and stress without our realizing it.

7. Straighten up! - Check your posture. Stooping or slumping can lead to muscle tension, pain, and what? Increased stress.

8. Reward yourself – plan an end of the day reward like a nice hot bath or a half hour with a good book – putting aside work, housekeeping, or family concerns for a few minutes before bed so you can fully relax and get the rest you need. Don’t spend time planning tomorrow’s schedule or trying to catch up completing chores you didn’t get around to all day. You need time to recharge and energize so you’ll be better prepared to face the next stressful day!

Eating Out Calories

It’s so easy to underestimate the amount of calories that go into commercial foods. While perusing the menu at a popular food chain or walking down the line of steaming entrees and veg at a tried and true cafeteria, I think of how I might perhaps fix similar items at home. I think about the ingredients I might use to make that same dish, thinking that, well it can’t be that bad, what would be on it/in it that would make it so high calorie?

I decided to check out my latest edition of The Calorie King Calorie Fat & Carbohydrate Counter book. If you haven’t got one, run to your nearest bookstore or on-line seller and buy it. You’ll be glad you did. It’s invaluable. Anyway, in the back of the little pocket-sized book is what I consider a pretty reliable nutrition list of menu items from popular restaurants and fast food chains. Some of it will scare you! I’m not saying don’t eat these things or go to these places. What I am saying is to be sure you know what you’re getting. More information allows you to make an informed decision.

Listed below are a few items I found in the book with their calories written alongside. If you're limiting your calories to around say 1500 or even 1700 a day, many of these dishes would be totally out of the question. Check it out.

Appleby’s – Fiesta Lime Chicken – (entrée with sides and sauces) – 1285 calories! (at least Appleby’s does have a listing of Weight Watchers items on their menu which are not too bad.)

Burger King – Original Whopper sandwich – 680; Whopper Jr., (no cheese) – 370

Cheesecake Factory – per slice - Brownie Sundae – 970; Original Cheesecake – 630

Chili’s – Classic Nachos – with fajita chicken – 1630; with fajita beef – 1740

Dunkin’ Donuts – Powdered Cake donut – 310; Bagel – plain multigrain - 410

IHOP – Buttermilk pancakes – short stack (3) [without butter and syrup] - 330

Macaroni Grill – Primo Chicken Parmesan (dinner size) – 2220!

P.F. Chang’s – Lo Mein Beef (per whole dish) – 1375

Ruby Tuesday – Lemon Grilled Salmon (entrée without sides) – 505

Zaxby’s – Chicken Finger Plate – (regular entrée without sauce) – 1055

Battling the Binging

Are you a night eater? I’ll admit that I am. It’s the hardest time of the day for me to resist temptation. I can go almost all day – proud of myself for eating rather light. Not much for breakfast other than coffee and a nutrition bar –oh no, just a lite lunch, thank you. Then it kicks in. I want something more ‘substantial’ as a mid-afternoon snack, because hey, I've hardly had a thing all day. Then dinner comes and I’d like a dessert, of course. I add up my all my calories for the day so far and discover that, hmm, gee I have a lot more calories to use up in order to meet my goal for the day. Must not under-eat. If I’m not careful, though, I’ll end up over-eating because my craving nature kicks in and before I know it, the extra 300 calories I had to spend on dessert will end up ‘encouraging' me to eat 600 and I've blown it for the day.

And perhaps we share this issue, too - the more I eat, the more my body wants to eat. If I over-eat, say give in to that afternoon or night craving, I find the next day my body wants more - even to the point of hunger pains poking at me around the same time I overindulged the day before. It’s as if my body is saying, ‘Hey, you fed us yesterday at this time, let’s do that again!’ It would be really easy to give in to those urges just to shut them up. That’s where our tough resolve has to kick in. It’s hard. I know. But if you can battle it back –ignore those desires/pains/cravings for one day, it will get easier the next. And the day after that is even a little bit better because you now have a history of winning the fight. If you can hang in there until you begin to see results on the scale or in the way you can now breathe easier when you don a certain pair of jeans or skirt, that will give you more incentive to continue the fight. You can do it!

Surviving Those Servings

Did you know the sugars our bodies don’t use, turn to fat? Yes, our bodies get energy from sugars so when we’re feeling a bit sleepy and leaden at work, a small sweet pick-me-up can do the trick – but if you’re thinking sugar only gives us energy, think again. The body will take what it needs from the sugar you’ve eaten, and then what’s left over turns into fat. That means more calories, more difficult calories to get rid of. So think about taking a ‘bite’ over a ‘bar.’ A piece of cake is too big, a piece of hard candy is better.

And speaking of portions, we all know that serving sizes in American restaurants have pretty well crossed the line into the realm of the ridiculous these days. So decide before you walk through the cafe door, how much of something you’re going to eat. I don’t mean obsess about it, but have a plan. When you get your order, ask the server for a to-go box right then. Then basically cut the order in half: half the entrée, half the veg, etc. You’ll have plenty to eat and you’ll have a second meal to carry home for later!

I know this can be a bit awkward and perhaps too intimidating to do if you’re on a date. So think instead about ordering from the appetizer menu. Ask the waitperson to bring it when he/she brings your date’s entrée. That way you won't be sitting there with your dish getting cold well before your date gets his. It’s just another way to keep the portions down.

Celebrating Tradition

Ah, the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s a wonderful time to celebrate family, friends, and all the things we are thankful for, including our nation’s bounty. At a time when we’re tightening our belts a little more because of economic woes, ours is still one of the richest nations in the world and our waistlines show it!

Perhaps this is a good time to lessen what we spend and what we eat. Nothing makes us trim our portions so much as realizing we need to get more servings out of a dish. But if you can’t get your head around that idea, then this is a good time, a couple of weeks ahead of the day, to think about lightening some of the traditional recipes to lower your calorie intake.

When slicing the turkey, remember white meat is lower in calories than dark. If you’re family counts on the tried and true green bean casserole, try replacing the mushroom soup called for with the 98% fat free version. If your mashed potatoes recipe calls for sour cream, try the lite version instead of full fat. I’m a big believer in using real butter over margarine because I think in the long run, it’s better for us, but there are a number of very good tasting lite versions, including Land O Lakes own. If you’re baking, make sure the lite butter is OK for that. There are some dishes and creations like pie crust, that you would not want to use a substitute. And when it comes to rolls, Pillsbury’s low fat crescent dinner rolls are excellent. Try using a little less sugar in things like the sweet potato casserole or say Aunt Martha’s ambrosia salad. You’ll be surprised at the negligible difference in sweetness.

Of course, you could go with full fat, full sugar, full calories on everything and simply eat less of it. But at a time when we’re celebrating (and sampling) all that America has to offer, that can be pretty tough to do. Take it from me, lightening up dishes where you can, will be healthier, and I bet your family won’t know the difference!

Hard Candy is Hard to Beat!

Sometimes just a little something sweet is all we need to get through an afternoon. Thanks to manufacturers having an economic epiphany several years ago after seeing Halloween candy sales increase with the introduction of miniature confections, there are a number of chewy chocolate candy options available year round these days. There is nothing wrong with having one or two as a little snack, but because chocolate candy can be gobbled so fast, it’s easy to overdo it. Before you know it, you’ve buzzed through half a bag of those delectable little bite-sized squares. That's why hard candy can be such a life saver, no pun intended.

I keep a bowl of Tootsie Pop suckers around, either the blow pops or the roll pops. The idea being that it takes longer to get through one of these, provided you don’t crunch it, a temptation the company’s one-time ad campaign so appropriately pointed out. Time is your friend when it comes to snacking. The longer it takes to get through a snack, the more satisfied you'll feel with less of it. Keeping a sucker in your mouth has a tendency to answer that craving for something sweet; it satisfies your hand-to-mouth habit of putting something in there, and calorie-wise, it’s not bad at all, only about 50-60 calories respectively. You just might want to brush your teeth more often though, as ‘holding’ a sugary piece of candy against the teeth for long periods can create cavities if you’re not careful.

Holiday Portions

Portion control, that’s what so much of calorie counting is all about. During the next three months, the challenge for many of us will be to keep our portions under control, especially when it comes to those luscious cakes and pies that we or others will be baking and bringing to parties and family gatherings. That’s why I like cupcakes and cookies. When it comes to cutting slices of cake or pie, or even scooping out servings of cobblers and crisps, our eyes are sometimes bigger than our stomachs, as my parents used to say. Of course, it’s not that we can’t eat that much, it’s that we shouldn’t. While a typical layer cake is intended to be sliced into about 12 servings, sometimes we end up cutting larger slices and getting only about 8 or 10 out of it.

If you’ve decided to bake a cake for an upcoming Halloween party, why not make cupcakes instead? The same amount of batter for a 2 layer cake will make 24 cupcakes. Since cupcakes aren’t filled and iced like a layer cake, you save calories on frosting as well. They’re also a lot of fun to decorate, are easier for children to handle, and they can be frozen for later if you have any left and don’t want all of them sitting around. The Betty Crocker website, http://www.bettycrocker.com/ has Halloween ideas for cupcakes along with the nutrition information for their recipes.


Cookies are also great for keeping portions under control as long as you don’t eat more than a recommended serving amount, usually 1 or 2, and make them all about the same size. This is also wise for getting evenly baked cookies. So if you have a recipe that says you’re supposed to get 24 cookies out of it, try to make sure you do. As you portion out the dough to get that recommended amount, you may also see a much smaller cookie than you had expected. That’s OK. You’ll at least know what to expect from that recipe next time and you’ll know exactly how many calories you’re getting every time you take a bite! Hey, holidays are meant to be enjoyed and food is part of that. But you don't want to associate them with over-indulgence and end up dreading them each year.

The 400+ Calorie Cookie

My computer homepage is a conglomeration of news, health, recipes and humor. Every day the cooking and baking portion of the site, gives several recipe suggestions. Today’s was a link to a wonderful site I already have bookmarked called allrecipes.com. One reason I appreciate this site so much is because it’s not only recipes that have been submitted by home cooks like myself, but most of the time these recipes include the nutrition information for each recipe.

One of today’s featured recipes is for chocolate chip cookies. They are probably one of my favorite cookies, especially if they’re chewy, which this recipe assures they are. They sounded wonderful! But when I read down to the nutrition information I was startled. The recipe yields one dozen cookies and under 'calories' it said: “411.” Now, I couldn’t imagine that each cookie was 411 calories! But then neither could I imagine that 411 was the total for the whole dozen, either. So I got out my calculator and went to figuring for myself. Well, I was right. The 411 wasn’t correct. No, the actual number was 411.6! And since anything over .5 should be rounded UP we could say each chocolate chip cookie is 412 calories! Oh-my-gosh, for one cookie??

I would expect that of those face-sized cookies you find at bookstore coffee shops, but these? Not having actually mixed them up and divided the dough into the recommended dozen portions, I can only hope that these are huge cookies, too. But if I make them, I’ll have to portion them out to 24 cookies to make them reasonable. But even then, each one will be worth about 206 calories. And who can eat just one chocolate chip cookie when they come hot out of the oven? I have to ask myself, is it really worth it? I’m not so sure. As much as I love homemade cookies, and I DO love to bake, store bought cookies are more controlled calorie-wise, and to be honest, they’re not so good that I can’t close up the package and walk away after giving myself the suggested serving amount.

If you like to bake, do go to the trouble of figuring the calories. This recipe albeit delicious sounding, is made up of the same things any others could be: butter, eggs, flour, sugar, but the proportions of ingredients make all the difference. Don’t assume what you’re eating contains a reasonable or 'average' amount of calories. Figure it up for yourself so you know for sure. You’ll be glad you did.

Holiday Food Challenges

Ah yes, the Labor Day holiday weekend. A time to spend with friends and family having fun and food, the really good homemade kind, the kind you can't count when it comes to calories because you have no earthly idea what, or how much of what, Aunt Sue put in her potato salad or Cousin Larry put in his barbecue sauce. And then there is always the 'secret batter' that Grandma Flo uses on her renowned fried chicken that everybody raves about but nobody knows the recipe for because she's never told it! Believe me, I know and understand the dilemma.

At the same time, it's not going to do you or anybody else any good if you sit there having celery sticks and watching wistfully as the rest of the family chows down on all that homemade goodness. So what should the strategy be? Depending on the spread, that is what everybody brought, there are some things you can do, some choices you might be able to make that could help lighten up things just a bit. If the choice of sides falls along the traditional picnic fare of potato salad, cole slaw, and baked beans, know that typically all three run about the same amount calorie-wise, anywhere from 150 to 180 for a 1/2 cup serving. All three can also be very sweet, so if you're watching your sugars, be aware of that. If there is fried chicken, you can lighten the calories considerably by pulling off the skin and just eating the meat. I know, that's where that great crispy crust is, but that's also what carries the most in calories. And remember dark meat chicken has more calories than white. Try to select leaner meats and at least smaller portions of items if everything looks fairly rich. Try not to go crazy with the 'extras' that is: rolls, butter, thick sauces or gravies. And if you can't pass the dessert table without drooling, try to have a very small piece of something really good. The idea is to enjoy without going overboard.

This really is the beginning of the Fall party season challenge. Before you know it, we'll be preparing for Halloween, which has become a party event as much for adults these days, as children. And Halloween is, of course, followed closely by Thanksgiving and then Christmas, not to mention New Year's Eve parties a week later. All those gatherings mean all that food. But what really matters is being with those you love, and not because they brought great brownies! So have a wonderful holiday weekend, continue writing down your daily food intake along with the calories you can count, and know that although this weekend might be a real challenge for you, ultimately you have the power to make better choices. Try to start now. Be diligent. It's up to you.

Figuring Recipe Calories

It's very nice when you have a recipe that also gives the calories and nutrition information for the item. But if you substitute anything in the recipe, say 2% milk for whole fat, or an egg white substitute for a whole egg, then it behooves you to figure the recipe on your own, because the total calorie count will change.

A friend asked me how I arrived at the 400 calories per slice of the cake mentioned in my previous blog entry, "Calorie Creep." It takes some effort but once you get used to it, it's really not hard at all. And I like being as certain as I can, how much something is going to 'cost' me in my daily calorie count.

One time, just before popping a new recipe for jam bars into the oven, I realized I had left something out. The recipe called for white and brown sugar. I accidentally left out a 1/2 C of the white sugar! Having made the effort thus far, I baked them anyway and to my surprise, they tasted great. It didn't need that much sugar after all. (I have found that many recipes don't need as much as they often call for.) Because I had already figured the recipe's calories before even considering making it, I was able to easily subtract the white sugar from the total calories.

You can do this, too. Here's how. The Bundt cake my friend brought to last weekend's gathering contains just 5 ingredients: Betty Crocker cake mix, canned frosting, eggs, oil, and chopped pecans. I took the information on the cake mix nutrition label where it tells not only how many calories each serving contains, but also how many servings you should get out of the whole box. Cake mixes also include the calorie count for just the dry mix, before you add the eggs and oil. In this case, the dry mix of Betty Crocker Butter Pecan cake mix was 170 calories per serving at 12 servings. Multiply the 170 by 12 and you get the calories for the entire box of dry cake mix: 2040. I did the same thing with the canned frosting. It was 150 calories per serving at 12 servings. it came to 1800 calories. A large egg, which most recipes call for instead of medium or small, is 70 calories. This recipe calls for 4. Four times 70 is 280. The recipe calls for 3/4 C of oil. There are 12 tablespoons in 3/4 of a cup. One tablespoon of oil equals 120 calories. Yes, it's a lot. That comes to 1440 calories. And finally, a 1/4 C of pecans is about 210 calories. (I got this figure off the nutrition label of a bag of pecans.) The recipe calls for a whole cup for a total of 840 calories.

Now, add all these numbers up and you get a grand total of 6400 calories for the entire cake. Divide that amount by the number of servings you slice the cake in: 10, 12, or 16. (Remember, a serving is one slice.) You'll have the number of calories per slice. At just 10 servings, each one is 640 calories. At it's smallest 16 servings, it's 400.

The good thing about figuring recipes on your own, is that you can then control those numbers a bit by changing some things. For this particular Bundt cake, there is nothing you can do about the cake mix and canned frosting, those are 'fixed' items that need to be there. But you could substitute the oil with unsweetened applesauce, a common substitute for helping make baked items 'lite' these days. The ratio is 1 to 1, that is, if the recipe calls for 3/4 C of oil, use 3/4 C of applesauce. Use unsweetened so you don't add more sugar to the recipe. The oil isn't sweet, neither should be the applesauce. And you save 1359 calories by using applesauce! So at 16 servings, each cake slice is 315 calories instead of 400. Many cooks also use egg white substitute to lighten recipes that call for eggs. I have to admit, I don't think I would bother with that in this recipe, since it wouldn't end up trimming much in the long run, and you might end up sacrificing flavor. I prefer having smaller portions of great tasting food, instead of huge portions of things that taste like cardboard.

By arming ourselves with good information and equipment: calorie counting books that contain the numbers on numerous foods, checking the nutrition labels, having the kitchen scale handy and a proper set of measuring cups and spoons, we take responsibility and most importantly power over what we eat. And isn't that better than blaming manufacturers for what we can actually control?

Afternoon Snack Idea

I think it's important not to get in a rut when it comes to snacks and foods in general, although I admittedly eat quite a few nutrition bars. They're healthy, I like them, and until I can't stand them anymore, I'll continue to fill in meals with them because they're easy. But I digress. As I've said before, calorie counting should not be about deprivation but instead it's about control: getting control of our eating, control of our portions. The challenge is to be creative with foods that taste really good but don't "rob" your calorie bank for the day.

If you're looking for something hot for an afternoon nosh instead of cold cheese and crackers or a cup of yogurt, you might consider an English muffin pizza. It's not high in calories, not the way I do it. And I find it very satisfying in flavor.

I had some leftover pasta sauce from the previous night's dinner and we always keep English muffins and cheese on hand so it was quite easy to throw together in a matter of minutes. I'm going to give you the name brands of the products I used because it makes a difference in calories, but you can use any you like, just check out the nutrition label for your numbers. Here's what I did:

I first toasted a Thomas Original English muffin. They're 120 calories. (Thomas also now offers lite English muffins at 100 calories each, but I've not tried them.) The leftover pasta sauce I had was Classico's Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce at 50 calories for a 1/2 cup serving. I didn't need but 2 tablespoons, one for each side of the muffin, so that brought the calorie count down to 12.5 which I rounded up to 13. (Always round up, just in case!) The third element was the cheese. I like those little Babybel originals. They are 70 calories each.

Once the muffin was toasted, I spread 1 tablespoon of the pasta sauce onto each side, then topped it with the cheese which I grated. It's a semi-soft cheese, but if you work quickly, you can grate it fairly easily. I popped the whole thing into the microwave for 30 seconds and it was perfect. I could have also put the 'pizza' in a 350 oven for 5-10 minutes, but I didn't feel like waiting. Toasting the muffin first, gave it the sufficient crispness I wanted. In the end, my calorie total was 203. Very doable and much more tasty than some of the cardboard-consistency frozen pizza for one creations I've come across. Plus, this way, I got to control what was on my pizza. If you wanted to add sliced olives or a couple of little rounds of pepperoni sausage, you could do that, just be careful because those food items add up quickly. But that's it! Quick, tasty, and lite.

Be creative, don't get in a rut, venture out with tasty ideas that are satisfying but not high in calories. Yes, it takes a little thought and effort, but you can do it. Don't let someone else determine whether you can get into those smaller sized jeans you've been eying! It's up to you.

Cooking The Books

So I'm standing there waiting with my cans of cat food and diet Coke at the grocery store check-out when I begin to look over the magazines, particularly the cooking and diet magazines. On the cover of the latest issue of Cooking Light is a gorgeous picture of a slice of cherry pie. Now, my favorite dessert is pie of just about any kind, but among the myriad of choices, my absolute favorite is cherry rivaled only by peach followed by chocolate, lemon,... well, you get the idea.

The thing about cherry pie, or any pie, is that it's usually very high in calories. For the average slice, (that's 1/8th of a 9" pie), you're looking at between 350 and 450 calories. I was curious. How did a slice of cherry pie wind up on the cover of a diet magazine? Imagine my surprise when I looked up the recipe and saw a calorie count of 282 calories per slice. Wow. That's really good. But because I know a little about baking, I had to wonder how they had lightened the calories. The picture certainly didn't look any different from the average full-calorie cherry pie slice. The crust didn't look different, the cherries didn't look like little blocks of tofu or some such, what could they have put in or taken out to get those results? The list of ingredients appeared to be what I typically see in any cherry pie recipe. I was perplexed.

That's when I took another look at the end of the recipe, the part where it says number of servings. That's when my jaw dropped. The folks at Cooking Light hadn't done anything that I could tell to lessen the calories in their cherry pie, they simply sliced it smaller! Instead of getting the typical 8 slices, they think you should get 12! A dozen slices from a 9" pie! Come on! Who are they kidding? I assure you that even the photographer who took the picture for the magazine cover didn't try to do that.

My immediate thought, (after thinking the magazine editors must assume we're all gullible idiots), was why did they bother to stop at twelve? Why not go for 16? Sixteen slices would give you just 211.5 calories using their totals. They could have really impressed some folks if they'd put that figure in a headline. And what was even more disappointing, when I figured their pie recipe at 8 slices, it came to 423 calories a slice! That's actually on the high side for the average cherry pie serving.

You know, it's wonderful that there are a few diet cooking magazines that make the effort to lighten some of our favorite recipes. It can take quite a bit of effort to 'cut down' a recipe, and it's nice when someone can help you figure out a way to do it and still come away with something that tastes good. But I think it's frankly bordering on immoral when a publication sets itself up as a leader in the health and diet industry only to end up cheating the very public it claims to be helping. I can take any recipe and make it appear lower in calories if I cut it into ridiculously tiny servings! I suppose they would argue, 'Hey, at least we were honest, we didn't lie about it.' No, they didn't lie but such a tactic is misleading and therefore dishonest. Do I sound angry? I am. The diet industry in this country is enormous. There is a great deal of money to be made in all kinds of weight loss and health claims. I am appalled and disgusted at any company that takes advantage of the vulnerability of people in search of help and hope.

Don't be tricked. Magazines that do this don't deserve the public trust and respect because they aren't respecting us. They certainly don't deserve our money. I must say this is not the first time I've seen one of Cooking Light's recipes creatively handled this way.

Trust me, there are other magazines like Weight Watchers and Prevention, not to mention numerous websites like http://www.allrecipes.com/ and http://www.bettycrocker.com/ that contain the nutritional information for recipes.

And they don't slice food into portions that would fit on a plate in Barbie's dream kitchen just to get a nice sounding calorie number.

Hitting That Plateau

I think we all do it. At some point in a diet, you hit a certain weight and stay there, and stay there, and stay there. It's infuriating when it happens. You get so annoyed with seeing that same number pop up on the scale day after day. You wonder what you're doing wrong. You wonder how you've miscalculated. You wonder if your scale is wrong, or if the cat is readjusting the settings every night! Happily, none of this is true. You aren't doing anything wrong, (that is, if you're sticking to your calories.) I don't know why it happens, I only know that it does and it happened to me, too.

The first month I started calorie counting, the weight really came off. I lost 8-pounds the first 30-days. I was ecstatic! And, by the way, don't let anyone discourage you by saying, "it's only water weight." Yeah, and your point is? I don't care if it's only water weight, it's still weight! Does anyone assume it's water weight when you're putting on the pounds?? If that's the case, someone could simply say, "Well, I weigh 200 pounds but 15 pounds of that is water weight, you know, so I'm really only 185 pounds." Weight is weight and what matters is whether you can button that skirt or favorite pair of jeans. Having said that, my first 8 pounds probably was a good deal of water, and that's why the second month my body completely put on the breaks. I went for the next 3-weeks without losing an ounce. Some mornings, in fact, I even registered a half to a full pound gained! What in the world was going on, I wondered?

I was admittedly, very discouraged. I came close to chucking it all in and believing that apparently I was just never going to lose the weight I wanted. But it didn't make any sense to me. I knew that if I ate fewer calories, it had to be making a difference. So in spite of what I was seeing each morning, I stayed with it. Determined to see it through. It got to be a challenge, a tug of war between me and the bathroom scale. Every morning I would hop on it only to be confronted with that same number glaring up at me. I knew there was no way I should be so stuck but there it was. So I would hop off the scale and say, "Fine. You want to play that game? Let's see who can outlast who!" (Or is it whom?) Anyway... I made a decision that if I never lost another pound, I was going to stick with the calories I had determined were the right number for me. Remember I had been to the calorie counter website and knew what was supposed to be the amount that would have me losing weight. Other websites and books on calorie counting had given me similar numbers. I knew unless something really strange was going on in my body, that eventually something had to give.

Then one morning, like a drain clog that finally breaks free, I was down one whole pound. Eureka! The dam had finally broken. The next week I lost another full pound. I had won the stalemate!

After that, the weight continued dropping off a pound or two a week. I didn't really plateau again but I know that I could have if my body had decided it wanted to. My message here is don't be discouraged if you get stuck on one particular number on the scale for awhile. I was upset because I wasn't aware it could happen. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to be upset if it happens to you because it appears to be a normal way of things. The important thing is to stick with it. Don't let it control you. Want a new you badly enough to fight for it. We fight for other things we really want. Don't give up on yourself. Respect yourself enough to know that you are worth doing what's right and healthy. The benefits are endless.

Snacking Healthy

Do have an afternoon snack. It's important for a couple of reasons. If you don't snack, you're going to feel either deprived and possibly overeat when dinnertime rolls around, or you'll feel entitled to eat more at mealtime since you've not had much of anything "all day," and thus, again, overeat. Remember, calorie counting is not about depriving yourself of anything, other than too many calories. Also, "between meal" snacking, allows your metabolism to keep firing up, burning more calories in the long run.

I would say that if it's possible, you'll be better off making it a healthy snack. There are all kinds of combinations you can come up with for around 200 calories. One of my favorites is a serving of cottage cheese and a serving of Wheat Thins. The total comes in at around 210 and the crackers give me that mouth-feel-crunch that can be so satisfying. An apple and one of those small individually wrapped round cheeses like Babybel come in around 150. A handful, that's 1 ounce, of nuts is anywhere from 170 to 210 calories depending on what kind you're eating. Cashews and pecans can be a little on the high side. A toasted English muffin at 120, coupled with a 1 tablespoon smear of peanut butter, (which melts beautifully on a warm muffin!), is a very tasty 215 calories.

Snack time need not be unhealthy filled with Cheetos and candy bars. I've found that the more unhealthy the snack, the less of it I can have which always leaves me, in the end, most unsatisfied and wanting "something else" to fill that hunger void. Nobody likes feeling hungry and if you'll eat better, you'll find that those pangs and twinges will be more easily satisfied and you'll be doing yourself a favor all the way around.

Making It Through The Holidays

Happy 4th of July weekend! Yes, holiday weekends are difficult. Either you're headed to a party where there will be lots of food, or you're asked to bake a pie or cake to help celebrate, or perhaps you would just like to have a little something special on your own and that means indulging a bit more than usual. All of that is fine. And yes, when you're eating someone else's food, you have no idea what the calorie counts are. So the next best thing is to keep portions under control.

To do that, try to have some healthy food before going to a party. Fill up on fruits or healthy snacks and drink a tall glass of water before going. That will help you not feel famished when you walk in the door and head straight for the buffet.

Also, nothing is more boring to other people than hearing someone talk about dieting all the time. Especially if you're standing around the sweets table at a gathering! Don't do it. Select just a few tasty looking treats, offset them with some carrot sticks and find someone to chat up so you're not left bored and staring at cookies and cake on the table.

Once home, try to remember what you had and write it down on your daily food list. No, you don't know the calorie count. But you don't want to get out of the habit of keeping your food list. It's always good to see in black and white what you are eating even when it's party food.

Good luck and have a wonderful celebration of our nation's independence!

Develop Good Personal Habits

It's important not to eat later than 7pm or less than 3 hours before bedtime. You will sleep better and feel better overall for it. If you tend to binge at night, this is especially important to help keep that under control. There are folks who eat sensibly all day long, but when darkness falls they start hunting for snacks and nibbles, utterly destroying all the good they've done for themselves all day! Pick a cut-off time for yourself and stick to it. But again, be sure it's no less than 3 hours before you go to bed. Eating late at night and then sleeping on all that is a sure way to gain weight.

Do eat three meals a day plus a mid-afternoon snack. Don't skip any meals. Skipping meals only makes you hungrier when you finally do get to eat, risking the chance of over doing it.

Find a good meal substitute nutrition bar that you like and keep a box or two on hand. Some can be loaded with sugar so read the nutrition label and see what works best for you. If you're prone to diabetes, you'll want to ask a nutritionist or your doctor about supplementing with these food items. I like them because they're a quick meal if I'm crashing with hunger and don't feel like preparing anything, or when I know I'm going to be in the car during lunch and I'll need to eat on the run. I keep one in my purse if I know I'll be out. It's a much better choice and literally hundreds of calories less than pulling in the drive-thru for a burger and fries. The burger and fries are more satisfying, you say? Not when you realize such a meal can blow your entire calorie count for the day! Think of that skirt you still can't button, or those cute jeans you've been missing from your wardrobe choice. Personally, I've been satisfied with Zone and Slimfast bars. But all our tastes are different so try several to see which ones you like and will hold your hunger at bay the longest.

Some critics don't like calorie counting because they say it doesn't regulate nutrition. There is nothing to make sure you are balancing your meals. That's true, but I think if you realize that you can eat a larger amount of healthier foods, i.e. grilled chicken, fruits, and vegetables because they're lower in calories, you might find that you'll regulate yourself. Sure you can eat 3-4 candy bars in one day and be done with it. But try that every day for a week and see how you feel. The important thing is balance.

Take vitamins if you think you're not getting enough nutrition on a restricted diet. And go for healthier snacks. There are a number of wonderful options now. For example: hummus and pita chips, low fat cheeses, a handful of dried fruits and nuts in moderation, low fat yogurt... these are all good. I find that toasting an English muffin and spreading 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter on each side is very satisfying. The warmth of the muffin melts the peanut butter, making it go further. A little bit really does go a long way!

The important thing is find what works best for you while keeping in mind your total calorie allotment for the day. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it. After awhile it won't feel like measuring, weighing, and counting, you'll just have a feel for it and do it automatically.

Determine Your Daily Calories

Fourth Entry: Finding out how many calories you need to consume in a day to either maintain or lose weight, is easier than ever. There are numerous websites and books on the subject. Find a good one. The Calorie Control Council at caloriecontrol.org is an excellent website that contains a number of wonderful calculators to help you figure this out. The website includes how to burn calories by activity levels, calculating calories for meal planning, and of course guidelines for maintaining your weight.

First, their Healthy Weight Calculator helped me determine my proper weight, that is the weight I SHOULD weigh, based on my height and gender. For me at my height of 5'4, that is 120 pounds. The Maintenance Calculator helped me figure out how many daily calories I would need to achieve my goal. I put in my vital information that included my sex, height, age, and regular level of activity. Then where it asked: "weight to maintain," I instead put in my goal of 120 that I wanted to reach. The result was the number of calories I would need to maintain that weight, around 1500 a day. Since I was then 140-pounds, I knew that amount had to be less than I was already consuming. It would undoubtedly allow me to lose.

These calculations are, of course, only guidelines. Every one of us has a different body type with its own unique metabolism. All I can say is that for me, it worked. It still does. :)

What Shape Is Your Diet In Now?

Third Entry: The shape you are in now is how your body is shaped by the kind and the amount of food you are eating. Before you do anything, before you start any diet of any kind, take one full day and write down everything you eat. And I mean everything. Don't forget to include drinks if you're doing anything besides water. Milk, regular sugary soft drinks, and alcoholic drinks, all have calories. Don't bother with calculating how many calories everything has yet, though. Just get down your list of foods for one full day.

What goes on a "food list?" If you have a boiled egg for breakfast, write it down. If you have a burger and fries and chocolate malt for lunch, write that down. And nothing is too small to add to the list. A stick of gum has 5 calories, coffee with cream, and I don't mean cream with a little coffee splashed in, is about 20 calories. Now take a good hard look at it. Can you do better? Are there better choices you could be making? Are you in a food rut, eating the same thing day in, day out? Is the list out of balance as in: too many sweets, too many carbs, or too many high fat foods?

Some experts say keeping a food diary of what you eat is, on its own, enough to encourage weight loss. It makes you visualize what you're putting into your mouth, (and therefore your body) and helps keep it in check. This many years after my weight loss, I'm still keeping a daily food diary for the purpose of maintenance. It really does let me see what shape my diet is in!

My Facts & Figure

SECOND ENTRY: Once I became determined and set my mind to it, I lost 20-pounds in less than 6 months, in fact to be honest it was closer to 5 months. I was stunned at how fast it came off. Those few months included December when I was constantly baking goodies for family and friends, because baking is something I LOVE to do. Twenty pounds gone! That was my goal! I couldn't believe how quickly I had achieved it once I'd resolved to do it. If 5 months sounds an eternity to you, think of how quickly dates on the calendar you'd rather NOT see come up, DO. it's the blink of an eye. Plus, you didn't put the weight on overnight, did you?

Once 20 pounds was off, I slowed down the pace of the diet since I'd reached my goal. But knowing weight maintenance can be a challenge, I decided to see if I could lose another 5 pounds to have some room to play. Over the next 5 months, I lost 5 more pounds; a slow but steady decline. I could have done it faster, but by accomplishing things slowly, I was letting my body get used to its new setting. With a quick weight loss, your body and your head learn nothing. Changing your eating habits is the best way to make a weight loss, stick. If you lose the weight too quickly, I guarantee it will come back on in a matter of months, probably more than you lost.

By the end of it all, it took me less than a year to go from weighing 140 pounds to 115. I went from a snug size 10-12 to a size 2-4. And I did it all through counting calories! That was in 2002. Today, I am able to stay under 120 pounds most of the time. I'm 5'4 and I'll turn 50 this year.
If you think the time frame of 25 pounds in 10-months isn't fast enough because you saw Valerie Bertenelli do it in less time through Jennie Craig, or some other celebrity do it in half the time with another quick weight loss program, think of this: those weight loss plans cost money. Mine does not. And here's another thing: if you were to put ON 25 pounds in less than a year, you would be shocked!