There is a lot to be said about diet. But simply, the best way to maintain a good weight and general health is to eat what they ate a few centuries ago. Locally grown nuts, fruit and veggies (some raw is needed as the enzymes are still alive and well), grass fed beef, fish from crystal clear waters, whole grains, honey, nothing artificial. Any supplements should have food sources.

If I eat that way consistently, amounts are not so important. The body can process that kind of food well.

I'm sure you all know that, but the spot was open to start a dialogue, so I did. Have at it.

My eating plan includes lots of veggies, either raw or steamed. Fresh fruit, nuts, and very limited processed foods such as breads. I've limited meats to a portion no larger than the palm of my hand. The first few weeks it was hard and I wanted more but once your body gets used to not having all the sugars and starches you stop craving them. When I want something sweet I have a cup of grapes or an apple.

I used to eat a lot out of boredom while watching TV. It's easy to munch down a whole bag of chips while mindlessly watching something. I try to be more conscious now of whether I'm hungry or just bored. Sometimes just a big glass of water will work or putting in a load of laundry, tidy the kitchen, etc to take the focus off eating calories I don't need. Brushing your teeth is a good way to get past a craving, no idea why but it works.

Keeping well hydrated is important. I have to admit that I am not a fan of water. I drink caffeine free diet coke all day which is bad but I drink a lot more than I would if it had to be water. Also beware of fruit juices, they contain a ton of sugar as well as sports drinks.

Really keeping track of your calorie intake is a good idea for starting out. I was surprised how much I was eating when I actually wrote it down. I also discovered that the calorie count on packages was for a serving which is usually much smaller than what you think it is. That nice can of soup that says 100 calories per serving is actually usually 2 or 3 servings to the can.

I don't like to say I'm on diet. It's just my eating plan and if I really really want that chocolate cake I have a small piece and carry on with that craving dismissed. Depriving yourself of everything you love only leads to overeating later. Just make good choices and your weight will settle out where it should be.

@mokey41

Excellent advice. I have not really cut anything out, just eaten less of it.

I find grapes or melon are a great snack for while you are watching the TV.

I really hate the way food manufacturers label their food. Breakfast cereal is the worst. The recommended serving size is tiny, which means that even the so-called healthy ones actually contain many more calories than you think.

The other one to watch out for is things labelled as "low fat". Firstly, their definition of "low" is not always as low as you think, and secondly they normally make up for the loss of flavour by packing it full of sugars and additives, which means that it isn't as good as you think, always check the calorie count as well as the fat content. And as kescah (I think) mentioned in another discussion, the body needs fats, just not in the quantities that we are used to in the modern world, so in moderation it's fine.

Depriving yourself of everything you love only leads to overeating later.

That's very true, and the root of all my (many) past failures at losing weight. This time rounds I'm eating lots of stuff I love, just not as much, and I've managed to stick with it for nearly a year, which is about 10 times longer than any other attempt

First part; Brought from another thread:

There is a lot to be learned from the French. They eat buttery pastries, chocolate and lots of other good things, but are rarely fat or have heart disease. Why? They eat slowly and leisurely, which contributes to feeling satisfied with much less food. Keeping those fats in your diet is satisfying, too, which they do. They generally end their meal with a dessert of sliced cheese! Nuts are a great healthy dessert, too.

And you can, as Paul said, shrink your appetite by eating less. You can start this process by eating lots of veggies if you must eat additional food, and I don't mean white potatoes! Seeing some weight loss from that might help to motivate you to follow the French custom of slowing down and eating less.

A food that really piles the weight on many people is wheat. That is my great weakness; well, also chocolate raisins. But wheat is not fattening if it is 100% sprouted. It actually becomes a vegetable when it is sprouted. I buy Ezekiel bread from Fit for Life (other 100% sprouted is fine) and can eat sandwiches or eggs and toast without paying the price on the body test! And the bread is delicious.

Now I will add: Watch out for hormones in dairy products. Check out your area cheeses and milk for that. Hormones are fed to the cattle to put weight on them! Guess what.

Also, the French eat dessert only about once or twice a week. They just make it a special treat, as some of you have mentioned already. But oh boy, do they make it rich! Yum.

Mediterranean diets, which vary from country to country, are very healthy. They are based largely on vegetables enhanced with olive oil and fish and meat. My daughter just spent a month in Europe and came back having lost a good deal of weight. I was worried at first, thinking they had given up food for the sake of touring, but she said that they ate like kings! In Italy, the food was always served in several courses, including a meat course (with some veggies to brighten the plate) and then a heap of pasta, followed by other things. But the towns are built on hills and the people get around on foot. That shows the value of exercise. They grow food on every spare spot of land, so they are eating heavily on local veggies. Olive oil is not used sparingly, it is on everything; it is not a fattening food. It is used in the body for other purposes. For example, good oils are used in building good cell walls, which helps to prevent cancer in that cell walls built on the wrong fats are more susceptible to improper division.

Your ideas on fruit snacks to satisfy the sweet tooth are good. I am going to try to keep small bowls of cut fruit out and also a tray of cut veggies with maybe some kalamari olives to satisfy the desire for salty foods. Thanks for your ideas!

The tooth brushing tip sounds good.

Also, it helps to be aware of the Hunger Blip. We naturally get a Hunger Blip between meals, which many of us think means it is time to pull out the ice cream, sit down and snarf. It doesn't. If you wait 5 seconds before doing so, you will notice that the Blip went away. I think what it is really for is to tell us that it is now time to hunt a rabbit or slaughter the fattened calf, pick, wash, chop and cook veggies, and then get the table ready. By then the real Hunger is due to happen. In today's society, maybe what it is telling us is to exert five seconds of self control. Or better yet, go out and do some physical labor which will entitle you to a heartier dinner!

As well as the hunger blip, it's good to be aware that sometimes it can take a while for your body to really notice that you've just eaten. So if you finish lunch, but still feel hungry, don't immediately have something more, wait for 20 minutes and see if you are still hungry.

I think this is one of the reasons that eating slower can help, it gives your body more time to acknowledge and start processing what you've eaten.

I think it's also one of the many problems with fast food, they don't actually make you feel as full, as quickly, because all the sugars and fats in them are not what the body is designed to detect. I'm sure I read a report that high-fructose corn-syrup doesn't have the same effect on the body as normal sugars, and so leaves you still feeling hungry, despite all the calories it contains.

It's also why I still have fat in my diet, your body needs it, and you will always feel hungry if you cut it out entirely. Your body knows what it needs and will tell you when it's not getting enough.

That's a good point you make Paul and kescah about people not heeding the message that they've had enough. It does apparently take 20 mins for the message to get to your brain with the signal that your tummy is full. I find that if I'm still hungry after a meal, I'll wait half an hour before reaching for something else, then I'll try to have fruit or yogurt instead of biscuits !

I eat most veggies and love salads. I like fruit but not mad on oranges and apples, I buy big tubs of frozen fruit from the supermarket, blueberries (they're gorgeous !), mixed berries, they can be defrosted in small amounts either overnight in the fridge or in the microwave if you're in a rush. They're lovely as a snack or added to natural yogurts, cereals or porridge.

Sugar in my opinion can be a bigger culprit in weight gain than fat, for the simple reason that sugar causes the blood sugar to rise then drop drastically, causing fatigue, and that can make you reach for a sweet fix to take you back up again ! a vicious circle.

Good points Paul and Alexa.

There are two (or maybe more) things that signal satisfaction after a meal. One is blood sugar rise and the other is when the liver gets the signal that fats are passing it and bile is poured out to digest them. A meal without fats will only satisfy for a short time, till the blood sugar starts to drop. Fats help the hunger to delay longer. And protein helps keep the blood sugar up longer.

Another thing that I have brought up out of the antiquities of my mind. We once did the Fit for Life diet. It really worked well! We were only forced off it by a major move and then never settled back into it as a lifestyle. But should! You can read the whole book and get the recipe book as well, but just a few pointers from it:

1) The body uses more energy on digestion than on any other thing we do. That is why we crash after a too big meal. So it is important to eat foods together that will digest well together.

2) Eat only fruit before noon. Eat all you want; the more you eat the more weight you will lose. Fruit is cleansing, and many of our toxins are stored in body fat, so somehow fruit breaks down the fat clean out the trash.

3)Never eat fruit with other foods. It ferments the food instead of digesting it. You might notice burping if you combine fruit with other foods.

4) Don't mix protein and carbs. They are digested by different juices that will cancel each other out and leave your food less well digested. We ate wonderful veggie sandwiches or wraps- truly enjoyed them- with mayo and some Italian dressing if we wanted. Then at night it was meat and veggies except for potatoes or too much corn. Just separate the two.

If you try this, you will find that you really can eat plenty of food and feel satisfied and still lose weight. AND a big plus, you will have more energy. This is a wonderful diet for meat and salad lovers. Also for carb lovers, because you can have that, too, just not with meat. I have just talked myself into going back on that program right now!

There's a great little place where I get salads to go for lunch at work. You pile on what you want, and that includes some delicious little chicken pieces. So I thought I was doing well in my Fit for Life direction, but later realized that my bleu cheese was probably more like cornsyrupeese. Struck out on day one. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day.