Posts by joji732

Perhaps the fact that you expect to be treated this way (it comes across in your rant, even if you don't notice it) is why it is happening.  Unless you've waited tables yourself, you can't begin to imagine why these things are happening.  With the exception of your comment that an apology is in order(which is true), the rest of your post makes it clear that you think the world revolves around you.  If the service is that bad, tip accordingly - that's one way to make sure that your server realizes they could have done better. 

I am an absolute sugar addict and the only way I can keep myself in some semblance of sanity is to avoid sugar entirely.  That includes honey and artificial sweeteners as well.  The one thing I do allow myself is stevia in my coffee or tea (and occasionally on my oatmeal.)  If I let my guard down, it doesn't take long for me to fall into the trap again - one small taste today leads to an uncontrollable binge a couple of weeks down the road.  And one binge leads to another, and another and another.

Having said all that, I've been off sugar now for 2 1/2 months (I did it for 7 months in 2007) and I feel great.  I've lost 12 pounds just by swearing off the sugar.  When I'm looking for a sweet treat I'll have some frozen berries in a couple of tablespoons of light cream.  (As Carleyrapp mentioned, eating them with a bit of fat helps avoid the insulin spike).  Was it hard?  Pretty much so for the first week, by the second week not as bad, and by the end of the third week I really wasn't missing it at all. 

Now if I can only tackle the emotional eating....

Why don't you just plug it in as a new recipe and find out?

Another important thing is to have a drop-dead reason WHY you want to lose weight.  It has to be a reason that will trump all of the excuses you might throw at it - something that is worth more to you than the yummy food and relaxation that has gotten you to where you are now.

Honestly, I got a book on the internet called Thinner Thinking by Adam Armstrong.  In the first chapter, he talks about having a reason to lose weight - something that really means something to you.  It took me three months from the time I downloaded the book before I finally figured out what my reason is - and it took another couple of months before I really put the plan into practice.  However, knowing WHY I'm doing this makes all the difference for me.

I suffer from depression, and I've found that my poor eating habits and lack of exercise were contributing to making it worse.  So my reason is that I want to be able to live my life without antidepressants, and the only way for me to do that is to eat a healthier diet and MOVE!

Hopefully this will help.

No, that is for LIFE cereal.  Here is the link to the item you want for oatmeal (cooked oats)

 http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/item/8121.ht ml

Hope this helps! 

Rather than Slim Fast, why not try Ensure?  Also, try substituting full-fat, full-calorie versions of some foods for some of the lowfat, low calorie versions you currently eat.  It doesn't have to be all of them, but that's one way to up the calories without going TOO crazy.

Edited to add:  One thing I do is use butter instead of a low cal margarine.  Just a suggestion.