Diet Saviors! please share yours.

We all share a common goal- to drop the pounds! Some of you are just starting out and some (like me) have been working on this for a loooong time.

What are your absolute diet saviors! The things/foods you just could'nt do this without? Perhaps with sharing these nuggets of information we can make food that bit tastier and losing that bit easier.

I will start:

My steamer- a MUST have for fish & Veggies

1 Cal spray oil- For roasting and stir frys. They do a caesar dressing version and an olive oil too. BIG savior for me :o)

Laughing Cow extra light- great for crackers, using instead of butter on sandwiches, mashing into potatoes, dipping cucumber sticks into.

Lean Pork and Turkey mince (ground)- I use these in place of beef/lamb for burgers, chillis, bolognese etc.. tastes like beef if you crumble in a couple of beef stock cubes whilst browning!

Turkey! (In general)- Turkey sausages, turkey ham, turkey bacon, turkey breast steaks. Super low fat, lean and low calorie.

Fat free plain yoghurt- To make tasty dips/ dressings like tzatziki, raita, lemon etc.. good with jacket potatoes, salads, sandwiches, ryvitas, barbequed meats, dip for veggie snacks etc...

Empty Coke Bottles!!!- 2 Litre bottles filled with water. they make GREAT free weights. SCULPT THOSE GUNS!!!

Right, now I feel I've imparted a little wisdom. Please do share yours :o)

oatmeal. coffee. greek yogurt. green apples. vanilla soy milk. fiber one cereal. rice cakes. cucumbers. tea.

My I-pod! - It gets me to the gym or outside for a nice walk/jog!

My Free weights! - It makes it easy to weight train at home. I don't even have to get out of my PJs. <3

Frozen Grapes - Best. Snack. Ever.

 

My  Swiss water bottle - Carries a ton of water, keeps it cold, and it doesn't give me cancer! What could be better?

 

Edamame - So much protein for so little price. And their amazing when dipped in hot sauce or soy sauce. Mm.

 

Cottage Cheese - I cannot get enough CC. Low-cal, TONS of protein, and with a dab of 100% real fruit jam on an English Muffin/Bread/Pear, you've got a meal made in heaven.

 

Green Tea - Burns calories, gives you a good kick of caffeine, and it's full of antioxidants. Not to mention it fills you up like crazy and is amazing on a sore throat.

 

Measuring Cups - Yeah, pretty self explanatory.

 

 

<3

 

 

This is gonna sound weird, but chopsticks! I try to eat pretty much everything (except soups/yogurts) with them- really forces me to eat slower, allowing me to feel more full by the time I get towards the end of my meals. 

Also, to cure my chocolate cravings, I found a gluten-free cake recipe which uses garbanzo beans, eggs, Splenda and baking chocolate- divine, high protein and low cal! What more can a girl ask for!

 

Original Post by kindal:

sjd,

how many calories are in the spray butter? Is it a certain amount per squirt or what?

Thanks

Kindal, I think most of them are 4 calories per 5 squirts.

Tuppeware! - Make correct-sized protions to take to work - don't fall victim to restaurant food!

Kindal,

The bottle I have says 0 calories for 5 squirts (=1 gram), but who knows how accurate that is.  FDA regulations are that anything under 5 calories can be listed as 0 calories, so 4 calories per 5 squirts is entirely possible.  I just like to tell myself it's calorie free....:-P.  Probably not the best, but those cals are pretty negligible...

For those of you in the UK - Cadburys Highlights hot chocolate: 40cals a mug!  And nectarines/satsumas, anything I can segment and eat a little slower.  The same goes for chocolates, if I feel a craving coming on its really handy to have something like celebrations around so I can just have one!

I can't really pinpoint any foods that have been especially helpful, but my big diet saviour is little bowls.  When I started paying attention to my portions, I realized that the size of most American plates and bowls is ridiculous.  I got some cute little dishes that fit the kinds of portions I eat now.  An ounce of almonds looks really sad in a big cereal bowl, but totally satisfying in a cute little porcelain dish.

Mmmm, good thread...it's making me hungry. I love whole food, natural, healthy "diet" snacks...they just feel SO good, don't they?

I'm pretty new at all of this, but things that save my sanity, so far:

Celery w/ Hummus: (Mmm... humus)

Chocolate Quaker Mini-Rice Cakes: They're fluff, but really good for chocolate cravings

Sugar-Free Pudding: Use for a "dip" with slightly thawed frozen fruit. (Example, chocolate covered strawberries... Amazing)

Frozen Fruit: Wide variety, keeps a long while, great snack

Yoplait Light Vanilla Yogurt: Versatile, low-cal, and filling

Chicken cooked "Fajita" style: Great in wraps, pitas, on salads... You name it!

Hard Boiled Eggs: Pickled, even. Filling and numbly.

Chili: My new best friend. A cup is SO filling and usually around 250 cals or even a little less.

Lemon Pepper: If you're watching sodium, might not be your thing, but so awesome on veggies, meat, EVERYTHING. Today I had some steamed broccoli, a bit of mozzarella cheese shredded over it, and some Lemon Pepper. Like... To DIE for.

Ratatouille: OMG! Never had it. Found a great recipie here on CC. It is so great with any kind of pasta you can imagine. Helps me keep pasta portions reasonable having this on the side. It's even good cold, leftover.

 

I don't know if it's been said, but chewing gum. Green tea. Coffee. And fruit (:

I LOVE egg beaters, pretty much have an omelette every morning and it feels like i'm cheating for only 90 calories.  Stuff with tomatoes, salsa, brocolli...

My new hooka, in chocolate flavor : )

Wasabi Teryaki sauce from Costco...I put a Tbsp (35 cals) in a sauce pan with 2c boiled green beans, 4oz cubed chicken, sauted garlic, and it's a TON of food and really filling and tastes like unheatly chinese take-out.  Don't use a lot tho

 

 

Oh yeah and Powdered Creamer!  This sounds gross, but I put it in my oatmeal, coffee, the norm.  But I'll also add it to tomato sauce for a low-cal vodka sauce version, curry chicken/rice to make it creamy, or sauted spinach.

cans of V-8 to make sure I get my veggies when I'm on the road (I know, sodium not so good)

fat free hot dogs

 

lowfat cottage cheese, with fruit, on pasta, on bread with some tomato sauce for low cal version of pizza, on baked potatos, in a smoothie.  low cal low fat high protein and YUM!

I love this thread, thanks for all the great ideas!

Things that keep me going:

- A good set of measuring cups and measuring spoons

- A high quality digital kitchen scale

- A Polar fitness heart rate monitor - lets me easily keep my exertion level at optimal fat burning level during a workout, and tracks calorie burn more accurately than any website could because it knows my weight, and heart rate throughout the entire workout

- Throwing out my own personal scale and only weighing myself at the gym, not 4 times a day at home

- My food dehydrator for making my own healthy fruit snacks and fruit-roll-ups out of applesauce, etc. 

Foods that make it enjoyable:

- Salt-free Spike.  A spice mix.  Tastes good on everything, especially popcorn, chicken, mushrooms, roast vegetables, and...well, everything.  Description here. I buy it at Whole Foods and you can buy it online too.

- Chunk light tuna packed in water.  I have a hard time getting enough protein so this is a great food for me

- Oatmeal with raisins stirred in, oatmeal with a tbsp of maple syrup, etc.

- Homemade soups.  All the filling and healthy benefits of soup, but *I* control the amount of sodium that goes in

- Fat free plain yoghurt - I eat it with a tablespoon of jam stirred in for breakfast, sometimes, but even better, this is what I use to make all my "creamy" pasta sauces and curries now. Has the creamy texture I love but without the excess fat of cream.  Tastes almost exactly the same, you wouldn't know the difference unless you cooked it

- Al Dente brand Carba-Nada egg noodles.  Low carb, and tastes amazing, just like restaurant pasta.  And it's free of the chemical junk they put in most low carb foods.  Details here.

- Spinach, strawberry, tomato and goat feta salad, with some Annie's raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing.  My favourite salad ever

 

 

BREAKFAST

- Omelettes! good protein/low-carb staple. 

    - add low fat shredded cheddar & veggies like sweet yellow pepper, artichoke hearts, red onions, jalepenos

    - make it more fancy w/ goat cheese, fresh asparagus, tomato, smoked salmon

- Oatmeal - add apple chunks, bananas, a little brown sugar, and walnuts for protein. You can sub honey or lite maple syrup for the brown sugar.  it's so good, doesn't feel like you're forcing yourself to be healthy!

- Morningstar Farms Breakfast Patties - these are soo tasty! you can still feel like you're eating sausage in the morning and spoiling yourself. Plus you're getting protein without the calories/fat.

LUNCH/ DINNER

- Veggie Chili - great source for low carb/protein. I use (LOTS of) lentils, black beans, kidney beans, plus a can of crushed tomatoes. Add some pieces of squash, zucchini, red onion, and jalepenos.  plus chili powder of course ;)  I make a huge pot and freeze containers of it, then just microwave it as i want it.

- Seitan - This is a good protein source for vegetarians.  I'm not vegetarian, but I cook with this more often than w/ meat because i really like the texture of it.  Great for stir-frying with vegetables.

SNACKS

- Sugar-Free Jello - a good quick fix for a sweet tooth.

- Vita brownie (by Vitalicious) - I just discovered these...a full size brownie with 100 calories, 4g Protein, 190mg Potassium, 6g Fiber, and only 2g Fat! It's suprisingly moist.

- Raw Vegetables & Low-Fat Ranch or Bleu Cheese Dressing -  I've lost weight before eating this as lunch and as snacks. You get full pretty fast from the veggies and you're getting lots of nutrients.

- Kashi TLC cookies - you can feel a lot less guilty eating these when you're craving a cookie.

- Luna Bar - Caramel Nut Brownie  - I would buy this as a regular candy bar because it's so delicious. It's got caramel on top, and those chocolate crunchy things like they put inside ice cream cakes.

This is a great thread. Great suggestions by everyone.

My lifesavers are:

Popsicles -- the chocolate ones have only 90 calories (if I remember correctly)

Laughing cow cheese wedges, especially the two for 35 cals.

Jell-O Light -- 40 calories for the whole box!

Dare Scotch Mints -- 6 of them is 90 calories and provide me with something to assuage my sweet tooth all day if need be.

Chicken

Turkey

Sugar Free Jello

Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding Cups

Chocolate Mousse Yogurt

Peanut Butter with a sliced up Apple

Peanut Butter with Sunflower Seeds

Fruit Cups and Veggie Cups

Skim Milk

Almonds, Peanuts, ect

Sugar Free Hard Candy

Homemade Soup

Plain Yogurt or Strawberry Banana Yogurt mixed with Special K Cereal

Special K Strawberry Bars

..Just to name a few. :]

I am totally new to this whole thing.. and probably wont be any good either. I am an actual nightmare for snacking I get bored so easy at work and snack" Stupid vending machine..

So my theory is substittuting chocolate and crisps for things that are sweet and nice but good for me and then eating very healthy dinners and breakfasts :( i had a yoghurt strawberry and apple and sushi for lunch for a change so hopefully this may help!!

 

Any tips ideas let me know! I eat most foods too

Today is my "starting over--AGAIN" day. I have been trying to lose this same 20 pounds for all of my adult life. Up a few, down a few, up again. I do endurance sports (marathons, triathlons, blah-blah-blah) and can and do out-eat ANY amount of calories I burn. So anyway... I have GOT to get the motivation to discipline my eating. I just found this forum, and y'all have such great ideas and are motivating and inspiring. And FUN! THANK YOU!

So here are my "saviors" (which too often I don't call on to save me):

*Water. Lots of it.

*Tomato Elixir. Sounds awful, but is delicious, comforting, filling, low-cal, and also helps sinus congestion or colds. 1+ cup tomato juice or V-8, 1+ tsp crushed garlic (I get it in the jars because I'm lazy), 1+ tsp lemon juice (bottle because ditto), as much hot sauce as you can stand. Nuke it. Yummmm.

*Peppermint Altoids. Low cal. Sweet. Strong.

*Dill pickles. Help counter-act sweets & snack cravings.

Okay, I'm off to follow my own advice--and yours. Thanks again!