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)

Hi Laurabow,

Well, I'm still a newbie, but so far things have been great and the number 1 diet savior I have is CC.com.  Since that one is the obvious one, it doesn't count. :)

Fiber: eating the minimum amount per day not only regulates me, but also fills me up.  It is so important to take care of your digestive track if your concentrating on eating healthy.

Measuring and Weighing: All too often we estimating the nutrituin values of what we are eating and all too often we are WRONG.  I measure daily what I eat, but more than anything, I bought a food scale.  It works for fish, meats, berries, breads...SO MUCH and it really is not time consuming.

Being Efficien: I keep a note pad, calculator and a pen right next to the fridge...again, not time consuming at all...everything is right there to measure and weigh and just jot things down for a later time to add to your journal.

Working out: On days I work out, I lighten up on my calorie intake. I burn more, so I eat more.

Support: Everyone I know knows that I am taking better care of myself and they support me.  Example: I wouldn't ask this of everyone, but from my mom I think it's pretty understanding: When she invites me for dinner, I ask her to measure how much oil she uses, how many potatoes and whatever else she can think of.  Your loved ones want to help and it doesn't bother them to do things like this on the occassion.

Well, those are my favorite. I hope that I can help someone!

 

MJ

Hi Laurabow,

Well, I'm still a newbie, but so far things have been great and the number 1 diet savior I have is CC.com.  Since that one is the obvious one, it doesn't count. :)

Fiber: eating the minimum amount per day not only regulates me, but also fills me up.  It is so important to take care of your digestive track if your concentrating on eating healthy.

Measuring and Weighing: All too often we estimating the nutrituin values of what we are eating and all too often we are WRONG.  I measure daily what I eat, but more than anything, I bought a food scale.  It works for fish, meats, berries, breads...SO MUCH and it really is not time consuming.

Being Efficien: I keep a note pad, calculator and a pen right next to the fridge...again, not time consuming at all...everything is right there to measure and weigh and just jot things down for a later time to add to your journal.

Working out: On days I work out, I lighten up on my calorie intake. I burn more, so I eat more.

Support: Everyone I know knows that I am taking better care of myself and they support me.  Example: I wouldn't ask this of everyone, but from my mom I think it's pretty understanding: When she invites me for dinner, I ask her to measure how much oil she uses, how many potatoes and whatever else she can think of.  Your loved ones want to help and it doesn't bother them to do things like this on the occassion.

Well, those are my favorite. I hope that I can help someone!

 

MJ

Original Post by laurabow:

Wow- there seems to be some great stuff in the US! I havent yet found any spray butter or 35 cal bread in the UK (though, I do eat the 45 cal WW bread).

I agree with you Vicki8seekers, plastic containers ARE a lifesaver. Especially since I live on my own. If I cook a big meal, I will dish out my portion and then freeze the rest in batches straight away to avoid the temptation of seconds...

White fish! which i love- and is soooo good for you and low cal.

Seafood/crab sticks- (which I know arent really made of crab, but soy proetin) are great to snack on for us savoury lovers. Only 7 cals a stick!

Spice Rubs- Great for plain fish/meat or veggies. I especially like teryaki, jerk or tandoori.

there is also a low cal wheat bread, 40 cals per slice that stop and shop sells, and it's their brand so it is even cheaper. woohoo!

Crest White Strips!  If I'm craving food, but know it's only mindless eatting, using Crest White Stripes makes me wait at least half and hour before eatting, and afterwards I generally don't feel like eatting for a while anyway.  Plus, my teeth are nice and bright 

Competitive sports (soccer league)

My treadmill and DVR to watch prerecorded shows while I walk/run (my new best friend)

My scale

My motivational partners

Salsa

Egg whites

oatmeal

100 cal snack packs

kashi bars

cheerios

snack size kit kats (for when I must have some chocolate)

refried beans

fresh fruit

new shirts in a size smaller than I can wear now (motivation baby)

pepsi one (I know it is bad for me - I still can't give it up yet)

low fat smoothies

one free meal a week - need this for sanity.

Special k and slimfast

low calorie wheat bread

olive oil mister: greatest invention to grace my kitchen in years. It keeps the oil in cooking down super low.

Green bean fries: after I saw a commercial, I thought, I could make those, and did. Lightly breaded in cornstarch and browned, they really curb the urge for french fries.

stride gum: not sugar free, but lasts a super long time.

netflicks: I can pull up a variety of workout videos and use them whenever I want with streaming video.

My big ball: not only does it make me feel like a kid, it makes me want to work out.

applesauce: I can use it to replace butter and eggs in baking, and it also makes awesome frozen treats.

fruit (banana's, kiwi's, plum's, peaches)


rice cakes (popcorn flavored and 35 calories each & no fat)

oatmeal (best breakfast ever!)


vanilla soy milk(70 calories per 250mL)


clif bars ( after exercising snack)


bear naked granola (perfect oat topping with 85 calories per 1/4 cup)


salad

kashi products

My awesome Life Style Selections Bran Crunch cookies. 3 generously sized ones are only 140 calories, and 8% of my daily needed fibre.

Water (do I need to explain)

Light Strawberry cream cheese.

Fibre One Peanut Butter and Oats Bars

 Fruit

this is also really bad because it's so wasteful

but it works

i eat my portion size up until i know i've had enough

and then i pour  liquid soap over the rest of the food and throw it in the  garbage

but it works!

 

- Silhouette vanilla yogurt

- Red grapes

- Apples

- Whole wheat bread

- Chicken noodle soup

- Mozerella cheese

- 100 Calorie popcorn bags

- Thinsations

- Clementines 

- 130 calorie McCain cheesecakes

- Turkey

- Chicken

- Hardboiled eggs

Tzatziki sauce - an awesome replacement for mayo in Tuna Salad and Egg salad.   for tuna, i usually use 1 tbsp mayo to 3 tbsp of tzatziki sauce.   for egg salad, i skip the mayo entirely.  

 

 

Original Post by selfmadegirl:

Crest White Strips!  If I'm craving food, but know it's only mindless eatting, using Crest White Stripes makes me wait at least half and hour before eatting, and afterwards I generally don't feel like eatting for a while anyway.  Plus, my teeth are nice and bright 

You are a genius! :) I have to start trying this!!

If i'm hungry but i've already eaten enough, i chew winterfresh eclipse gum & drink lots of water. It fills me up. I know it sounds crazy, but it really works. It keeps me from snacking!

Laura,

Hi thanks for the tips. I have to say I have been on CC since March 9 to loose that 5 to 10 pounds. I was doing great then Wed got on the scale gained a little bit, today got on Im now 2 pounds heavier than I was on Wednesday! How can it happen? What do you do in this case?

I have a switch on the back of my digital scale that makes the scale read kg's instead of pounds. I only use the kg setting because there isn't all that emotional baggage with the lb. reading. It's just a number. As long as it's going down I don't care what the number actually is. Plus the goal seems less daunting, I have 4.4 kgs left before I reach my goal, which feels better than the lb equivalent even though it is exactly equal.

So Lean Breakfast Sandwhiches - I kept struggling to find something for my lactose intolerant self to eat for breakfast without dousing it in Soy Milk. These sandwhiches are so filling and have only 211 calories in one. A great way to start a day!

Shichimi Togarashi - A Japanese spice blend that keeps everything spicy without hurting my sodium or fat intake. While most Sriracha is filled with sugar, this dry spice is just spice.

Frozen Veggies especially Frozen Okra - only 30 calories in 3/4 of a cup but 8% of your daily fiber needs. Mix this with sticky brown rice and you won't believe you're eating another vegetable in your meal.

Annie Chungs Microwave sticky brown rice - 1 minute in the microwave to perfect rice!

Kashi Go Lean cereal - I know people love this as a breakfast cereal, but this has become my substitute granola

Almonds - Ignore the serving size. I pop about 5 of these post or after workout since my workout time usually falls during lunchtime, these keep me satisfied until I'm able to make lunch.

Yerba Mate - A South American caffeine tea that has made my switch away from coffee (and all the junk I put in it) that much easier, and I like the way I feel energized better than with coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Post by selfmadegirl:

Crest White Strips!  If I'm craving food, but know it's only mindless eatting, using Crest White Stripes makes me wait at least half and hour before eatting, and afterwards I generally don't feel like eatting for a while anyway.  Plus, my teeth are nice and bright 

Me too!  Ha!  It works.  That and painting your nails.  

My diet saver (I only have one savior :)) is my husband because he always keeps me company when I exercise, helps me plan ahead meals and makes me a healthy lunch to bring to work.  

 

- My calorie logging notebook which I carry with me at all times

- kitchen scales

- Oats!

- My vertical wall calender.. so i can see my weight decreasing down the page

- Diet cordial.. makes drinking water fun

Fiber One Bars- good for breakfast at work and good source of fiber

Cofffee- made with fat free creamer and splenda only 20 cals a cup (thats 1tb creamer). I like to sip this at work from breakfast til lunch to keep my mind off eating.

Oatmeal- love this for breakfast and if I'm close to reaching my cals for the day I'll eat it for dinner only 120 cals per pack and two fills me up.

Turkey Burger- I eat one almost everyday for lunch at work, they're better than beef! lol

Ground turkey- I usually buy this in place of beef, unless beef is on a great sale that I can't pass up lol

Splenda- love this in place of sugar for coffee and cooking, I didn't know sugar free candied yams taste so good and my family was suprised when I told them I used Splenda!

Tea- I still have not yet started drinking the right amount of water but this helps me get some in for the day