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)

LesMills group fitness classes - esp. BodyCombat and also BodyPump. (I miss flow, they don't have it at the gym I'm at now. :( ) These were LIFE CHANGING for me. They're how I learned to love exercise.

Hershey's 60 mik chocolate sticks - these are sent from heaven - the length makes me feel like I'm getting a decent amount of chocolate - it's just enough to calm a craving. 

Celery and other fresh vegetables - I love to make myself my own personal veggie tray and nosh on fresh peppers, celery, and carrots. I sometimes allow myself a tiny bit of hummus or low cal ranch to dip them in.

Vinegar: I LOVE vinegar -- almost all kinds - it's a glorious replacement for salad dressing, it makes a tray of veggies have more kick - I even put it on baked and boiled potatoes -- helps me  use less butter and salt.

Do you use the vinegar straight??.  I like vinegar also, but never heard of it straight.  it is supposed to be good for you system also.  BarbJ..  Kind of butted in here.

Yup! I love the stuff! Malt or red wine vinegar usually. No oil necessary 9 times out of 10

so i came across this recently, Baked Wheat Squares. They  only have 130 calories for 17 crackers, which is a GREAT snack and it fills you up inbetween those 2 large melas (lunch & dinner) especilaly with laughing cow cheese spread across. you can ge tthe laura lynn name brand at ingles for pretty cheap.

Original Post by bears4barb:

Do you use the vinegar straight??.  I like vinegar also, but never heard of it straight.  it is supposed to be good for you system also.  BarbJ..  Kind of butted in here.

you know, there are quite a lot of things that I use vinegar on now. Like veggies, and if I add cyanne pepper it's like a home made tabasco sauce. I forgot to put that on my list... glad to see that others are using it too, and I'm not crazy.

In the UK we get Mulerlite Yogurts and if you open them and put it in the freezer, stirring occasionally it turns into a solid licky lolly!  But you do have to stir it till it sets.

100 calorie snack packs.... to get me through my sweet tooth cravings

Smart Balance butter

FRUITS!!! (Bananas, Apples, Pears, Grapes)

I really LOVED the spinning class I was in, I was motivated by everyone and the instructor to push myself and since the lights are off... you focus on pushing yourself. I left every session feeling like I worked my hardest and felt great.

Kashi!

FiberPlus Bars

Cutting down and stopping my Soda intake!

Dude -- YES to Kashi and Fiber One. they are the bomb.

spinning hurt my ass... lol

Yes, it hurt mine too! But it gave me an excuse to stay off my seat as much as possible!

Powdered Peanut Butter (PB2 by bellplantation.com)

2 TBSP = 53 CALORIES - AWESOME!

I use this in a smoothie with yogurt and chocolate whey protein powder - tastes like peanut butter cups!!

Original Post by shaxbat43:

In the UK we get Mulerlite Yogurts and if you open them and put it in the freezer, stirring occasionally it turns into a solid licky lolly!  But you do have to stir it till it sets.

 Thanks for the tip- I tried to freeze a muller light the other week but it didn't work out, it just went icy! I will try this method, I bet they would make lovely frozen yoghurt.

Shirataki noodles- 40 cal for a bag

Morning Star Farms Buffalo Wings- 40 cal/wing, don't know what I'd eat without them

instant miso soup- 25-40 cal for a cup depending on brand (but high in sodium)

Diet Cherry Limeades from Sonic- 15 cal for a large

Buying fat free half and half and putting that in my take out coffee back at work instead of whatever the fast food places put in as "cream"

frozen raspberries- 70 cal/cup

Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches- 140 cal

Fage 0% yogurt- 90 cals and 12 g of protein, expensive but worth it occasionally for a quick snack at work

My diet saviors:

• Carrots and apples- I have them with me all the time, in case I feel like having sth sweet or sth crunchy
• Spinach - it's low cal and it can give you the impression you're full
• Green and black tea - they delay the feeling of hunger for a while
• Veggie soup
• Rice cakes
• Corn Polenta instead of bread
• Molasses - it takes care of the sweet tooth and it's much healthier than refined sugar (contains calcium and iron)

I'm happy to see so many replies. A lot of wisdom put together. :)

I have only been on CC for a little more than a week, but have been watching my intake since I had surgery on 2/5 (and of course, a lifetime of diets behind me! -- but this time I am not dieting, I am changing my lifestyle). 

Lots of great suggestions on this thread, but no one has mentioned Chia seeds.  This is a food, not a supplement, but it is very high density nutritionally compared to the calorie count.  High in fiber, calcium, and omega-3 essential fatty acid (although I don't know how well they are absorbed compared to fish oil).  I add about 2 tablespoonfuls to my morning cereal, yogurt, or cottage cheese.  They have virtually no flavor, and absorb lots of water (about 9-fold) so they really fill up my stomach, and keep me going until lunchtime with no snacking necessary.  I just have to remember to drink lots of water since they absorb so much.

one-Fruit tea.. esp the mint flavour.. the smell makes you forget about your cravings!!

two- grapes- best for a bad sweet tooth like mine!

croutons- add to salads if you feel like having something crunchy and carby ..better than having a buttered loaf .. the salad part fills u up while the croutons soothe your taste buds!

the most imp (should have been on the top!)- Water - luke warm early morning. Cold water rest of the day- clears the toxins and keeps hunger at bay.

These have worked for me in the past.. Though i am down in the dumps again.. i am trying to get back to these golden rules to get in shape.

Good Luck to ALL!

1. Dagoba dark chocolate - Yes, I know, weird savior, right? Each full bar has 10 sticks in it - 2 sticks is a delicious, creamy, perfectly satisfying portion of chocolate for only about 50 cals.

2. Funky Monkey Bananamon flavor - freeze dried bananas with cinnamon. Taste almost like cinnamon twists from Taco Bell, to me. Each bag is only about 110 cals, for about 3 servings of fruit sliced up nicely so that it takes a long time to eat them.

3. ALL freeze dried fruits! - they don't have the water content to keep you fuller longer, but a 10 gram serving is usually 30-40 cals, and the flavor of the fruit (sour or sweet) is more concentrated, so it really feels like you're getting a treat.

^^ i second that about the dagoba dark chocolate.  just a little bit of that goes a long way toward satisfying that craving! 

tea!

polenta/cream of wheat!

bulking up any & everything with tons of veg!

fruit= dessert!

also, my kitchen scale.  loooooooooooooooove you, scale!  i weigh and/or count everything now, and that really helps.

Hot tea with sweetener- I drink a cup every evening about an hour after dinner.. it's very satisfying, helps tame my sweet tooth, and no cals!

AND

For a great late-night snack, sometimes I cook up 3-4 egg whites with tons of veggies (spinach, tomatoes, etc) and salsa.. and if I'm craving it, fat free american cheese.  Makes a great omelet and fills me up!  Yum!

• A bowl of fresh veggies. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes. Sometimes i mix it with fruit slices.
• gum
• coffee and tea
• low-cal veggie soup-in blender
• fish
• a cup of low-cal pudding or yogurt(i freeze it)-very satisfying

-cosco sells these wraps called roll-ups that are sooo good and filling and only 110 calories. I put in tuna and salad and have a very filling long lasting meal for only 170 calories

-80 calorie chocolate chip cookies. I warm them up in the mocrowave and taste AMAZING.

-Breyers YOCRUNCH light- cookie n cream topping on flavored yogurt

-plain or seasoned steamed vegetables (can add soy sauce to taste like chinese food, or sauce and low fat cheese when you need something close to maac and cheese)

-snacks for work- baby carrots, cut up apple (great for munching)

-fiber 1 (add to soups, salads..really yummy)

-Splenda (add to sugar-free cereals, coffee, oatmeal, MY LIFE SAVOR!!!)

-tobachnic soups (only 80 calories) and I add fiber1 which taste like croutons

-winkees (only 25 calories and last so long and satisfy my sweet tooth everytime!)

-fat free pudding for only 60 cals

-100 calorie popcorn

-40 calorie fudgicles (why eat the ones for 90!?)

-calorie free salad dressing on salad with fiber1, beans, tune, and tbsp of craisins)

-coffee with splenda

-diet snapple

-25 calorie hot cocoa!