It's been quite a while since I posted here in this blog. Google finally upgraded and some of the technical problems are fixed. Basically readers were not able to reach me or comment. A one way street is not very satisfying - like writing to thin air. But I have since learned that over 500 people viewed the site so that was a nice treat. Well, the weight is still in the normal range after 6 years with only slight fluctuations that are easy to control. This is in spite of the fact that my daughter and family are living with us at home. She chooses to cook according to her family wishes (husband and ever hungry growing teenage son) which are often far from what I would choose. I have learned to adapt and not have to cook my own dinner most of the time> I keep a variety of things to eat as substitutions. This is pretty normal for most people because many, if not most, of us have to learn to manage our weight in the presence of poor or limited choices. Some changes in my diet include switching to skim milk from 1%. I actually prefer it now. I drink about most of it in my coffee or tea. I severely limit other milk products with high amounts of fat which means many cheese dishes are not in my diet. I use low or non-fat yogurt in place of sour cream and low fat cottage cheese in dishes like lasagne. I sometimes have salads (any variety of greens) for lunch with cottage cheese and unsweetened canned fruits instead of dressing. I drink 1-2 large mugs of coffee or tea with skim milk a day, a small glass of plain milk, some milk in my cereal. Otherwise I drink water. a few times a week I have a grande chai latte at Starbucks. And yes, I know it has sugar in it but I drink it late in the afternoon so I am not craving food by dinner. If I were trying to lose instead of maintain my weight now I would drink only coffee or tea with milk and sweetener. As I have mentioned I like something sweet and have no issues with using the sweetener of preference. I have heard that it does not satisfy the sweet tooth but it does mine so it has never been a cause for ruining my diet. Maybe it works differently for some people, not me. If you want to eliminate sweetener for whatever reason, don't use sugar. Sugar or any incarnation of sugar in food or drink is a huge no-no in the cause for reducing appetite. It ranks above all the other carbs you shouldn't eat. Do I ever eat sugar? Never when you are actually dieting successfully. If you fall off the sugar wagon you will almost certainly stop weight loss dead in its tracks. Now that I am maintaining my diet and have learned to control what I eat I do eat an occasional spoonful of icecream (I do mean spoonful). I have learned that the first bite tastes as good as the last. Once in a blue moon I will have a special sweet such as apple pie. I limit my sweets to just a very limited few a year and only the top 2 or 3 favorites. I am very picky about what my indulgences are and they are only the top top favorites. Otherwise I get up and do the dishes while people are eating dessert. Later I may go back and have a SMALL (I use Chinese rice dishes to control quantity) bowl of cereal or cottage cheese with fruit or an apple with a dab of peanut butter. Breakfast is still often a small bowl of cereal about half and half with berries and I save the banana for a late afternoon snack. I go to bed late and get up later so now breakfast and lunch are closer together. I can afford to eat less at breakfast. Sometimes I will have an English muffin or a couple corn tortillas with a 2 slices of sandwich chicken or turkey (unprocessed). Still keep the rice and pasta to about 1/4 of the servings on my plate. another 1/4 of my plant is meat or vegetable protein. Half is salad or cooked veggies. I put what I plan to eat on my plant and never go back for seconds. I no longer feel that whole grains and wheat bread are really any better than white bread and rice for ME. Carbs of any kind make it harder to control the glycemic index highs and lows that lead to uncontrolled hunger. Whole grains simply do not agree with my insides. They may have negative effects as well such as gas and diverticulitis flare ups. I have learned to control my symptoms by not eating as much fiber as usually recommended. Though I don't want to get into health problems we all have problems with certain foods. Suffice it to say I know that most of my problems were due to food allergy to certain foods such as citrus and hot sauces. You have to become very aware of what you eat and how it affects YOUR body. Often a doctor will throw your ailment into a syndrome with wildly contrasting symptoms from one person to another and they do not really know the cause. You may be prescribed all sorts of medications that you probably do not need. You are the master of your body. You can eliminate foods one at a time until you find out what causes your problems. As far as reading is concerned I think that Dr. Oz's "You on a Diet" explains the basic process that most of us need to know about how foods and enzymes work with your body or against it. Otherwise I have no great regard for diets per se but he does give a very well rounded and easy to understand explanation that the average person can digest. Most diet books have one or maybe 2 good ideas but these could be summed up in a short article. Unfortunately these docs want to sell books and so do their publishers. Dr. Oz is hot now and the Miami Beach diet is fading like Atkins but they all had a few good points. I really wonder how many people really read them cover to cover and follow the diets. I think the answer is the lack of real weight loss among most of those who read them or follow the TV shows. I doubt many people will follow someone else's diet (including mine) serving for serving. TV is probably the major cause of overweight in the American diet. Do something that keeps the mind and/or body active. Don't eat while watching TV at the very least. At least digital games and the computer keep you hands busy and you are actively engaged. If someone in your family keeps packaged snacks in the cabinet ask them to keep them out of your sight. IF you have control than purge them from your home. My point is that YOU have to become in tune with what you like and how you eat and what leaves you craving more and what leaves HOW you eat and how it affects your weight. YOU have to get together with what you really want out of life and if you really want to feel and look better enough to change your life in order to achieve what you want. Probably the biggest change in my life is how I exercise. More about that another time.