Category: New healthy lifestyle tips

My sisters are both visiting down here in Marco Island. It’s the first time we have all been together in a long time. The have both offered some advice for my diet tips.

My sister, Phyllis, says – hollow out a half a bagel and fill the depression with low-fat cream cheese, cinnamon and sweetner. Heat it up in a toaster oven.

My sister, Peggy, says – don’t drink two margaritas in a row! These are John’s killer “Earl Gilmore Memorial Margaritas.” For the recipe, see Braisin’ Hussy. They are not nearly as much fun the next day!

I was sitting in a restuarant in Grand Cayman eating a salad. After all, chubby people must be seen in public eating diet food. A woman in a bikini came in with her boyfriend and ordered a cheeseburger and french fries. I took great umbrage at this. How can this thin person eat the things I want to eat and still stay thin? So I watched her. The food came; she did nothing – not test a fry or pick at the bun or even eat the pickle. She just sat there and talked with her boyfriend. A little while later, she picked up a fry and bit the end of it off and then put it down. More talking. Then she spent some time cutting the cheeseburger in half. A small bite. More talking. This went on for quite a while. Then they left. She maybe ate a third of it. It was all I could do to keep from running over and snatching some of those fries.

The moral of the story is if you eat more slowly you will either 1) get the sensation of fullness before you gulp down everything on the plate, 2) the food will get so cold and unappetizing that you won’t want to eat it, or 3) you’ll realize you are late for your next engagement and have to leave before you can finish what’s on your plate.

As I’ve said before, I am not really a sweet-eater. Diet tips about eating whole fruit instead of juice just didn’t seem to apply. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s true. Would I rather have a glass of potato juice or a baked potato? Which would be more filling? Well, that’s an easy answer. Carrot juice or a carrot? I’d go for the carrot. So, if you get up in the morning and have a glass of orange juice consider changing your routine to eating an orange instead. It’s more fillng and has fiber as well. Of course, maybe you just like potato juice.

DIET TIP

This is going to sound really stupid but this idea (which I made up myself) has helped me in a lot of restaurant situations.

I am a starch and salt eater. I can pass up dessert easily. Chocolate, yuk. But put a basket of bread on the table and I am all over it. It’s the first thing that arrives in a restaurant at a time when you are the most hungry. What to do? Well, I devised kind of a good hand, bad hand scenario. I am right-handed. My right hand does most of the dirty work when it comes to eating. It dives into the bread basket, it opens the refrigerator, and it reaches into the bag of chips. My left hand is, at worst, an unwitting accomplice. So when I am at a restaurant, I put my hands in my lap and my good left hand holds my hedonistic right hand – usually around the wrist. It doesn’t always work because my right hand is stronger but it works often enough. Sounds dumb, but try it.

DIET TIP

If you feel hungry in the late afternoon or after dinner, try having something hot. This could be a cup of tea or coffee or maybe a “Cup O’ Soup.” You will find that something warm is much more filling than a cold drink.

DIET TIP

Since today’s theme is the sea, today’s tip is, eat fish. Most fish are low in calories and those that are not, such as salmon, are high in omega-3 oil which is good for you. Even lower in calories than fish are shellfish. And shellfish are so yummy. As long as you are not dipping your shellfish in butter, what could be better than shrimp, scallops, mussels and lobster? This is one case where you can have your cake ,or rather your lobster, and eat it too.

DIET TIP

Have you seen the commercial where the dad and his young daughter are both having a peanut butter sandwich? You could choke on the amount of peanut butter on those sandwiches! How much is enough? A two tablespoon serving of peanut butter has 180 calories. A half of a tablespoon which has only 45 calories is adequate to put on a piece of warm toast. The toast melts the peanut butter. Measure your peanut butter carefully. Remember, your 45 calories are only in the level bowl of the measuring spoon. The peanut butter stuck to the sides or bottom of the measuring spoon or on the knife you used to get it out of the jar are all extras. I know you knew that.

DIET TIP

Do you find that you snack too much at a party or at a wedding when people are walking around offering you tasty tidbits to eat? Here’s an idea to slow you down. I think I heard it on Food TV. Anyway, one way to make it more difficult to eat a lot of snack foods is to hold your drink in your right hand (if you are right-handed.) Trying to pick up and manipulate a mini-taco or a canape is much more difficult in your non-dominant hand. The desire to overeat is not as great as the desire not to spill something on your host’s rug!

DIET TIP

Do you realize that sometimes when you think you are hungry, you are really just thirsty? Before you head to the refrigerator or snack cabinet, try drinking a large glass of water. It should take the edge off your hunger. And it’s really an essential component of your diet. Six to eight glasses of water a day should be your goal.

DIET TIP

Here’s a review of the five important diet tips to use while you are on vacation. Remember, this is not so you lose weight but so you will either stay the same or only gain a small amount.

1. Do something physical every day.
2. Don’t eat red meat
3. Don’t eat anything deep fried
4. Have sweet things at special times
5. Don’t drink at lunch, plus its corollary, no umbrella drinks!

I hope these have helped. They are the result of lots of fun experimentation.