Cooking, Eating and Losing Weight

• You can cook. You can eat. You can lose weight. I promise. Calorie Count can help. There are others, but this one is free and improves every day.
• By cooking the food you're eating you take control of what and how much and when the food goes into your body. This gives you the power to choose. I can choose to eat more fruits and vegetables during the day and go out to eat at night where the portions are large and the foods complex. I can choose in the morning to have a hearty breakfast and soup and simple meats for dinner.
• I do most of my cooking on weekends. Meals upon meals. I portion everything out to lunch or dinner portions and tuck them into the refrigerator or freezer. When I come home from work or shopping and I'm hungry and tired - I still eat smart, have great food and eat almost immediately!
• I try to cut down on fats where I can. We need fat in our diets, just not too much. Sometimes it's the fats that make the taste. Eat some, eat less of something else, exercise a little more.
• Chocolate is good. The less chocolate you eat, the more succulent what you do eat becomes. Take a break from chocolate for a week or so. Then have a piece. Plan when to eat it. Enjoy it. Less will become more. My favorite thing to do is to plan a day for a nice cup of hot chocolate. About 170 calories, I really have to think about when I will be able to savor it. Make it a treat and not a staple.
• Weight Loss Is Easy. I have lost 20 lbs in the last three months (12/29-3/29) eating everything I've posted here (with the exception of the Cabbage Pockets). I eat out about twice a week. There are two secrets to this success I think: Knowing what is going into my food and being in control of how much I dole out to myself. I am eating real portions of foods, the ones I've posted here. And I eat three meals a day without exception. You can too. Some days are harder than others - but isn't everything in life that way?
• More to come - check back soon.