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Diets don't work, Ed.

Weight Watchers does.

This is not a paid advertisement. It's a testimonial.

I've lost 30 pounds on WW in the past 4.5 months.

It's not about dieting... it's about learning to make healthier choices in your eating habits. Building those habits will be what helps you maintain the weight loss after you reach your target. It's helped me...

Anyway... I hope you find what works for you. Good luck, sir.

Dude - I have to agree with your wife. I got fat in the 80's eating Snackwells.

I used to love Weight Watchers but when they started with that "Points" nonsense, they lost me. I found myself eating the same 10 foods because I knew the points value. I don't want to take out a slide rule to figure out how much of a given food I can eat because I'll pass out from hunger by the time I figure the calculation. When I want to do that much math, I'll balance my checkbook. The whole "Core" thing doesn't work for me either because it's not restrictive enough. I need to know how much of something to eat, not just be given a list of "good" foods. I used to love the old WW where they gave you menus and, yes, there were unlimited foods but it still felt like there were rules to be followed. Diet plans have gotten way too "freestyle" for my liking. I need rules.

If I were to pick one word to describe a healthy lifestyle, it would be awareness. If you are aware of what you ate in a given day and have at least an idea of your calorie expenditure, you'll know if you've honored your body that day.

Between meals, I recommend summer sausage.
Keep four or five varieties on hand so you don't get bored.
Very Atkins.

I was also on vacation last week, which involved lots of visits to wineries and eating out and absolutely no working out. I gained back 2 lbs. But, extra workouts this week and super healthy meals along with a moratium on alcohol has led to me re-losing those already!

I am also of the mindset that diets are not for vacations, so I didn't let it get me down. Just get back on track now that you are home!

what do you eat between meals?

learn to love your fruits and veggies, is my advice, especially now that the summer produce is so spectacular. a cup of berries is a delicious snack and has less than a hundred calories. melon is another good choice. i always have cut up carrots, jicama, cucumber, even things like rutabaga and turnip in my backpack to munch on. a small handful of nuts and a couple of pieces of dried fruit are very good nutrition and will provide satisfaction and fuel. a good idea is to get volume from low calorie density foods and then eat sparingly of the more fattening stuff.

it took me a while to get psychological satisfaction from food that wasn't baked or covered with melted cheese, but now i really prefer to eat that way. it tastes better than processed food and i definitely feel much better in my body. i have more energy, and my skin just glows when i eat well. you just have to commit to small changes until they become habits. for instance, because of the nature of your work, a good strategy is to plan for indulgences by cutting back at other times.

if you are eating mindlessly in order to numb yourself because of anxiety or using food to fill an unmet need, a good thing to do is work on the underlying issues that force you to self soothe in that manner. there is a very interesting book by judith beck about learning to think like a thin person. she has some good ideas about how to work with the destructive thought processes that drive us to eat.

Oy! Hang in there! Maybe you should start keeping a detailed eating journal if you don't already so you have a better idea of what exactly you're eating throughout the day. In your position, you don't have the "luxury" I had of totally quiting "unhealthy" food. Maybe it would help to give yourself a reasonable limit to what you'll allow yourself, then write it down to hold yourself accountable.

Other snack ideas:
1/2 cup cottage cheese with some melba toasts and a sliced tomato
rice krispies with skim milk and blueberries

Only eat the snack if you are truly feeling hungry. Don't fall into the snack time trap, where you eat it because it's there. It'll be there tomorrow, too.

"Only eat the snack if you are truly feeling hungry. Don't fall into the snack time trap, where you eat it because it's there."

This is also true. Americans are fat because they rely on external cues to decide when to stop eating: "Cornell researchers say it's down to the different cues that French people and Americans use to tell them when to stop eating. The French stop when they're full, Americans stop when the plate is empty (or the TV show ends.)"

Link to the article

Ed, forgive me if I missed a prior post on your diet that covered this. Is it possible for you to walk to work or between "assignments" and activities? After one week walking to various sites and restaurants in Rome, I trimmed more than 1" pretty much all around. Don't have a scale but that's probably 3 - 5 lbs, and we ate handsomely and drank plenty of wine.

What do I eat instead between meals? Things that are about 100 calories that are good for you AND help you feel full:

A handful of berries with Fage Total 0% yogurt
4 cups of popcorn (no oil, no butter, just add salt or herbs as seasoning, I like Blue Smoke's magic rub)
Skinny cow ice cream sandwiches (fat free)
Kashi chewy or crunchy snack bars (not the protein ones, those are higher calorie and higher in fat content)
Half an apple with Laughing Cow spreadable cheese (low fat)

Ed, I think you may need to see a nutritionist soon....they can easily recommend 100 calorie snacks that won't mess wtih your diet.