How’s the second week going for you? It must be getting easier and more routine. I have two things that really help: a kitchen scale that I use to weigh EVERYTHING I put into my mouth and a ”Magic Bullet” blender, which I use to grind my peppercorns or make my morning smoothies. I also have a book that gives the calories, carbs, fiber grams, and other values for all foods. It is my most-used tool, in tandem with my journal where I log all that I eat, how much water I drink, and how many minutes I spend each day exercising. Tools of the ”diet” trade, so to speak. Here’s to success for us both in the coming week!

One thing that really works for me is keeping a daily journal of all that I eat/drink. If you strictly adhere to the suggestions in the book, you can’t go wrong. In the beginning, it can be really hard to break free of old eating habits and cravings, but by eating often, every 3 hours or so, and by practicing good portion control, you should begin to see more weight come off. Nuts are good for us, but so easy to overeat. It is vital that you give yourself a single serving(and put the rest away!) and eat slowly. I don’t think nuts are allowed more than once each day. Keep olives on hand. 3 jumbo ripe olives have only 25 calories, and they are very satisfying. Hummus with red bell pepper strips is a great choice, too. Celery sticks and 2 tbl almond or natural peanut butter are delicious and the celery requires more chewing than a handful of nuts. Eat a piece of fruit (on the basic plan) with 1/2 oz nuts and that will cut down on the calories of the nuts. Cook some chicken tenders or make some homemade turkey meatballs to eat for a snack. Spicy brown mustard perks up the blah tenders and spicy turkey meatballs are delicious on their own. Keep track of what you eat and how much. Eat small amounts more often. Drink loads of water. You will soon find you won’t be hungry and won’t reach for all those nuts.