If you look through old threads, I think bpt had a whole long list of dieting tips. A few random stuff thats popping into my head now:
-This time of year especially, soup is a dieters friend. Most soups start with soup mix (a looot of salt and possibly fat) so either watch how much you use or skip it and add you own base of seasonings. If you saute the veggies (you don’t need much oil, the veggies will release water when they start to cook) and add your own seasonings, you’ll be fine.
-If you aren’t that familiar yet, this is a good time to learn about good seasonings. Its free flavor.
-Someone told me she was on Atkins for 3 weeks with no results. You can cut out fat/carbs/other for a few weeks and not see any results. Its a matter of finding what works for you. Figure out what foods you like, and would work on a certain type of diet, and that might be a good place to start.
-As someone mentioned before, one piece of cake is ok. Two pieces of cake is less ok. Being realistic, at some point you’ll probably be hungry or have a long day and want chocolate cake, and plan for it. Take one piece and then find something healthy to have.
-Plan meals ahead. If you come home late one night, its much easier knowing that the chicken is ready to be cooked than to find the leftover lasagna and decide it looks very interesting and have that for dinner. (Btw, you can take something like lasagna and add veggies, use whole wheat noodles etc and make it healthier. Or use veggies instead of the noodles altogether.)
-Figure out what healthy snacks you like and keep them around. Whole wheat pretzels, baby carrots, apples, nuts, cottage cheese are relatively healthy and quick.
-I know someone who lost weight by dieting the whole week and then having a treat at the end of the week. Don’t plan to cut out all the bad foods, just limit them and know when to expect them so you don’t feel like you’re missing out.
-Veggies are cheap because you can get a lot of food for low calorie and a lot of health benefits and the fiber is healthy and filling. Figure out how to stick them in wherever you can. Potato is low calorie, but not necessarily diet food.
-Don’t become focused on losing weight. Focus on eating healthier in general, but be reasonable about it and take one day at a time.
-If you really want sugar and see you cant avoid it, wait five or ten minutes, and then have.
Good luck!