Its that time of year, post Pesach, Springtime can't hide under sweaters anymore, 4 months postpartum no excuses anymore. Couple that with wanting to fit into a nice gown in August and Dr not being so happy with either of our weights, and its time to start a diet....

Problem is we aren't ready to make drastic life changes, weigh our foods or count every calorie we intake.

I'm looking for realistic, uncomplicated ways to eat healthier. Ideas like: completely cut out sugar drinks (besides shabbos) and use only olive oil when you NEED to use oil.

Thanks all! Wish us luck!

It helps, sometimes, to just keep fruit where they're easy to get to, like on the kitchen table (those that won't go bad). Then they're easier to grab than some unhealthy snack.

Also, to shop when full.

Best of luck!

-Light, whole-wheat/whole-grain bread instead of white bread. If the measure isn't too drastic, then also add whole-grain rice & pastas.
-High-fiber foods (like oatmeal/granola, beans/legumes, nuts, etc.)
-At least 2 servings of dairy daily (it boosts the metabolism)
-(at least) a 15 minute walk every evening
-6-8 glasses of water daily
-low sodium; around 4 years ago, I cut down on salt for two months & lost around 10 lbs mainly because I drank more water and ate much less salt. A good way of doing this is by removing salt-shakers, and instead: pour a small amount of salt on a napkin at the beginning of each meal, put it on the table, and don't allow yourself to re-fill the amount; it's the maximum of salt allowed for your meal.

B'hatzlacha!

Wow. That sounds terrible.

Good one, thank you.

It's not as terrible as it sounds. It's all about regulation. If I'm used to eating a lot of salt, then yeah, it'll be difficult at first, but after a while...I'll get used to it & will start tasting the authentic, natural taste of the food.

Mrs. Dash is a great salt alternative. Most of the time it's spices you need, not salt.

Another easy diet idea is to substitute treats you like for lower calorie alternative. Low calorie chocolate pudding instead of a chocolate bar. Soy chips instead of potato chips. Flavored yogurt or a frozen banana instead of ice cream.

It's a habitual thing and it should be done gradually. Serve salad (low cal dressing) with dinner at night. It can be delicious too if you add a variety of yummy veggies. Get some exercise. (There are some great jogging strollers so you and Shaina can both get some fresh air now that summer's approaching.)

They should just invent a pill already that causes you to lose weight... So many pills cause you to gain weight, can't they come up with one pill that makes you lose weight??

Or would that somehow be unethical?

There's Ritalin, coffee pills, nicotine pills, pills to kill appetite, synthetic thyroxin (I forgot the proper name of it.)

There're A LOT of weight loss pills. It's just that none of them are proven to be 100% healthy.

There are. Some psychiatric ones have that side effect.

Source?

Don't buy junk. Period. You don't have a child that will demand the junk, or needs it for snacks etc... If you don't have it in your house, you won't eat it. And if you get really desperate, a trip out to the store to buy one, will make you think twice. Have healthy alternatives in the house.

Some fun snacks I have:

Frozen strawberries, mangoes, peaches etc... are a great snack instead of a dietetic bar of junk.
Roasted soy nuts instead of almonds etc.. that are very high in fat.
My nutritionist just introduced me to edemame beans from the freezer section. Yum.
Fresh peas that you pop yourself is sweet, fun and healthy.
Spelt flat breads with a dash of chumus and tomoatoes.
A tall glass of Bolthouse juice. It's rather creamy and more like a smoothie than just a glass of juice. It's filling as well. I like the berry, and the C boost. They also have a perfectly protein etc...

Awesome ideas so far!
I realized Shabbos is a hard time for us because we don't hold of dieting on SHabbos but then we'lll have leftovers that we don't want to go to waste (including soda and nosh). So do we cut out Shabbos treats too?

I like the excersizing idea but I keep finding excuses not to get out...

Can you buy less? Or maybe just keep the leftover nosh for the next week (most don't go bad).

I don't know what your neighborhood is like but often it helps just to start walking to places that are not far but that you usually drive to, like the grocery. But a lot just depends on the neighborhood.
In general, it's often easier to walk TO somewhere than to walk just for the sake of walking.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art...rticlekey=52485