There are multiple food options available to me
from supermarkets and fast foods and restaurants
and bakeries and the cooking I do at home.

I overbuy, and I overcook.
I've not been able to control these behaviors,
....although God Knows I've tried....
and this makes the issue of Food Storage essential for me.

When I was a child, I frequently heard people say that 
their eyes were bigger than their stomach.
Although, of course, I understood what the saying meant...
some of my overweight and obese relatives clearly had very large stomachs
and generally ate as much as their eyes caused them to put on their plates.
plus more.

Well... that saying  hold true for me.
What I buy and what I cook...
is far more than the amount that should go into my stomach.

Since I haven't been able to control my behavior at the initial level,
...I overbuy and I overcook.,
I've had to address it at the next level..
the level between obtaining the food and ingesting the food.
Storage involves delaying that food ingestion.

My success at weight-loss and at maintenance of that weight-loss
requires that I don't eat everything that I buy or cook.
Sometimes I have to throw food away,
but my preference is to store it away for another eating occasion.

Food Storage is a really big issue in my life,
and making that task into a simple and easy Habit
has become essential for me.

I've addressed my food storage methods in several videos
which are located under Tips & Tricks of my RECIPE section.

Dealing with Leftovers - involves storage of leftover solid foods.
More About Dealing with Leftovers - involves storage of leftover liquid type foods.
Storing Cookies - involves storage of leftover small baked items like cookies, and cookie dough.
The video below demonstrates my technique for storing fruit and cream pies.

 
Successful weight-loss requires establishing new eating Habits.
For successful maintenance of that weight-loss,
one must create a new “normal” which is based on those Habits.

A Habit is a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior.
Specifically here, a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition
that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance; and
an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.

Habit comes from repeated behavior.

Willpower is defined as energetic determination.

Willpower and Habit are related.
because Habits are ESTABLISHED…
i.e. brought into existence via some act of will…
…..one’s choice or determination…
and it initially takes willpower to establish a habit.

    This video gives additional information on how I handle leftovers. 

Dr. Collins of www.DietHobby.com shares Diet Cooking Tips & Tricks.

 I think one of the biggest and most common mistakes people make regarding food plans, diets, weight-loss or weight-gain etc, is the general tendency to think we are all the same... i.e.  "if that specific behavior works for her/him, it should work for me."

All of the "scientific rules" written by Experts are merely Averages. We are not only two different sexes, we are also different heights, different weights, different ages, and different activity levels.

On top of that, each of us has a different and unique Genetic imprint. Strong Evidence exists indicating that some people "handle" or "process" various foods differently than other people.

At times it seems like the body defies the "rules of science" with regard to weight-loss.
However, there are still many unknowns and variations between individual bodies, and many hormones and other inner workings of the body have still not yet been discovered.

 Science can't prove what is True,
it can only prove that a specific isolated fact
in a specific isolated situation is Untrue.

The current "rules" are based on conclusions from past Research studies, and are not the "ULTIMATE TRUTH" because:

"The purpose of Science is not to reveal the Truth but to eliminate error.
We can only approximate truth by getting rid of as many wrong conclusions as we can."

For those of you who are interested in my current Low-Carb Experiment-of-One which I last wrote about on March 21. I am several days into a planned pause of low-carb in order to assess my stabilized weight at 'normal'-carb in comparison with my stabilized weight at low-carb, so that I can make a personal evaluation of the process thus far.

At this point I have about a 3 lb UpBounce which is probably a result of natural increase in gylcogen (salt/water/waste) due to past six days of "normal" higher-carb intake. Right now, it appears that my stabilized weight with "normal" carb intake continues to run about 3 lbs heavier than my stabilized weight with low-carb intake. 

 Both stabilized weights are extremely resistant to any further weight-loss due to fat-loss. It is possible that this is because my body is currently at its optimal normal weight, however, whatever the reason,...based on my current data....at the present time it appears that my body's inability to accomplish further fat-loss is consistent,
whether I'm eating low-carb or normal-carb.

I am also evaluating other issues, along with my weight. However, these issues are subjective, involving how my body feels, which includes the issues of levels of hunger and/or cravings, After another week of 'normal'-carb,....assuming I successfully follow through with low-calorie eating...., I expect to have better information on the subject,both objective and subjective.

Anyway, this is ALL part of my Dieting Hobby. I wanted to be certain to share this information here, because today I plan to shoot some more recipe videos, and you will see me tasting some higher-carb food.

I have also added a new recipe category entitled "Tidbits".I choose to do this because I feel that some people might find that many of my low-calorie "snack-type" very-easy-recipes don't really fit into their concept of a "mini-meal" category, and yet I want to avoid labeling them as a "snack".

Portion Control is gospel to me, and you will see totally consistency in that area.
However, all of my recipes will not fit into every single type of diet. Some of my recipes will be lower-carb than others, and some of them will be lower-calorie than others.  I will providing calorie counts, carb counts, and protein counts of my serving portions in every recipe.

My ongoing Personal Criteria for every Diet I choose for myself involves ALWAYS tracking all my food, while making my own personal food choices, based on my individual preferences.
That behavior is always a requirement for me, no matter what "Diet, Food-Plan, or Way-of-Eating" that I might choose to use, or to experiment with, during any specific time-period.

                        
I like reading, and I especially enjoy reading Diet Books. Reading them is part of my DietHobby.

Diet Books are written by medical doctors, and psychologists, and trainers, and nutritionists, and journalists, and lawyers, and housewives, and people from many other walks of life.

Most diet book authors say that they have personally lost weight while following their recommended diet, and/or have seen their clients, their patients, their fellow members, or their friends lose weight while participating in the diet presented.

This is also true of authors who espouse diets that aren’t officially labeled “Diet”, such as diets which based on intuitive eating principles like: “Eat only when hungry; Eat what you like: Stop when you’re full.”

Books are work products that are normally intended to benefit their authors financially, and/or bring them into the public eye…i.e. provide them with fame and fortune. Honest and dishonest people both exist in this world. Some people lie.

Authors can exaggerate or actually fabricate examples of successful dieters in order to boost the credibility of their diets. Their motives vary.  Some of these do this for financial gain, and others do it to benefit humanity. For some, it is a mixture of both.  Except for that fact, initially, I have no reason to doubt an author’s claims.

While reading a diet book, I charge myself with the personal responsibility of doing my best to keep an open mind to the author’s concepts, and while I cannot keep myself from factoring in my own common sense, my prior knowledge, my own life experience, and my personal values, I work to temporarily suspend my personal judgments about the concepts presented.

After a lifetime of reading hundreds of diet books, my belief is that just about every diet works for someone.

Every diet book I’ve ever read has benefited me in some way. Even the worst of them usually contains some useful kernel of Truth, and most of them contain recipes that I find personally interesting.

Each diet book has provided me with information, and sometimes… the information I gained was not what the author intended.

Over time, it is my intention to write here about a variety of diets, and about some of the diet books I have read. I’ll be doing this as the mood strikes, and in no particular order. My reviews of new diet books and old diet books will be provided at random. Which, I believe is appropriate…since that’s how I read them.

Occasionally, there will be a “diet” book that I judge to be particularly unusual, interesting, or outstanding. such as Gary Taubes’ new book, Why We Get Fat and What to Do about It (2011), and such a book will be featured here in BOOKTALK for a long-term Discussion.