Thankfulness is often a matter of perspective.

This week I posted a new cooking video,
showing how to make another one of my favorite recipes, Chicken Rice Dinner
which is located at DietHobby, under RECIPES, Mealtime.
When exercising appropriate portion control,
this dish will fit into a low-calorie lifestyle.

Here it is, the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
It feels to me like the Holiday season has begun.

When I woke up this morning, I didn't want to step on the scale.
I didn't feel like dieting. 
I felt like "taking a break". 
I felt like giving myself permission to eat whatever I want,
whenever I want, in whatever amounts that I want.

That's what I FELT like doing...
but that's not the behavior choice I'm making.

My behavior choice is to step on the scale, see what it says
and write down the number to be added to the graph I keep of my daily weights.
To log all of the food I eat into my computer software journal,
and to work towards eating limited amounts of reasonable foods
in a manner that will keep my daily calorie totals
close to or below the total amount of energy that my body burns.

In other words, I'm going to work to continue my dieting lifestyle
through the Holidays...even though I do not feel like it. 
Because....
that is what it takes
to be successful at weight-loss and weight maintenance

For those of you who are following my “Ask Grandma” video series
Click : “Justin Bieber & Michael Jackson" to see my latest video,
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma. 

Dieting is hard work.
Those who say otherwise,
either haven't actually done much dieting,
or are telling lies to sell something.

You can call it a food or eating plan,
balancing your nutritional needs,
a reducing program, or a lifestyle change,
but whatever you call it,
if it involves changing the way you eat,
.............it's a diet.

The very idea of beginning a diet
is enough to depress many people,
and set them off on an eating spree.

 But, dieting can give a sense of control and success.
Not every reducing idea will appeal to everyone,
and using a variation of dieting concepts that DO help,
is a good idea.

Something that might have been a terrific idea last week,
might not help me battle the temptation of potato chips tonight.
The goal is to learn how to live with food and be in control of what one eats,
not to eliminate food from our lives entirely.

A widespread unconscious habit among dieters
is to forget some of what we have eaten.

The way to make oneself more aware of one's eating habits
is to write down what you eat, maybe even when you eat it.

Carry a notebook and pen with you, and each time
you put anything into your mouth, write it down..
Even if it's only a stick of sugarless gun, or a peanut.

The "secret" of my own weight-loss and maintenance success
is my daily habit of writing down all my food in a software food journal.
There are many of these available.
My own favorite is called "DietPower",
and you'll find links to it here on DietHobby. 

On my YouTube DietHobby channel,
I frequently get messages like this: 

Grandma,
I need to lose weight fast, please help,
what should I eat and not eat. 

Here is an example of my reply:

My website, at www.diethobby.com is where you should go

for information about dieting and weight loss.

That is the way I can give people information

without saying the same thing over and over. 

But I do have a little bit of time right now,

so you can start with this information,

and then for more information go there. 

Almost no one loses fat pounds fast. 

During the first two weeks of sticking to a diet,

most people lose about 5 to 7 lbs, but most of that is because

a person has less water and waste in their body. 

After a couple of weeks their body stops losing weight

until their water/waste issues readjust,

that is when most people quit their diet.

When they quit that water/waste weight returns immediately. 

If they stay with it, then eventually they will lose

an average of about 1 to 2 lbs of fat lbs per week. 

In order to lose weight, how much you eat

is much more important than what you eat. 

Food provides energy for the body.

The energy in that food is measured

by the number of calories in it.

In order for your body to lose weight,

it must take in less energy than the body uses. 

Almost all diets say to avoid foods that are fried

(like french fries, potato chips etc),

or high fat (like butter, salad dressings, oils, cream, cheese),

and foods made with sugar (candy, cake, pie, cookies)

and white flour  (bread, crackers plus cake cookies biscuits.).

and to eat only small amounts of carbs

(oats, wheat, grains, rice, potatoes, corn, beans) 

This is because these are the foods that have

a lot of calories packed into a small amount of food. 

Most diets also say to eat mostly lean meats, eggs,

green leafy vegetables, and vegetables like green beans,

brocolli, cauliflour, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes.

This is because these are the foods that have lots of nutrients

but less calories and so people can have larger amounts of these foods. 

Personally, I think the best diet is a diet that a person can live with

and stay on forever.  If you want to know what, and how much that I eat,

watch my cooking videos. These can give you ideas

of what and how much to eat if you want to lose weight. 

Most people do better by limiting the times they eat also

...like eating only 3 meals a day without snacking,,,

or no more than 1 very small snack between each of those meals.

If you are going to have a meal consisting of things

like a hamburger and french fries and a soda,

then you would buy one hamburger and eat only about half of it,

and eat only about 10 of your french fries,

(give away or throw away the rest) and drink a diet soda.

These are very general ideas about dieting.

For specific ideas, read the information at my DietHobby website.