They also don’t have preservatives in their breads, which is why we keep our bread in the fridge.

Here’s a page on working with the glycemic index. The biggest revelation for me was discovering how oils and vinegars help improve the glycemic index of many foods— which means a vinaigrette of olive oil and balsamic vinegar is more diabetic-friendly than a dry salad. It’s a very useful set of guidelines.

And on that note, I’ve had a lot of friends successfully lose weight in recent years, and every single one of them did it through portion control. The advice in the linked article is all about making portion control unconscious, so that you don’t need to think about it. Well, and not cramming down those last bites through any sense of misplaced guilt.

Scheduling and other commitments led me to dropping workouts about a year ago. As a result, I’ve crept up to a scale number I never expected to see, the dreaded 200. Which has made me realize that I need to make working out part of my schedule again. Besides the weight, I always found that exercising regularly helped decrease stress. (You know, like the stress caused by all those commitments that made me drop workouts in the first place.)

So I’ve started trying to fit in the Spartacus Workout several times a week. This also only uses dumbbells, developed for the actors portraying gladiators on the new Spartacus tv series, and packs both aerobic and strength training into an intense but fairly short time. First saw it in MEN’S HEALTH magazine, but getting it off their website requires registration. You can get the routine off the Military.com site, tho’, without that extra step.

(Note: The first time you try to do the Spartacus workout, you will DIE. Or feel like you are, gasping for breath and pouring sweat. And that was after just one of the three circuits I was supposed to do. After a few days recovery, the second time was a LOT easier, though I still haven’t worked up to the full three circuits.)

(I followed a couch-to-5k running plan, with the free podcasts by Robert Ullrey.)

Occasion to use it? ‘Oo, me? Never! Well, hardly ever. Well, hardly always…

@51 Paula Helm Murray: it’s also in things like cough syrup. It’s everywhere. o.O

I’m a continuous graze sort of eater myself. Who is perpetually trying to keep weight up, not down. But I pay attention to what I eat for enough vitamins/minerals and because my family has high cholesterol issues. I’ve noticed that on days where I don’t go out/don’t move much (which is a lot more of them now that I’m unemployed and trying to conserve gas as well as not having many places to go), I eat a LOT less. But I also have no sweet tooth to speak of, so when I try to eat more, it’s fairly healthy (usually).

I only drink sodas with real sugar in them (because, fake food isn’t food dammit), but I only drink them occasionally. Most of the time it’s filtered tap water. Moderation works much better than total abstinence, and makes the treats into actual real treats when they happen.

Also, I’m trying to start a new fad: the anti-box diet. Basically, if it comes in a box, don’t eat it. :) (Cartons aren’t boxes, and dried pasta is an exception.) It turns out that just about everything highly processed comes in a box, and nearly everything that comes in a box is highly processed. Cut them all out and you’ll automatically be forced to find healthier stuff to eat.

You can’t. That’s my argument, I sent then a 10-page essay on that fact. If you use any prepared foods there is a huge issue of HFCS being in them. This causes a special problem for me because I’m ever so slightly allergic to corn. I have to watch the amount of corn products I consume. If I over-do it, I have severe tummy troubles.

HFCS is in such things as spaghetti sauce, and other things that you would not expect to find it and things like fruit juice, desserts, etc.

I hates it.