Healthy Diet Summer Salad Recipes, Low Cal Side Dishes

I've lost 100 pounds. Yippee! No drugs or surgery--just a lot of good-ole calorie counting. But now comes the hard part. Keeping it off. With summer picnic season here, I'm looking to maintain the diet fast track, while still enjoying cookouts. Think you can't have 2-die-4 and to-diet-for in the same dish? Think again. These picnic salads and side dishes are low calorie and high delish! Just in time for Memorial Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, graduation open houses and summer BBQs.  Diet Summer Picnic Salads, Side Dish Recipes With Pizzazz 

Burn Fat Eating Fat? Yes, Ma'am! A-Z List of Healthy Fatty Acid Foods

I've lost 98 pounds (no drugs or surgery...pause for cheering...). I count calories, use portion control and healthy food swaps. There's a diet myth that says all fat is bad. Sure, too much saturated, hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated and transfat (same as hydrogenated, different name) aren't good.

But some fats are essential to health and actually burn body fat. Ironic? Impossible? Nope. Good fats are fatty acids: omega-6, omega-3, GLA (gamma linolenic acids), ALA (alpha linolenic acids), MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids). These fats break down and are used for energy, says How Stuff Works. Bad fats--LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol, saturated, transfat, hydrogenated--don't break down. They just accumulate in the body as, well, fat!

A study for the University of Finland links obesity to Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes (also called insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome). The study says Type 2 diabetes is reversible with diet. I'm proof of that. After I lost 100 pounds, dropped 10 sizes and got my BMI to normal, I also lost prediabetes. Belly fat in particular is linked to insulin resistance. Uncontrolled pre-diabetes leads eventually to Type 2 diabetes. So how did I reverse prediabetes? I didn't use drugs or surgery. I swapped saturated and hydrogenated fat, starch, refined sugar and flour for high-fiber, fatty acids foods. Ironically, good fats--omega oils, MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids)--burn bad fat. Fiber and fatty acids work together to cleanse fat. Many fiber-rich foods are also high in fatty acids but low in saturated fats. Here's an AZ list of good-fat, high-fiber foods. Eat your way to thin and diabetes-free!

A is for apples, almonds, almond milk, avocados, amaranth flour (an ancient grains full of fiber and fatty acids). B is for beans (lentils) black-eyed peas,bananas, blue-green algae, blueberries, blackberries, barley and buckwheat (ancient grain). C is for cashews, cashew milk, coconut oil, coconut milk, collard greens, chia seeds and unsweetened cocoa powder (fat-burning antioxidant). D is for dark chocolate (70-percent or higher cacao). Type 2 diabetics can have some sugar, so make sure it burns fat, like dark cacao.

E is for edamame (raw soybeans). F is for milled flax seed. G is for grapefruit and graham flour. Grapefruit cleanses and melts fat away. H is for homemade hummus (grind garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, garlic and za'atar and no oil). I is for ispaghula or isabgol, better known as psyllium husks (super colon cleanse). J is for juicing. Blend a fiber smoothie of berries, apples, kale, spinach and butternut squash.

K is for kale, kamut (ancient grain) and Kashi bars cereals (Chocolate Almond & Seasalt bars with chia and Go Lean Protein are best). L is for sprouted lentils, lentils, legumes and lemons (add a wedge to water bottle). M is for lmiso, Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake frozen dinner and millet (ancient grain). O is for oranges and olives (good fatty acid source). P is for pumpkin, pumpkin seeds and psyllium husks. Q is for quinoa (ancient grain, substitute for white rice or pasta).

R is for wild rice, raspberries, rhubarb and rye flour (ancient grain). S is for seeds, salmon, spinach, sunflower seeds, soybeans, tempeh, seeds, sweet potatoes, strawberries, squash (summer and winter) and spelt flour (ancient grain). T is for triticale wheat flour, Bob's Red Mill TVP (textured vegetable protein, avoid kinds made with hydrolyzed oils), tomatoes and tuna.

U is for unbleached, unrefined ancient grain flour (Bob's Red Mill makes delicious 7-grain and 14-grain flours for baking and cooking). V is for Vitae Plus Powder (Chimex). W is for water and whole grains. X means cross out white bread and commercial fiber bars (lots of carbohydrates, no good fiber). Y is for yams and yellow squash. Z is for zucchini.

Active Listening, Open Communication Key to Healing Relationships

My husband and I will have been married 27 years this year. We've only ever been married to each other and only have kids between us. Some would say that's wonderful, others, weird and fringy! We're frequently asked for our secret to longevity. To answer, I write our Relationship Glue Recipes. Communication is at the core. Active Listening, Open Communication Heal Relationships

Diet Tip, Get off the Scale

 I'm just a few pounds shy of my weight loss goal of 100 pounds. It's taken me about two years total, but the weight came off faster in the second year because I understood better how to diet. I just tried on last summer's pants and found I've dropped four sizes since then.  At first, I'd micromanage, weighing myself constantly. Now I've learned that's self-defeating. So my advice is Get off the Scale. Seriously

Natural Pain Relievers, Anti-Inflammatory Supplements, Muscle Relaxers

I've struggled with chronic pain from congenital hip dysplasia, scoliosis and spina bifida. In adulthood, I developed arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. I have sleep apnea and use a breathing machine which works marginally well to help me rest. Prescription steroid treatments make me jittery, irritable and depressed. I've taken high-dose (2400 mgs daily) non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprophen, but gotten only temporary relief. NSAIDs make me tired and sluggish. I get less relief with extended use. Here are natural pain relievers, muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory supplements that work for me. Since writing this, I'll add to the list green tea or green coffee and turmeric and melatonin (NatureMade SLEEP blend is what I use). Losing 96 pounds helped but  not as much as I'd hoped. I still need these herbs.  Natural Pain Relief, Anti-Inflammatory Supplements, Muscle Relaxers

Good Diet is the Best Medicine, Lowfat, Low Sugar Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting

I got my cholesterol and blood sugar down with diet and no medication. My secret? Clean out the fridge, cupboard of junk and replace with vegetables, whole grain, lean meat, fatfree dairy. I've been doing that and lost 96 pounds. But now my vegetarian cooking skills are getting a workout with husband and daughter fasting from meat for Lent. I already eat lowfat, sugarfree options anyway. But now I have to cook that way for husband who is cutting sweets, dairy and eggs, too. I'm going back to my La Lache League recipes from "Whole Foods for the Whole Family" cookbook for ideas.  Here's my revamped version   Diet Recipe Lowfat, Low Sugar Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Diet Tip Easy Does It Does it Best

I have about seven pounds left to go to hit my weight loss goal. I've lost 95-96 so far (it fluctuates). I took a little diet holiday this weekend because my kids were visiting from out of town. We have two family birthdays, March 21 and 25. That's my tip for today. To maintain diet momentum and keep emotionally grounded, take mini diet vacations. You won't slow your weight loss and it will help you feel better. These pictures were taken one year apart. .Diet Tip Easy Does It 

Diet Tip Watch For Low Blood Sugar, Metabolism Changes, Alcohol Intolerance

 As I've written before, I have lost 95 pounds. I eat completely differently than I did, count calories, rarely ever going over about 1,200 a day. Well, friends, I had an experience Saturday night that shook me up and taught me that my eating habits have changed. When you stop eating sugar, starch, meat and then suddenly do, it can throw you off. Your metabolism, tolerance for alcohol, blood sugar changes. Read on Diet Tip Watch For Low Blood Sugar, Metabolism Changes

Dieting and Depressed? You Might Not Be Eating Enough

I've dieted for 20 months, lost 95 pounds and dropped from size 2X to 4. As you might imagine (or understand if you are also dieting), it's a challenge. One part that trips me up is what I call "diet blues." If it's not situational depression, if I feel sad even though I'm doing everything right-- saying no to junk, exercising, shedding pounds--I blame not eating enough. (Photos--left last summer. Right 2010) Diet Tip If You Get Depressed, You Might Not Be Eating Enough

 

Diet Tip Take Antioxidants But Be Prepared for Gas, Diarrhea

If health talk makes you squeamish, avert your eyes. We need to discuss the effects of antioxidants. I've been taking antioxidant fruit supplements for weight loss and to cleanse my system. And they work. Boy, do they work. Boy do I feel, "cleansed" if you know what I mean. If you start taking these, be prepared for tummy cramps, gas and diarrhea.   Left is 2014. Right is 2011. Diet Tip Take Antioxidants and Be Prepared for Cramps and Diarrhea