It is more what you eat, than how much. You can fill yourself up on apples and not gain weight. I work as an aide at a school and every year I teach the kids a little about nutrition. I made up a chart for the kids and I think you may need it too!

Apple Caloric Equivalency Chart
(1 apple = 80 calories)

1 2.75 ounce bag of Potato chips.................................5 1/2 apples
1 2 ounce (tiny) Snickers Candy bar.............................3 1/2 apples
1 2.5 ounce bag of Oreos bite-sized cookies........................2 apples
1 Twinkie........................................... ..................about 2 apples
1 Apple Fritter........................................... ................3 3/4 apples
1 Pudding cup............................................... ..................2 apples
2 cups Pop Secret Popcorn........................................... ......1 apple
8 ounces (1 cup) Jello with sugar.......................................2 apples
40 ounces (5 cups) of Sugar-free Jello.................................1 apple
8 ounces (1 cup) Fruit Yogurt...................................about 3 apples
10 Wheat Thin Crackers.......................................... ...........1 apple

I used apples since most kids will eat them. And which do you think would fill you up longer? A 2.75 oz bag of chips, or 5 1/2 apples? The kindergarteners made a cute worksheet where they pasted apple cutouts to show how many equaled each junk food snack.

Sodas have 40 grams of sugar in them (a few even more) - 28.3 grams is one ounce. The calories add up fast! Diet sodas aren't any better for your health- they have aspartame in them- here, read up on it! Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

Instead of sodas, I usually drink tea with stevia a plant extract with zero calories. It's way sweeter than sugar. 1/16 of a teaspoon sweetens a big mug of tea. (Best place to buy it is on line at "Owl's Nest Plantation"- about $37/lb delivered. One pound lasts me about a year.) A lot of folks replace 1/2 of the sugar in recipes with stevia. Many grocery stores sell stevia for $12-15 for 4 oz, but it's weaker than what I buy. Stevia is great for diabetics, too- won't mess with your blood sugar.

You need to stop shopping mindlessly. THINK while you shop! Make a shopping list. If you don't have junk food in your house, you can't eat it when you get the munchies. And a perfectly ripe peach or strawberry is heavenly when you have cottonmouth! :thumbsup:

Americans have brainwashed themselves into thinking that "pre-fab" processed foods are the only way to eat. Too much of our food is really "nonfood". :wtf: Learn to read the labels on your food!


Granny :hippy: