As a woman who once weighed 236 (when I stopped weighing myself) and is now down to 175, I feel I have a bit more expertise in this department than most of the stoners here! I went on Atkins and it worked, but I cut down on the fats since I felt that level of fats would be unhealthy. I have slowly gotten off of Atkins, although it was a good start. I eat moderate amounts of old fashioned oatmeal (NOT instant!), 100% whole grain bread and other whole grain foods. I avoid fats, refined foods and high sugar foods.

Remember that for thousands of years humans lived quite differently than we do now. Meat was FAR leaner- there were no wild cows wandering around some ancient feed lot with 29% of their body weight as fat! That is what cheap burger is...29% fat, almost 1/3 FAT. A wild animal will have only a small amount of fat, unlike our bloated beef cattle. Sugars were a rare treat. Fresh fruits were our sweets. Refined foods? Nope! Whole grains. Veggies were often raw or baked without fats.

Imagine you as a primitive hunter/gatherer. You wake up, do your morning routine and set off to check your snares (snares provided far more food than hunting big game in early societies). So, you are in luck, there is a rabbit for you to share with the others. You dig up some wild yams (yams are big in many cultures- high in vitamin A, helps prevent zits), grab a few other veggies, and cook a breakfast. A little lean meat and a lot of veggies. 80% of the food produced by nomadic African tribes (like the Ku'ng) retaining a traditional way of life is gathered food, not hunted food. Almost all of the gathered food is vegetable- nuts, roots, leaves, and fruits. Base your diet on that sort of thinking. As an example, I eat a lot of roasted-in-the-shell, no salt, peanuts- lots of fiber and protein. It is basically like eating beans (but tastier). Bagged peanuts and most peanut butters, I won't touch. Too much added sugar, salt and oil! Avoid refined foods (this will mean packing your own lunch). Think, could I get this off the African plains? My usual lunch is some of those peanuts, fresh fruit and some green tea. Because it takes time to eat the peanuts and fruit, my stomach has time to realize it is full. When you gobble down a burger and fries, you eat too fast and your stomach doesn't have time to react and say "enough already"!

And about those sodas! Read the label! How many grams of sugar are in your soda? 28 grams = one ounce. Just how much pure, refined sugar are you drinking each day? Did you know cokes are as acidic as VINEGAR? The sugar masks it. (Think what that sugar and acid will do to your teeth!) Drink tea sweetened with stevia (a natural sweetener with a few health benefits). I always have at least 5 types of tea around so I don't get bored with the flavor- try some fruit flavored teas or double bergamot Earl Gray tea. Tea, incidentally, has natural flouride in it to help protect your teeth. It also has a fair number of other health benefits. Do a little research on it!

You don't need to go overboard on dieting (by reducing your food intake drastically), just think hunter/gatherer! More raw foods, more whole foods. Less refined food, especially those cooked in oils and/or salted or sugared to extremes. As a general rule, if it's white, don't eat it! Good luck in your quest for a better you! - Granny:stoned: