"Also, get out of the habit of eating." I think that's a big key, right there! Since it's become just so inconvenient to eat, I barely care anymore. Although, right now, I'm splurging on gluten/wheat-free pancakes, mixed with shredded coconut, egg whites(from my own chickens and I can actually eat the whites!), almond meal and topped with fresh local honey and raspberries from the garden! :~) So much of my family's life has revolved around the kitchen. The last house that we built was designed with it as the focal point! Now, with everyones diet so restricted, I'm not sure what we'll do about it. We have, literally, hundreds of cookbooks. Everything from professional, ethnic/regional and even ones from my grandma. With the exception of many of the Asian ones, they're sort of useless now. :~( I've been doing massive amounts of harvesting and freezing all sorts of berries and veggies. I'm going to start making preserves out of beet sugar. (I used some in my coffee and it's actually drinkable now.) I've wanted a large cold storage for fruits(apples, pears, etc), potatoes and whatever else, for a long time and just might put one in. Also, the only good pizza place in town, was wiped out. A motorhome drove through it this summer! :~0 I'm now almost down to what I weighed in high school. At least, as a junior! My coach kept wanting me to move up weight classes, for sports. We used to weigh-in and if I didn't make it, I'd have to go eat and try again. Everyone else was starving themselves to make a lower weight. Eating far more than I needed became a very bad habit and hard to stop, even 20+ years later. Wow! I'd look like a corpse at 130lbs!;~) I don't think that my body would take that. I figure that 190'ish(+-) is around my ideal weight! I'd just be far too thin at anything less. Even the clothes that I bought the last shopping trip are getting baggy. Not that I'm complaining!! ;~) I wondered where my cheekbones went to! "As a bonus, I have the most marvelous tan ever, getting comments...." Never been much of the tanning type! Especially, at my age now!;~) God forbid I start getting wrinkles! All of my friends that spent years tanning around pools, in Palm Springs, look twice my age! :~) Laying in the sun w/o protection, lots of booze and cigarettes will do that to you.;~) Being fa..., ahhh larger, I kept to the shade and fully dressed...thank you very much! ;~) I don't mind a few character lines. I just refuse to look like an old crone, just yet! ;~) Especially, now that I've lost weight!! Scott

I love the frozen grapes..you can wash them and sprinkle them with sugar free jello for a little differnet taste also. I mix the cake mix and diet soda and keep the batter in the fridge...then when I want something sweet, I can put a dollop of it into a coffee cup and nuke it...very good. Yep...I have a hard time with wanting sweets.. frozen bananas are very good also....

Oh yeah, my favorite dessert, I love this stuff, I'm just waiting for pears to be ready here. I don't always make individual servings, I put it into one big pan.  Individual Maple Pear Cobblers Courtesy of: Rebecca Rather, Chef, Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe 6 servings 3 pounds pears, peeled, cored, quartered 2/3 cup + 9 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 cups flour 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 9 tablespoons whipping cream melted butter sugar to taste nutmeg to taste For the filling, combine the pears, 2/3 cup syrup, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a bowl and mix well. Divide evenly among 6 custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place a pat of butter on top of each one. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until heated through. For the topping, place the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a food processor. Add 6 tablespoons butter and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the cream, 9 tablespoons syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla and process until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto the hot filling. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Bake for 14 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown. I also can this, my favorite preserves, thanks to Readinglady: Old Fashioned Pear Preserves from Carol (Readinglady) Yu can also make Pear Preserves if you want chunks of pear suspended in syrup. By weight use equal amounts of pears and sugar. You also need the juice and seeds of one lemon. I wouldn't go over about 4 pounds of fruit because it takes too long to cook larger amounts. This takes several days, but it's mainly waiting and the results are wonderful. Here's what you do: Day 1: Peel, core and cut firm-ripe pears into chunks or slices. Leave pieces large enough to retain character in preserves. Place pears in acidified water (Fruit Fresh or Ascorbic Acid). Rinse and drain pears. Place in large bowl and add sugar equal in weight to pears. Add juice of lemon and place pips (seeds) in small bag. It's messy but I also add any of the pulp that was reamed out. Add to bowl. Stir gently to distribute syrup and refrigerate overnight. Throughout evening stir occasionally to distribute sugar. (I usually don't do this more than once.) Day 2: Place macerated pears and sugar syrup with lemon seeds in bag in large pan. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes, skimming foam. Reduce temperature and continue to cook (about 20 minutes) until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears and syrup overnight. (This can be room temperature.) Cover pan with a cloth, not a lid (to prevent condensation). Day 3: Using a slotted spoon lift pears from syrup and place in a strainer. Collect any additional syrup in a bowl beneath the strainer. (I drained syrup left in pan into a bowl and washed the pan because the syrup was crystallized along the rim then I put the syrup back.) Bring syrup to a boil and cook to gel point stirring frequently. (Depending on how thick you want the syrup, this can be anywhere from 218-222°.) You can also use the frozen plate test. The advantage is you get to thicken the syrup just the way you like without cooking the delicate pears to the point of disintegration. Return the pears to syrup and boil 1 minute to reheat them. Pull off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This allows fruit to equalize with the syrup so it doesn't float to the top of the jar.) Place preserves in sterilized jars and BWB 5 minutes or clean, hot jars and BWB 10 minutes. Yum, I LOVE pears.... Annie

dotties weight loss zone is a goon one, there are forums, recipes w/ points, and restaurant points info. Good luck! Lose a few pounds for me :) Here is a link that might be useful: dotties weight loss zone