Conference rocks::weight_control

             I know what you mean Ann. My main downfall is "SWEETS".
             
             My hardest sweet to resist is candy; most specifically
             chocolate. Seems like I would learn not to eat it since
             every time I do, my face breaks out from so much sugar.
    
             What about those diet candy bars that you can find in
             the supermarkets? Also from what I hear WW has alot of
             "sweets" to choose from which are not so high in calories.
             I have not had any though.
    
             
      chris
    

    re .1:
    
    I wrote a brief description of the WW deserts in 133.2; you might
    want to check it out.
    
    Or better yet, you may want to check them out by buying one and
    enjoying it...haven't found one yet that I don't like!  :-)  :-)

    When I worked in the mill, they had a vending machine with vanilla
    custard filled jelly donuts.  Good thing they took it out, or I'd
    weigh 800 pounds.
    

    My cravings are really mostly bread, butter and cheese, however
    if I get a craving for sweets, it's always:
    
    		1 - chocolate
    		2 - ice cream
    		3 - cake
    
    The substitutes I use are:
    
    	I first try to fight it with raw carrots and tomatoes; it mostly
    	doesn't work, however, when I finally give in to my craving,
    	I am so full of tomato and carrot that I will only eat a little
    	of a substitution product:
    
    		1 - Weight Watchers' Chocolate pudding
    		2 - Diet ice-cream (any brand)
    		3 - a small bread w/ raisins. Although it's not
    		    cake, it comes near enough to what I want to 
    		    be satisfactory.                
    
    WW diet "sweets" are very nice, but pretty expensive, and, in
    Switzerland at least, very limited: we only have puddings (vanilla
    or chocolate), ice-cream (strawberry, vanilla or coffee), yoghourts
    and 1 sort of cookies (which I never bought: you can eat only 3 or 5,
    can't remember which, and I have never been able not to finish a
    package of cookies in one go!)  
    
    On the other hand, I have tried twice the WW "meals" and they are
    plain AWFUL. Almost unedible. Quite astonishing if you think that
    300 calories dinners are easily available in most shops and usually
    good. One would have thought that WW, being more expensive would
    be ... better???
    
    Joana

    re .4:
    
    With only a few exceptions (the Imperial Chicken, the Beef Stroganoff,
    and the Lasagna), I have to agree with your assesment of the WW meals.
    I much prefer the Stouffer's Lean Cuisine dinners, which also contain
    under 300 calories and now have exchange information on the package.
    (I particularly recommend the Chicken Cacciatorie and the Filet
    of Fish Divan).
    
    
    Paul

    RE .4 & .5
    
    I find the WW Pizzas enjoyable.  It is probably because during the
    first year I was on this diet I only had a couple of slices of Pizza,
    it had previously been a staple of my eating habits.  It is nice
    to be able to allow myself one of these a week.  I only discovered
    them in the last month, so maybe the novelty will wear off.
    
    Now that I am on the WW program, almost all of my optional calories
    got to sweets.  I don't feel so deprived that way.
    
    -Joe

    Have to agree with your assessment of WW dinners.  The bread is
    pretty awful also.  There's a bread called LESS, available here
    in the states, which is pretty good - has the firm texture of "real"
    bread (WW is very soft and spongy), and isn't sliced impossibly
    thinly.  WW frozen treats are good, though.
    
    What helps me when I have sweet cravings, is any of the following:
	- diet icemilk or WW fudge pops or other frozen stuffs.
	- nonfat Colombo Yoghurt with nutrasweet and flavoring mixed in.
	- fruit, especially the good stuff that's out of season right
	  now - so it's now a real treat.  
	- Jam or jelly, any sort, on a piece of less toast.  I measure
	  out the jam/jelly - it's only 45 calories per Tablespoonful.
	- raisins - measured out, or one of those 1 oz box.
	- diet jello.  It's expensive and is strongly flavored, so I
    	  make it using one pack of diet jello (4 servings), one pack
	  of Knox plain gelatin, 4 packs of nutrasweet, and 4 cups of
          water - 2 hot, to dissolve everything - gelatin takes longer
    	  to dissolve so let it sit about 5 min, stirring on occasion -
    	  plus 2 cold after it's dissolved.  Sometimes I use 1/4 to 1/2
	  cup lemon juice in place of the same amount of liquid, to
    	  add Vit C and flavor.  

    Re: .7

>	- Jam or jelly, any sort, on a piece of less toast.  I measure
>	  out the jam/jelly - it's only 45 calories per Tablespoonful.

    I've found that the Polaner's All Fruit (I believe that's what its
    called - just don't call it jelly, as their commercials say!) is a
    good substitute for Welch's & tastes a heck of a lot better. Plus, its
    only 14 calories per teaspoon, which is just about enough to cover a 
    slice of wheat bread.

    Like Joana Bize, I am a bread muncher.  Fortunately, one of my hobbies
    is the baking of bread and muffins, so I can tailor the contents
    to match my taste and my dietary needs.  It is indeed possible to
    lose weight, albeit slowly, while munching coarse bread.  However,
    my taste preferences are a bit strange and would put a commercial
    bakery [in the states, at least] out of business --- whole wheat,
    brans, oats, and fruits and no nuts, little oil and reduced sugar.

    What recipes do you use?  I am not a prolific baker, but when I
    do bake, I try to make sure that I use the same ingredients that
    you mention (whole what, brans, oats, fruits, less oil and reduced
    sugar).  I have had a difficult time, even when looking in low-
    calorie cookbooks, finding bread or muffin recipes that have sufficient
    fiber.
    
    I made some good whole wheat banana bread a couple of weeks ago,
    and I also have a good recipe for whole wheat oatmeal cookies. 
    But I'd like to try something like apple oat bread (because I have
    a bunch of apples I need to get rid of).  Any suggestions?
    
    --Kirby

    
    I go wild when I go passed a bakery and smell all that yummy
    food.  Just the smell makes me hungry.  I know if I ever have
    a choice for my last meal,  it would be a Bakery store....
    
    I think I should get a cloths pin for my noise and see if 
    that helps..
    
    It's funny but the W/Watcher leader gave us a quiz and 
    she had a paper that what ever score you got it told 
    what kind of a person you are and mine said I was a Snifer.
    Just the smell can get me going and the leader said I 
    have a one of the hardest ones...
    I was gifted with a good noise..not everyone can say that..(-:
    
    Well I will sign off and say good luck to the sweet tooth people.
    and other ones like the bread people.
    
    
    Ann
    
    
    

In reponse to the request in 147.10 .....
    
I rarely follow a recipe (and the results show it --- sometimes a 
wonderful surprise, sometimes a bloody mistake, but usually just good). 
My muffins tend to be "some ingredients from column A, some from column B, 
etc."   So, in response to your query, I'll try to write down what I do.

Dry ingredients (into a bowl then stirred together before wetting):

Column A:	One cup of wheat flour

	usually whole wheat

Column B:	Another cup of a second cereal or combination thereof

	whole wheat flour

	uncooked oatmeal or Wheatena

	bran 

	wheat germ 

	corn meal or the Mexican variation used for tortillas
	
Column C:	Leavening (that will unfortunately destroy the B vitamins)

	1 tsp of baking soda (my liquids are always acidic) 

	1 or 2 tsp of baking powder

			I usually uses both, but it may not be necessary.
			I mash these to ensure there are no bitter lumps.

Column D:	Salt, from 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp, at whim in the hand
	
Column E:	Dry fruits, if any.  From 1/4 to 1 cup 

	Raisins

	Currants (for scones)

	Dates

	Coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

Wet ingredients into a blender (lazy owner of a dishwasher):

Column F:	One or two eggs (except for scones), blended

Column G:	One cup of an acidic liquid (or mixture thereof)

	Buttermilk, my favorite standard

	Cider that has ripened to a nice zing

	Fruit juice (orange, pineapple, whatever)

Column H:	Oil, from two to four tablespoons, at whim

	Olive oil

	Corn oil

	Butter (but cut into the dry stuff, not here) (for scones)

Column I:	Sweet, from zero to 1/2 cup, often 1/4 cup

	Honey (favorite)

	Molasses (usually only in raisin-bran muffins)

	Jam, happenstance, often raspberry

	Brown sugar

Column J:	Wet (fresh) fruit, usually about 1/2 cup

	Bananas, two (but the flavor is still so very subtle)

	Pineapple (second favorite) (count the juice as a liquid)

	Blueberries, frozen, added *after* blending liquids

	Grated orange peel (the pulp is a nothing) (*NOT* 1/2 cup)

	Apple (also tends to get lost) (leave the skins on)

	Frozen whole kernel corn (yup, corn; try it with chopped jalapenos)

Column K:	Spices, usually none; sometimes into the dry ingredients

	Fresh nutmeg (with bananas)

	Cinnamon (too easy to be bitter)

	Vanilla (whenever I happen to think of it; I like it)

Blend these liquids and thereby chop/mash the fruit, then add any frozen 
fruit to chill the liquid mixture before combining with the leavening.

Spray a dozen muffin cups with PAM.  Paper liners are less fattening but 
also less satisfactory.  

The oven should be hot by now.  The next step *MUST* be fast.

Stir the blended liquids all at once into the dry ingredients with a
spoon. Mix only until almost homogeneous; perfection takes too long. 
The consistency can be from wet (but too stiff to really pour) to dry
(but with no obviously dry powder left).  I usually have some flour and
buttermilk ready at hand, but speed seems to me to be more important
than the exact level of wetness.  The variability in the ingredients
used means a lot of variability in wetness.  Now I usually compensate
with the buttermilk according to what else is going into the bowl, but
that would really complicate this "recipe". 

Spoon quickly into the muffin cups or, especially for scones, dump onto 
a greased cookie sheet and shape into a 3/4 inch thick blob.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.    Enjoy.         Repeat every 24 hours.

The whole process is very fast, even early in the morning, after you 
have done it a few times.  Maybe ten minutes from start to oven.

    Thanks a lot!  I'll be baking this weekend, so I'll be using your
    recipes.
    
    --Kirby

    follow-up to Note 147.12, muffin guidelines 
    
    Saturday's muffins were indeed "a bloody mistake",but this morning's
    are good.  I have had pumpkin muffins from commercial sources in
    the past, but I had never tried baking them myself until today.
    
    Column A plus B:	Two cups of whole wheat flour

    Column C:	1 tsp of baking soda 
    		2 tsp of baking powder
    
    Column D:	3/4 tsp salt
    
    Column E:	Dry fruits, none, but I should have put in raisins
    
    Column F:	One egg
    
    Column G:	3/4 cup of buttermilk
    
    Column H:	4 tablespoons oil
    
    Column I:	1/4 cup brown sugar because I wasn't awake yet
    
    		plus about 2 tablespoons of the intended molasses
    
    Column J:	1/2 cup of canned pumpkin
    
    Column K:	well rounded teaspoon of pumpkin pie spices
       		(about 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger)
    
    These are as good as any I've ever bought.  Maybe the brown sugar
    and molasses mistake was fortuitous, but the raisins were missed.

    
    I sure had a sweet tooth this past weekend and once I started
    I wanted more..  
    
    I can tell by this past weekend that I should stay away from
    sweets all together because I just can't say no..
    
    Some people probably can be happy with one or two pieces but 
    that just gets my taste buds going and I am off..........
    
    Ann
    
    

    For sugar-free conserves, try Sorrel Ridge.  Coops and health 
    food stores often carry them.  They have honey-sweetened or
    fruit-juice-sweetened varieties; the latter have 14 calories per
    tsp.  They also make good Donvier ice cream.
    
    I find nothing stops sweet cravings except will power and time.  If
    I give in to the "one little bite," I usually go crazy on it.  Even
    if I keep under control, I go through it again the next day, with
    interest.  I have to just tough it out until they go away, telling
    myself that I'm not really hungry and I don't really want it.
    

    
    
    Well this Sweet Tooth person will be going to a get together
    at a friends house.  I know there will be things to eat.
    So wish me luck.  I will try and bring something that
    everyone will like and I can have as well..
    
    I do love sweets but I notice when I eat them I really don't
    feel well.. But when I eat all the right things I feel so
    much better.. I believe my body is trying to tell me something.
    
    
    LIKE NO MORE JUNK
    
    Ann\
    
    
    
    

    re .17:
    
    A suggestion.  Call your friend beforehand, mention that you
    are on a weightloss program, and ask if it would be possible to
    serve some foods that you could enjoy without going off program.
    If she/he is a good friend, you'll get their cooperation.
    
    My wife and I visited her brother and his fiancee a few months back.
    We informed them beforehand that we were on WW, and they were very
    respectful of that fact and helpful.  They served fish for dinner, with
    plenty of veggies to go along with it, and my future sister-in-law was
    even thoughtful enough to pick up a couple boxes of the frozen WW
    chocolate mousses for desert.  Funny part was, she really enjoyed the
    desert, and buys them now on a regular basis even though she is not on
    a weightloss program!                 
    
    
    Paul (who couldn't help but be successful with that kind of support!)
    
     

    
    There is one more thing that I just love and that is Pudding.
    Bread pudding and Rice pudding and Grapenut you name it I 
    am a pudding face..
    
    I even go crazy over the diet pudding...
    
    How will you handle the Sweet tooth over the Hoidays..
    
    I always say oh I won't eat it this year and before you
    know it my hands are in the Heberts candy box..
    
    I wish pastries were good for you and lettece was not..
    
    
    How sweet it is..
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    re .19:
    
    FYI, 1/2 cup of reduced calorie pudding counts as one WW milk exchange.
    Therefore, you can count it under your alloted daily exchanges; you
    don't have to figure it as optional calories. 
    
    
    PY

    
    
    re:20 
      But even the reduced puddings I can't seem to eat just a 1/2 cup.
      I want to eat the whole thing!!  So it's best I stayed away..
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    Oh, yes.  Definitely.  Too much of a good thing.
    
    I bought a box of the Chiquita fruit pops (50 calories each), and
    one of the WW double-fudge pops last night.  I made a promise to
    myself that I would limit myself to 1/day.
    
    Right.
    
    I did manage to make myself eat dinner first :-), but over the course
    of the evening I had 2 of the chocolates and 1 fruit.  I oughta know 
    better by now!
    

    
    
    Hi there sweet lovers.  During Thanksgiving will you be 
    thinking about the Pies when you are eating everything else?
    
    Just the smell sets me going. I think I will wear a cloths pin..
    Just kidding of course.  
    
    I know me to well to say I will have a tiny piece or none
    at all when I know when I see it I will have a normal size
    piece with cream on it..
    
    Happy Holiday and good luck we may do better then we know.
    
    Ann
    
    
    

    
    
    It sure is hard for us Sweet Tooth people !  All I see 
    on TV and stores is chocolates and cakes and everything..
    
    My taste buds can almost taste it..  I have been on a diet 
    and I really have to watch it .. I know if I had one taste 
    that would set me off!!  
    
    In Purity.. I was going passed the Bakery and I tryed to looke
    away.. The smells were driving me crazy!
    
    I did see a few things that looked yummy... I got away from their
    mighty fast!!
    
    Good Luck to you all..
    
    Ann
    
    
    You better watch out ...
    
    
    

I know what you mean about the sweets being everywhere, Ann!  I was at the
mall last week, and I exhibited my most incredible will power ever!  I passed
the bakery, stopped, looked at everything trying to decide what would be
the least bad for my diet (probably a muffin, since they at least count as
exchanges!), and didn't get anything. (pat, pat)  I also stopped at one of
the candy stores, not Fanny Farmer where I had been in the habit of getting
my one truffle (I decided there were probably 200 calories in that little
thing, how far off am I?, and I had made a commitment not to have it), but
at the other place where I bought some dietetic hard candy (10 calories each
and they're good, and bigger than lifesavers).  I find they're good for a
sweet fix, especially while I'm cleaning up after dinner and doing the dishes
(can't put anything else in my mouth then!).

I guess I've learned some kind of control over the past year and a half.  I
really can just have one cookie (like I did last night at a meeting) and
stop.  I guess I tell myself the right things at the right time.  (most of
the time :-)).

Jill

    
    
    I went to a Buffet today with some friends from work ..
    It is at a Tech.. school and they have it all!
    
    They always have the Desserts at the door as you 
    walk in!! So my eyes zoom (0)  ^   (0)  in on
    those..
    
    Well I did good for me.. as I just had normal plate full..
    I didn't go for seconds and then a lady and I looked at the
    Desserts well It's funny but there was a very small slice of
    cake so I took it.. I use to go for the largest piece and the
    most cream.. I did plan for it so I feel I did good for me!
    
    
    The Ann Arno Report
    
    

    
    THE CANDY HEARTS are Everywhere!
    
    I had a nice weekend that could have turned out an
    eating one..
    
    I was with some friends this weekend That love to eat.. too...
    My friends and I went for a ride to Bolton where Heberts is
    They have such nice candy and I love all there stuff..
    I go crazy in that place..and they even take Master a Viza Cards.
    
    I did good I did have a small sundea and I wanted to buy every candy
    heart in that store... but I didn't.
    
    
    I seem to be craving sweets again.. I had some candy that got my
    taste buds going...
    
    
    It's not easy this time of the year...any time but somehow
    those candy hearts get to you..
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    
    I can say I did have a Sweet tooth this past weekend.
    
    I got a small box of choc..'s  and I went to a Birthday
    party sooooooo...That's that. I have gone right back on
    program today so if I do well . I should do alright.
    
    How did you all do ?
    
    Ann
    
    
    

    I think I must have lost my sweet tooth (or at least it's in a coma).
    Someone left a box of Valentine candy (See's, no less!) right by
    the water cooler where I fill up my water bottle every morning.
    Of course, I opened it..."just to look".  Well, the smell of all
    that chocolate almost made me gag!
    
    That's progress, I guess.
    
    Lynn