WHY DO I ALWAYS BLOW IT AT DINNER????

this is what works for me:
about an hour before i leave work, i log what i plan to eat for dinner (plus it helps to remind me if i need to stop off at the grocery store for any needed ingerdients). it helps me set limits on what i eat. also, i keep NO convenience dinner-thingies in my pantry (it used to make up the bulk of what i prepared). no rice-a-roni, no hamburger helper - none of that crapola. it forces me to cook healthy. so far, this is what i've had to do and not compromise. my husband and i still enjoy the social side of dinner together and, because of planning first, i've been enjoying it more. hope this helps.

best of luck to you on this journey :flowerforyou:

First, cook less food...If you are the cook, you are in control of the amount of food prepared. Portion control is one of the most important things you can do. I have a large family, 4 kids and a husband, to cook for. I always made more food than we could eat, I sometimes still do. Once you've made dinner and eaten your "appropriate portion", do something else as a family such as a walk, bike ride or even a game of cards or other board game...anything but eat more food. Make sure you drink a glass of water before you eat and while you are eating. Fill your plate with more veggies than anything, they are filling and good for you!

As for picking while you eat, chew a piece of gum, suck on a hard candy(just one) or munch on the veggies instead. You don't have to make the high cal/fat foods. There are easy substitutions that will make your meals healthier. I would be more than happy to share some recipes with you. Take comfort instead in the changing health of not just you, but your family too. They will highly benefit from your efforts....Willpower, you do have it...reach in deep and pull it out. You can do it!

Don't buy or keep the empty cal foods in the house. Instead buy fruits, nuts or even popcorn, Indiana Popcorn is great, you can eat a lot for little calories. Just make sure you measure your snacks. Get a food scale, I got one cheap on ebay, it really helps.

It's fine to sit and talk after dinner...just make sure the dinner is not on the table. I put the dinner on the counter, we serve ourselves, then go sit at the table. It really cuts down on getting a second helping if you have to get up and get it.
Good luck!

While I'm trying to lose weight I told my husband I wouldn't be cooking as much until I drop the first 20 pounds. We are grilling our suppers a lot and I have a side of sliced cucumber or grape tomatoes with light catalina dressing. When we grill I have low-fat turkey sausages for supper and he has his burgers or whatever he wants. We're grilling lots of chicken breasts, too. It would be harder with grown kids to feed too, though. Maybe get the BBQ going with some low-fat options for yourself and the men in your life can do steaks or burgers or whatever. Summer is the perfect time for that. : ) PS - Costco has yummy chicken/turkey sausages that are great on the BBQ

First, you need to vow to log each and every peice of food that you nibble on while making dinner. That will cut that out, becasue after a few days you'll get sick of it. Knowing you'll have to log it will hopefully keep you from eating it (it's the whole, holding yourself accountable thing). Also, it's a huge pain to try logging 3 crackers, or one peice of cheese, etc.

Second, healthy meals don't have to be "diet food" that your boys won't touch. My boyfriend loves junkfood but he eats all of the healthy dishes I make. I get most of my recipes from here, or from delish.com. You can also use your regular recipes by replacing some of the ingrediants, like using ground turkey instead of ground beef, reduced fat cheese instead of regular, light salad dressings instead of regular, fat free sour cream, etc.

Third, planning and portion control is the key to weightloss. Just becasue your boys eat large portions, doesn't mean you have to. Invest in a scale (about 10-20 bucks at walmart) and weigh your food and go by serving sizes on the package. Also it helps to plan everything at the beginning of the day....first thing when I get to work I log all of my meals that I plan on having and the exercise that I will do, that way if hunger strikes at 3pm, I'll know if I have enough calories to have a snack.

Finally, load up your dinner plate with veggies....then you'll need less of the main dish to feel full, and you'll have plenty to eat and snack on while you have your family time. Oh, and someone else suggested chew gum while you cook dinner so you won't pick, excellent suggestion. Who wants to pick at food when they have minty gum in their mouth?

I keep a large glass of Fresh brewed flavored Iced Green tea w/ no sugar buy my side when I cook dinner. I have two teenage boys and my husband who don't diet I make fresh meals no packaged and we serve from the stove side, I do make a huge salad and keep that on the table so as we sit and talk if we have seconds of salad it is okay. Believe it or not since I have been working on my weight and making healthier dinners they tell me how much better they feel eating it. So slowly you may see your family change along with you.

So eat if you're hungry!

280 calories gets you a 2 ounce Milky Way bar ~~OR~~ about a pound of veggies ~~OR~~ An apple and an orange and a handful of grapes... You don' t have to go hungry, just eat more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff.