Question by Rainia W: What has been your best weight loss “trick”?
Mine has been replacing most of my beverages with water. I used to drink juice ALLLLLL day long, but now I have juice for breakfast and milk with dinner, and then in between and with lunch I have water, and it has helped me lose weight.

Best answer:

Answer by Courtney
Mine is cutting out processed foods like chips and crackers, sure they could be healthy kinds but they really are loaded with carbs. Also cut any drinks that contain calories and just drink water now. No sweets.

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by Yiorgos M: What brand of “meal replacement” bars is the best?
low in sugar
low in fat
low in cholesterol
average 300+/- calories

Best answer:

Answer by kkat
i like Power Crunch Bars – I think they have 5 grams of sugar, not too bad – 185 calories, about 12 grams of protein.

There are the Dr. Diet’s carb right bars, or something like that – those are low in sugar as well, and have a little more protein I think.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Question by Selma D: Is it healthy to replace real food with “meal replacement” powder/ pills?
My brother thinks that it’s a smart idea to drink protein powder instead of eating actual food. Now’s he’s planning to buy vitamin pills instead of eating vegetables. I would like to know if this is in any way healthy? And is it healthy at all to take all those artificial supplements in any situation? Isn’t it possible to reach the same goal without changing your whole diet into artificial foods?

Best answer:

Answer by cinnery
its not healthy to eat ONLY meal replacement bars/shakes, I think one a day would be about all you should have, there are some nutrients that they just cant synthesize

What do you think? Answer below!

I am a fussy eater and there are not very many vegetables that I like. However, I need to eat healthier and I am trying to include more vegetable-heavy meals in my diet (vegetable soups, veggies in sauce (lots of sauce!) on pasta etc) and I was wondering do any vegetarians on the board know if a vegetarian sausage/beef pattie/whatever actually provides any of the nutrition benefits from the vegetables used, in a similar way that a sausage-sized serving of veggies would ? Or is it nowhere near as good as just eating a pile of veggies?

It would be great if they did – that would be one more vegetable-serving I could actually eat!

(I know lots of people think vegetarian sausages don’t taste nice, but I have had some nice ones at party once, so I know they exist and if it’s worth it, I’ll hunt them down to the corners of the earth!)

Thanks all.

There is a special occasion tommorow and i want to look especially good .
However, i feel somedays ; i get bloated after eating certain things
or eating certain meals .

My friend suggested not eating anything for the next day and a half .. and just drinking water
I told her i didnt think that was such a good idea .
I think i’d just bloat more, cause’ i’d get REAL hungry

I am cury lady, therefore i am i bit self-concious about my gut .
I dont want it too be sticking out all night

so if anyone has any suggestions/recommendations , please let me know

i have to work today therefore , ill only get too eating these things at around dinner time tonight ; as a replacement for supper

the party is tommorow night
i just want to know what types of food i should eat
so i dont look fat .

Thanks , NO STUPID ANSWERS !

I recently started eating the South Beach Diet Whole Grain Crunch cereal and I absolutely love it! However, recently, I read the ingredients label and noticed that it had sucralose as its sweetener. I know that the FDA has decided that it is safe, but I don’t know…something tells me that it’s really not. I’d like to continue to eat this cereal but with the thought of it being sweetened with an artificial sweetener nagging in my mind, I don’t know if I can enjoy it anymore. Should I stop worrying and go ahead and eat it?

Looking for the name of an old gentleman that used to host his own cooking show. He used to wear bibb over-alls….he drank a glass of wine with all of his meals….he was heavy-set…he was based in Louisiana ( I think ) and cooked mainly cajun/creole dishes……He had a wonderful sense of humor and never failed to insert it into his cooking “lesson”. My new boyfriend had one of his cookbooks but lost it. I’d like to suprise him with a replacement. Any help would be appreciated.

This was my favorite meal as a kid…Would firm tofu be a good substitute?
mm i love mushrooms…and breaded mushrooms are usually deepfried (ew) never thought of baking them before!

I am going to go on this diet, the fat burning diet by jay robb, and a few of his smoothy recipes call for raw eggs. Is it safe to eat raw eggs?

I need a few “convert them” recipes. I’m trying to be vegan and with a family of established omnivores it is going to be difficult. My husband is very defensive of his meat-eating and my kids have so far been brought up with plenty of eggs and dairy (though not much meat – they won’t miss that at least). My kids are quite little (5 and 2) so I could use some good fish-finger/chicken nugget alternatives too.

Honestly guys, no internet recipe websites please – I can do that myself. I want tried and tested “this is the best meal I’ve ever eaten” recipes. If there’s no “meat replacement” products involved then all the better, since I think that negates the point somewhat…
The Surgeon’s Assistent: come up with something else, please. Any more of the same tired objections?! How can a diet of fruit and veg, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes etc. be harmful? Oh, and marmite takes care of the B12 by the way.
Edward S.: I do the shopping and cooking, so if I have to buy things I disapprove of, and think are unhealthy to boot, how is that OK? It’s like saying, your kids like McD’s – how dare you shove your lifestyle down their throats by not taking them every day?! I mean, wouldn’t you try to do what you thought was best/healthiest for your kids – and spouse?!
Oh, and Psycee: Thanks for a good laugh! Are you high?

Seriously: If I used to eat three steaks (or whatever!) a week, and cut down to none, is there some radar somewhere that says “Quick! Omnivores, step up the meat consumption!” Honestly. It’s a simple supply and demand mechanism – if less demand is there, supply falls accordingly. The trick is to get the percentage of non-meat eaters high enough to make an impact.

As I see it, my responsibility to my kids is to bring them up to be decent human beings and feed them as healthily as I can. As for school, why would they be teased? I don’t dress them in “Mommy’s Little Vegan” T-shirts. What’s wrong with a peanut butter sandwich, some grapes and an apple for lunch?! Nothing to tease there, is there?
Edward S.: My McDonalds/meat analogy was ENTIRELY apt with what it is you are suggesting I should do, since for me the two are interchangeably definable as: junk food. Shall I lay it out for you very simply so as not to confuse you?!
Here goes: My kids like meat/McD’s.
I don’t like them to eat meat/McD’s (health AND ethical reasons for both).
My analogy was simply that feeding my children animal products every day is, for me, like taking them to McD’s every day.

As for being attention-seeking, well I haven’t told a soul yet (nope, not even my husband) and my strategy so far is to try to introduce meals that a) are very nutritious and b) they will like. As for my supposed superiority complex, wrong again. I have eaten meat and other animal products practically all my life, in fact I am not quite “animal-free” yet. I simply am working towards it as being the IDEAL way to live. So no, I’m not into self-congratulation.

Incidentally, I’m not into harshly judging others, either.