Food Rules From Hungry Girl

I have been a fan of Hungry Girl for many years. Before she wrote cookbooks and before she was endorsed by Weight Watchers, Lisa Lillien was sending daily emails with tips and recipes. Last week I received one that I wanted to share. Hungry Girl's Food Rules! (Italicized notes are mine.)

1. Don't drink your calories. There's nothing sadder than realizing you just consumed hundreds of calories by sipping a sweet drink... and you're still hungry! For the most part, I look for drinks with no more than 50 calories per cup, and I always check the labels carefully for the total servings per bottle. I completely agree with this with the exception of my morning shake. 2 cups of light soymilk, 1 cup of frozen berries, 2 scoops of Recoverite blended together = 6 WW Points Plus. This keeps be satisfied until lunch time, is extremely nutritious, plus I get 2 servings of dairy and 2 servings of fruit in one sitting.

2. The 80/20 rule. I live by it. It means that 80 percent of the time, I eat what I know I should be eating. And 20 percent of the time, I allow myself to stray a bit. It's important to indulge every once in a while... like, maybe, 20 percent of the time! I agree with this completely! And live by it and maintain my weight by it. Life would be BORING if I didn't indulge part of the time.

3. Don't turn a bad meal into a bad week. So you made a poor food choice. You're human. Don't give up and throw in the towel just because you overate. Jump right back into things at your next meal. No biggie. Truly. Yep - "Shame off Me" as long as I get right back on track.

4. Identify and avoid your trigger foods. These are the foods you can't be trusted around -- the ones where "just a few" turns into WAY too much; the foods that seem to make you hungrier and hungrier. Don't keep these foods in the house. They're too tempting and not worth the trouble... This is a little trickier... most of the time I don't have trigger foods. Really! But occasionally something will really hit the spot and I can't stop! (See #2 and #3)

5. Don't make excuses -- it's all about being prepared. The Boy Scouts know what they're talking about! If you know you're going out to dinner, check out the menu online so you can plan ahead and make smart choices. And always keep emergency snacks handy -- in your purse, car, desk drawer... wherever you might need them. Then you won't need to make excuses. I definitely check the menu in advance if I know where I'm going out to eat. It can be a downer sometimes, but it can also be a big help! Who knew a salad could be so many points?