Don - you continue to amaze me!!! :app: :app: Please, please send us a picture of you in your tux from the Silver Whisper. You'll be so handsome.

Liz - sounds like you are doing a lot of great things with your diet. I always believe the diet that works is the one that works for YOU!! Sometimes its a combo of diets. Right now I'm on the low carb (South Beach) diet but I found that I still had to count the calories. Like you, I've been having a problem with portion control the last many years. So counting the calories and watching the carbs is working for me. I'm not losing quickly. But like Don said, I am not ever hungry and my cravings are WAY down. I feel so much healthier now. I'm exercising 5-6 days a week, too. So I know that is helping. Even though I've only lost 15 lbs, my clothes are fitting like I've lost 25. So I'm now a true believer in low carbs and exercise (and always, always counting calories - at least for me).

Liz, I also like your tip about eating your salad as a 1st course and THEN the entre. How clever. That way your meal lasts much longer and you have the time to fill up on the good salad. Smart girl.

I've been eating more fish than I used too. I get the Groton's frozen fillets and bake them. Then I add a 0 Carb (Carb Options) terriyaki sauce to it (also the sauce is only 5 calories per 1 Tbls!!!). So good. I use that sauce on shrimp, ground sirloin patties, chicken. It's been a lifesavor for me. I get the good shrimp at Costco. It's frozen and I just take out as many as I want. Already cooked and peeled.

Another good tip is to put Laughing Cow Cream Swiss Cheese on celery sticks. Only 35 calories/1 carb per wedge. This takes the place of chips for me by satisfying my crunchy cravings. I also eat a lot of mixed unsalted nuts. I divide the can up into little baggies (1 small handful each) so that I can control myself and not eat all the nuts at once - :D . I take those to work for a protein afternoon snack. It really seems to help. I don't feel like I'm starving at dinner.

Unfortunately I do like sweets. Tom & I have discovered Russell Stover's sugar free chocoate candies (low carb too). Plus, I love the Jello brand sugar-free jello with a little bit of whip cream and slivered almonds (jello only 10 calories/0 carbs) About 100 calories total. This is very often my dessert at night.

I'll try to come up with more tips to share. Hope these are of interest.