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1. Dude, I recently looked up the nutritional facts for my work cafeteria’s Mac and Cheese. One ice cream scooper full has 1038 Calories and 70g of Fat!!!!!! I felt dirty after I learned this. I have already eaten it like three times!

   — BK | @

2. dude, i’m getting fat, too. it sucks.

   along with exercising more, this is my plan (in order of importance):
   A. eat out way less. sure, i could get a salad, but i know i’m not going to.
   B. seriously reduce my intake of drinks other than water.
   C. generally eat a little “better,” but nothing crazy. like wheat instead of white bread. and i definitely allow exceptions to the rules, which is fine. i don’t count calories.

   we’ll see how it goes. i would like to lose 10-15 pounds to better fit into my summertime sun-dresses (i mean seriously, we are girls).

   — Wolf | @

3. http://www.amazon.com/American-Heart-Association-Low-Calorie-Cookbook/dp/0812928555/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201118127&sr=8-1

   This is the best thing that ever happened to me.

   — Susan | @

4. I need to check that cookbook out.

   I hate when people say that dieting isn’t all about calories. Heck yes it is. Calorie counting is the only thing I’ve seen that gets results. Maybe some people can lose 10 pounds from cutting out midnight snacks or something, but calorie-counting is dieting for the rest of us. It sucks, but it gets results.

   Also, I’ve found that a high-fiber diet helps a lot. That’s because it’s really, really difficult to eat nothing but lettuce all day, and everything else has a lot of calories. This helps you feel full so that you’re not seriously sitting at your desk concocting an elaborate fantasy about french fries. So granola bars, oat bran added into your instant oatmeal, wheat crackers, wheat bread, etc.

   — Tess | @

5. you should publish a diet book and film an infomercial.

   “Learn the secret to losing weight by eating less! Oh wait…damn.”

   You’d make millions anyway.

   — andrew hunter | @

6. Ross, I feel your pain. Right now, I’ve got a weight loss blog post brewing in the back of my mind. Whenever it shows up, you’re welcome to borrow from my “diversity of dietary tactics.” Who knows, maybe we can have a competition. They say the secret to fitness is pride.

   — RVA Foodie | @

7. I happen to know a dietitian or two or eight. Also, nutritiondata.com is awesome for finding out the stats of your food.

   I would lay off the vitamin water, I mean seriously? You can get 500 multivitamins for the cost of 1 bottle of that stuff, and then you aren’t drinking your calories. Also, limiting alcohol helps.

   As far as feeling satisfied on less calories, not all foods make you feel as full even given the same number of calories. For example a few M&M’s won’t hold you more than a few minutes but a baked potato can keep you feeling full for a long while.

   — nic | @

8. Special K protein water is amazing. Yes, you are drinking some calories, but not too many–50 in a 16 fl. oz. bottle. And yes, it is saturated with artificial coloring. And yes, it is way too flavored. But if you water it down or just use some of the new powdered mix, it can replicate your beloved vitamin water while filling you up with protein, which makes you not hungry. And protein is good for your brain functioning. It really is fantastic. Whenever I drink it throughout the day I am surprised by how unstarving I am.

   — Jesse | @

9. NYC just passed a law to make all chain restaurants (15 outlets or more) put nutrition info on menus and/or menu boards (fast food).

   also, can i say that i love how the news, when doing stories like this, always roll that stock footage of some poor huge fatty walking down the street.

   — Wolf | @

10. Haha I love that too!

    Let’s be honest here people. Beer is delicious.

    — Ross | @

11. Okay Ross. Your post motivated me to purge myself of all of the dietary advice that I sometimes follow and more often suppress. Have at it. The post wasn’t popular on RVABlogs, but it may take on a life of its own regardless. And, I do NOT try to persuade readers to abstain from alcohol.

    — RVA Foodie | @

12. Nice use of “swivet.” New vocabulary rocks.

    — RA | @

13. i don’t know anything about anything but i have always thought that non-water liquids would be the easiest things to cut out. cuz like drinking soda (or beer) doesnt really make you less hungry, but it delivers a bunch of calories nonetheless. so you can go on a “diet” by drinking water instead without the negative aspects like being hungry all the time. but i don’t know, it’s an untested hypothesis.

    also in nutrition action this month, they had a list of foods and then the amount and kind of exercise you need to do to burn off their calories. it was INSANE! like a tablespoon of oil = 40 minutes raking leaves. like with a rake, not a leafblower. also a cookie from starbucks was like 1hr swimming laps (impossible).

    anyways the point is the input is much easier to regulate than the output.

    — midas | @

14. remember in “Over the Top” with Sly Stallone when that dude drank a whole quart of motor oil. that’s over 42 hours of raking!

    — Wolf | @

15. I have done a few things. I eat breakfast now, for one thing. I play sports multiple times a week, and kickball doesn’t count. I drink water at home sometimes instead of milk, but I still drink milk a lot, ibh. I have switched from beer to any-mixed-drink-without-soda-in-it.

    Also, instead of coffee full of cream and sugar in the morning (at least once) followed by a soda at lunch and the occassional afternoon soda or hot chocolate, I bring a Lipton Green Tea (with citrus) to work with me every day and drink it in the mornings. Then I fill the bottle with water all day long.

    That’s about it. I already lost one belt loop worth of weight this week, so I know it’s working.

    — Justin | @

16. Ross, you should try breast-feeding. I heard a thing on the radio this morning that that burns up to 500 calories a day!! and you’re just sitting there! give it a try i say.

    — Wolf | @

17. i thought breast milk was pretty high in calories…

    — midas | @

18. i can’t tell if you are making a joke or not. but he would have to be on the giving end, not the receiving.

    — Wolf | @

19. yeah it was a joke. when i was typing it, i was thinking: “i dont think people will be able to tell if this is a joke or not.”

    — midas | @

20. i get a little memo thing from my health insurance every month. it has all these tips for staying healthy. the one i got today says a recent study found that people get 22% of their calories from beverages! 22%!

    — Wolf | @