I have another couple of tips (or things to debate, if you like!) that I will put in this post just in *case* anyone is interested... I'm sure you all know this stuff but I'll write it anyway!

Firstly, saying that you are on a 'diet' is not always the best way to perceive your new eating plan. The word 'diet' suggests that you are on this eating plan to lose weight, and when you have lost enough weight you won't be on the 'diet' anymore - so you may well indulge a bit more than you mean to, and put some of the weight back on quite quickly. I've done this in the past - sooo frustrating!

So ... you’re not “on a diet”, don’t ever use that phrase, you are now going to be “eating healthily”. It has to become a permanent part of what you do, and eating crap food has to feel a bit out of character. Losing weight and keeping it off is in your mind, not in the foods you eat. If you eat something that’s full of fat, it’s not “going off the rails” it’s “a major exception to what I usually do”. So you don't need to worry about it, just go back to your healthy eating plan and try not to do it again.

Having said that, what you guys are saying about a 'chocolate treat' with soy milk or whatever is GREAT, because you are allowing youself something that otherwise you'll probably end up craving and maybe bingeing on if you don't.

In terms of treats, it's NOT bad to have a few squares of a good quality dark chocolate - this is actually quite good for you as it has happy stuff and i think antioxidants in it. Less fat than milk chocolate too I believe. Also, a glass of red wine isn't going to add too many pounds to your waistline if you have one every now and again.

I recently read a really interesting article about why French women have such sleek figures, despite being surrounded by pastries, cheeses, and lots of red wine!!

The main things that I can remember from it is

*Portion size - don't eat lots of something, just have a small portion of it and let it digest before you decide if you are still hungry. It takes a little while to feel full after you eat.

*Lots of fresh vegetables and cooking at home is a good way to monitor what you are eating and what exactly is in it! The French are very big on cooking at home and enjoying their food. Even looking at the ingredients of something like Subway is scary! Although it might be low FAT, have you seen what they add to their 'chicken'?! Sooo many preservatives and other gunk, including 'chicken flavouring' ... yuck!

*Measure your weightloss as much by how your clothes fit as the scales. Sometimes you lose weight and the scales might not show it up, for various reasons including water retention, etc. Or you might be building up some muscle where you used to have fat through your exercising. Muscle is heavier than fat! For me personaly, it's much more rewarding/encouraging to find my jeans are a bit looser than it is to find i've lost a pound.

*Treats - back to this! The French will treat themselves but not pig out. Perhaps have a small pastry for morning tea, or some cheese and bread before dinner.

That's about all I can remember from it, but funnily enough a friend of mine lived in France for a year and agrees with this theory - she said she was the slimmest she's ever been while she lived there, yet ate delicious food and wasn't really conscious of watching what she ate. She's a curvy wee girl too, has a lovely figure but isn't exactly skinny.

Something else that's really obvious but I thought I might point it out ... fizzy drink! Or pop or whatever you call coke etc. If you must have it have the diet version, cos the normal version has about 8 teaspoons of sugar in it. I don't like diet stuff because it has so much fake sweetener in it (the nutrasweet stuff) which can actually have some really bad health effects (on your stomach, memory, energy levels, etc). The name eludes me for now, but when I remember it i'll post it unless someone else knows ... Drink water, maybe with some lemon in it (lemon is excellent for cleansing your digestive system, a good way to start the day is having a glass of water, either hot or cold, with a lemon squeezed into it). Other people flavour their water that they drink throughout the day with lime, cucumber, or even slice some strawberry into it to make it more exciting.

A good thing to do if you can afford it is to get some vitamin supplements - just in case you are missing anything out of your diet. Although, if you're eating well in your new eating plan, you should be fine! I don't believe in loading up on heaps of supplements, but I do take a multivitamin and an antioxidant and I find my energy is increased quite a bit with these. The ones I use are called Usana, but there are heaps of other good ones out there as well. Be aware that some multis are pretty much USELESS - their potency is actually very low. One example is Centrum (I know this is sold in a lot of countries) - I read some research on this in a comparison with other multis and it didn't come out well at all. So good to talk to someone in a health food shop or pharmacy rather than grabbing whatever is on sale in the supermarket - you might be wasting your money.

Ok ... that's all I can think of ... I am not a nutritionist or anything but I do live with people who are very clued up on dieting etc (fitness freaks, the guys are actually doing a body-building competition at the moment, and one of them runs a gym too) so I am taking advantage of their knowledge