Pay attention to...

	GOLD RULE: Drink a lot of water, daily, between meals. Helps your bowel and cuts down you appetite. My skin was dehydrated (face, feet)... After drinking so (much) water, my skin got much, MUCH better: softer, silkier !  You can have mineral sparkling water, or plain water - if it's purified and free of microbs, germs and ugly little things you wouldn't like to live with... inside you
	Don't cheat – don't eat between meals. (well, an apple is OK). But try to eat three times a day (only).
	I felt very well after a water day (fasting day). Once a week all I had was ... water. We have fasts (before Christmas, Easter) that recommend this. I'm doing this on Fridays (but not every Friday - as I told you, I hate monotony...) Helps eliminating toxins and your body gets a well deserved "pause"... Well, I didn't gave up my morning coffee, but the rest of day... water! I tried (exaggerated...) to have 2-3 water days per week – which was really stupid... The fact is that the weight loss is not the same, you loose fewer kilos (pounds) for each water day, your nerves might crack... Don't exaggerate! [ Read here about Juice or Broth fasts ] During a fast, insulin falls, adrenaline rises, and you feel pumped up. Not to mention the minimal food preparation...
	NO beer, NO wine during the diet. If you really feel like having a drink... well, I had (after four months of NO alcohol) one small glass of ... whisky (or tzuica - Romanian stuff, very strong). If you want to loose weight...
	Avoid everything that ends with ...[nuts]. Like peanuts (I love them!), pistachio (crazy about! - oops, this one doesn't end in ... [nuts]). Just don't buy them (just to have them in case someone comes to visit you... Hey, I know that trick!) After you loose some fat and start controlling your eating habits... well, you can have (some, few, little etc. - you got my drift?) wallnuts (and other ... nuts). Eat them slowly, to enjoy their taste. But pay attention!
	If you like fish roe (I do!) and you feel you HAVE to eat that – take one spoon of fish roe, keep it in your mouth before swallowing it. You won't need another one...
	The diet to build for yourself must contain fruits, vegetables – preferably fresh ones (but I won't ask you to eat fresh spinach...) – and cereals. Use the negative calories list – but don't restrain only to that. Find recipes, create your own recipes, you'll see how (very) tasty vegetables can be (check my recipes). Use parsley, dill - they give a special "flavor" to your dishes.
	Eat lot's of fruits, preferably apples during the first period of your diet.
	Avoid potatoes, rice, (or at least don't mix them with other food), dry beans. When I say avoid, I don't mean eliminate! If you feel like eating potatoes, have (just) potatoes for one meal. Prepared as you like. Don't eat french fries and meat. Just french fries, for instance. The same applies to rice, spaghetti, pasta.
	Give up sweets, cookies (yummy!) for several months. If you really crave to eat one cookie – be sure to have a long walk after that... In time you'll learn how to control your cravings...
	Dairy - yes, but avoid high fat ones. NO fat cream, please (for some time). Try the low fat fetta, yogurt, milk.
	Prepare meat as you like it – I did so! Grilled is fine. But I also like to "stew" it. Here's how to do that. Fry chopped onions and garlic with oil, in a pan, till they get "gold" colored. Stir well. Add meat, cut in small pieces, and stir till meat pieces get "white" colored. Then add some water (half a glass), cover the pan and let it "boil" for 10 minutes. Add savory, salt, pepper. Stir. Add water if necessary (well, meat should not float in water, but it shouldn't get burned neither). Another 10 minutes and it's ready. Tasty!
	Meat is fine, but FISH is fantastic for loosing weight (and not only for that) – I've noticed that from my daily table/graphic. For instance: when I eat for dinner [1 yogurt + fish] I loose weight. If I eat for dinner [1 yogurt + 1 hot-dog] I don't loose weight. (of course, the rest of the day I ate the same things, in both cases). Eat as much fish as you like. I love salmon, trout, cod...
	Egg is a very consistent food. Use it as one meal (usually for breakfast). Not more than 2-3 times / week.
	Avoid eating after 5 p.m. Happy you, if you can. I couldn'tand I can't – my dinners are after 7 p.m. or later. Dinner is my main meal of the day. I know, I know, it's not right, but ... that's me. My breakfast is (usually) one cup of coffee with milk, no sugar. I skip lunch (I won't explain here why) so dinner is our family BIG meal. And my folks enjoy eating! So I had to figure out a dinner to satisfy everyone! 1) fish and yogurt, or 2) huge cabbage (or green salad) chopped, mixed with pieces of meat (or cheese), parsley, dill, garlic, tomato, onions, cucumbers, green pepper and yogurt instead of dressing – delicious! Add salt and pepper as you like. 3) what ever you like. You have imagination, use it! But keep in mind your goal: low calories!
	This might sound crazy. A friend of mine told me about a Tibetan "incantation" that helps you loosing weight. You have to repeat these words (sounds) every day, as often as you can, for several minutes. (this really sounds crazy, doesn't it?) It took me some time to memorize them, I used them... I don't know what to say. I was loosing weight nicely (I was also on diet). Who knows? The words are:  SAN CIA UII NAH PAI TUN DOU (But maybe in English they should be pronounced differently... I'll have to check out) Say them loudly (careful who's around!) or in your mind. It is said that this combination od sounds creates a resonance in your cells and something (good) happens to your body. Well, I'm still alive !!!
	Finally, something intelligent on this page: you might be interested to check out Mayo Clinic's TIPS ON LOSING WEIGHT AND KEEPING IT OFF. It's healthy, it works... and it's up to you! No money involved!