Denny, most people hate working with diets, but I was always a nutrition freak since I raised my own garden. I really didn't want to write things down, so I started with food that I knew from reading on the web that I should not bring into the house. That made it so much easier. Then I thought about food that I really liked to cook and eat and looked up the glycemic index on some of them to see what was the best to eat. The lower, the better, but I had to remember that I eat too much, being on the farm with big meals for years. I picked a few no-no's to not eat, like white potatoes, potato chips, cookies and cake, except for carrot cake which is a vegetable, my son says. I decided to keep my bedtime milk because I get to sleep better. I eat whole wheat pasta once a month.
One piece of whole grain toast gets me by to eat with eggs, if I fix them. I can eat a wonderful lean hamburger with no bread if I have tomato, lettuce, etc.
I eat lots of veggies and some fruit, and I eat nuts and high fiber foods like prunes or dates if needed. Yes, I went to a nutritionist who taught me to count carbs and I did that for a while. I lost weight for a while and then it stopped. Not enough exercise. I am always trying new foods from the produce department, fresh and raw or sautéed with sweet onions and maybe a few shrimp. Maybe some mushrooms. Garlic makes it taste good. I don't count much anymore. If I test at night and it is high, I know to not overdo the next day. Balanced meals are essential. Learn that from the Mayo Diet book. Do not eat a sweet at 4:00 pm. thinking it is a nice snack. Eat protein at every meal if possible, with veggies and maybe some fruit. Eating new foods is fun. Dorisena