a1k0n – Thanks for the post.  I always thought that glucose and fructose were metabolized the same way.  I was amazed to find that fructose is metabolized completely by the liver, has a worse effect on the liver than alcohol (ethanol), and turns into fat.

So since fructose and ethanol are metabolized like fat, a low fat diet will not be low fat if there is enough fructose in the diet or alcoholic beverages in the diet.

rainbow Brenda – thanks for the info on Dr John McDougall.  I picked up his book and it has some good tips in it.

Shimmeringlight – also helpful advice…  especially how sometimes we are thirsty and mistake it for hunger.

I would recommend Dr. Esselstyn's diet.  It is a fairly effortless way to get to your healthy weight without exercise.  I went on it to lower my cholesterol (and it is now between 110 to 130mg/dL), but a side affect of the diet was that I lost 20 pounds until it stabilized around 165 (I'm 6'1").

1. Avoid all animal based foods.

2. Limit fat intake to less than 10% of the calories you take in.  Why?
   a. Fat is about 2 times denser than carbs.  You will feel full faster with carbs than with fat – and the caloric intake will be much less.
   b. It is harder for the body to convert fat into energy than to convert carbs into energy.  Therefore it is easier for the body to store fat as fat than to break it down for energy.  Think about this – if you were hungry and had a choice between a meal ready to eat or the ingredients for that meal and you would have to prepare it yourself, which would you take?
   c. Fat intake raises your cholesterol.
   d. There is no heart-healthy fat.  Fat from nuts, seeds, and vegetable oil is just as bad for your heart as fat from an animal source.

3. Make sure some of the fat in your diet is flax seed oil – for the omega 3 essential oil.

4. Eat more leafy greens in place of the starchy carbs.

5. Alcohol is also about 2 times …