Dieting can be so hard that it's amazing it works for people. It becomes a lot easier when you have some great helpful hints and tips. Hopefully these will help you with your weight loss program. If it weren't for these ideas, I know I wouldn't be doing as good. Check back often for more hints and tips.

Whenever I find myself craving something not-so-healthy, like six dark chocolate Dove Eggs, I try to ask myself what else could I have for the same amount of points. Six Dove Eggs are worth 6 points, so I say "Well, I could have six small pieces of candy, or three big ice cream sandwiches, three bags of popcorn, or six Weight Watchers Mousse Pops." It usually works and I'll end up eating something better for me, if not quite as yummy. This technique also works well at dinner time. My fiance and I are living with my parents right now, and my grandmother usually cooks dinner. While it's a great help for my mom, it means we have rather unhealthy meals.. last night we had ham (3 points per slice), mashed potatoes (4 points for one cup), and corn (2 points per cup). That's not really all that bad, either.. considering we usually have food like fried chicken, steak tips, ribs, pot-pie, pasta, and lots of bread. Unless it's something really yummy or pretty healthy, I usually end up saying "Well, I could have what Grammy made, or I can have two Smart Ones plus a Skinny Cow, with less fat." This is my best way to prevent me from eating unhealthy (but delicious) foods.

Every weekend my fiance and I go out to dinner at least once, if not twice. Sometimes we even eat lunch out, if we're very busy doing errands or an adoption day. While dinner out can occasionally be healthy, it usually isn't. However, during the week I often find myself satisfied with about 4-8 points less than my allowance. I add these extra points up (using a handy Excel spreadsheet) and use them on the weekend. I still try not to eat too unhealthy, but I know I won't go over my limit if I have a stir-fry with pasta, or two chicken breasts instead of one. And of course, there is the rare sundae at my favorite ice cream shop. The point is, if I eat very healthy all week, I don't feel so bad about eating bigger portions on the weekend.

Ice cream is my weak spot. I could eat ice cream until I exploded and still want more. Naturally, this fixation on ice cream isn't exactly healthy. Luckily, there are a few good low-point ice creams out there. One kind is Skinny Cows. They're ice cream sandwiches made with ice milk instead of ice cream, but they taste awesome. They're only worth two points, too. Silhouette, the company that makes them, also makes sundae cups and pints of ice milk. Another healthier ice cream is the Healthy Choice brand. I prefer the mint chip kind, but the others are pretty good, too. And a real low-point idea is to make your own ice cream sandwiches. Put a dollop of fat-free Cool Whip between two graham crackers and freeze. Voila! You can make a bunch of them and put them in baggies so you can have one a night, if you like.

This tip is probably the best thing you can do to keep yourself on track. It's all about creating a temptation-free environment. Get rid of all unhealthy foods in your house, office, car, etc. Just throw it out.. you won't miss it. It doesn't matter if your spouse or your kids get mad.. they don't need junk food any more than you do. You can't eat what isn't there, so you'll do better at sticking to your points. Likewise, try not to have extra cash in your desk at work or in your car. If you have the money to stop through a drive-thru on the way home, you will. If you don't have the cash, you can't stop. And if you do find yourself starving on the way home, leave a few healthy snacks in the car instead. Dieting shouldn't be about having to be "strong" all the time. You should only rely on your willpower when you have to. Give yourself a break and throw out the junk food that's sabotaging your diet.

Certain vegetables like cucumbers, spinach, celery, watercress, alfalfa sprouts, beet greens, cabbage, chives, endive, lettuce, radishes, garlic, mushrooms, seaweeds, turnip greens, and water chestnuts all burn more calories digesting them than they contain. So, in theory, just eating a cucumber makes you lose weight. In reality, that isn't quite true, but these are all definitely veggies you want to eat a lot of. You can also include broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, and tomato, but those veggies are borderline. So, if you're going to have a snack, why not cut up a cucumber and pour some vinegar over it? Zero points, and you may actually burn more than you ate. Pretty good, huh? Unfortunately you can't be sneaky and count these veggies as negative points, but that's alright.