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I agree. High fructose corn syrup is a poor substitute for sugar. Great for the food processing industry (reduces expenses and increases profits) but a lousy deal for the consumer who puts that junk into their stomachs.

Hydrogenated fats (or trans-fatty acids) are another thing that the educated consumer should avoid. In fact, the FDA will soon be requiring that food products have the amount of trans-fats on the labels. Now I'm not saying that the government should get involved in what we can and should eat. But I think the food labeling is a good idea. The consumers ought to know what is in the food they are buying so that they can make their own choices.

During this diet, I have totally eliminated bread and just about anything else made with white flour. That includes pies, cakes, cookies, pasta etc. My only exception to that is rice, but I only have that once or twice a week.

I try to choose my carbs from glycemic index....high glycemic (starchy) carbs are bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, carrots, etc, low glycemic are all the greenies, berries, etc. Eating a baked potato is exactly like snorting about two cups of sugar. It all turns into exactly the same thing in the body. So no, restricting sugar intake won't work. It's only part of the story.

The Zone diet explains all of this. It's the best I've ever tried. Somehow Atkins didn't work. After following it religiously for three weeks, I felt better than ever, but did not lose one single ounce. Three weeks on the Zone, I'd lost about 8 pounds. Careful selection and balance of carbs, protein, and fats is the key for me.

I fear the lawsuit-happy libs will race to court about sugar and fats, never realizing that carrots, rice, and beets, vegan mainstays, are just as fattening.

Corn syrup is great for the food processing industry

The absolute key to losing weight is to avoid processed food as much as humanly possible. That means anything in a package and/or container. Bread is an obvious item; but so to are things like ketchup, BBQ sauce, salad dressing, etc.

Since I must have bread on my sandwich, I've gone back to horrible Wonderbread. The reason is because 2 slices of the small size is only 110 calories. Ditto for ketchup, BBQ, et al. Can't live without it, but be cognizant of what's in there.

Carbs aren't really that bad, and in fact are an essential part of any diet. Just don't load a potato/rice with too much butter/margarine, and defininitely do not eat anything like potato chips (*sniff/tears*).

If you grilled meat every night along with a small side of potato/rice and a big bowl of veggies, everyone would look pretty fit & trim.

Congratulations on your success at weight loss. It really isn't as hard as some people think. Three and a half years ago, I decided my weight was ridiculous. Over 16 years of marriage, I had put on 80 pounds. Gained weight with each of my two pregnancies and kept going from there. Before I knew it, I weighed 265 lbs.

First thing I did was cut out almost all sugar. Certainly no processed sugar. That meant giving up soda. That was the hardest part. Also, I was a big, big carb eater. Found a bread that is very high fiber, almost no fat, and low carbs (when you are eating complex carbs you can deduct the number of grams of fiber from the grams of carbs to get your net carbs). I have converted my entire family to eating high fiber things like beans, brown rice, whole grain breads and cereals. We all actually enjoy this type of ewating. We also eat only lean meats. As a result of my dietary changes, I have lost and kept off 115 lbs. Went from a size 24 to a size 8. You can bet my husband loves it! Even if he does call me the food Nazi!