I think Chickadee did say it best. I also think some of the weight problems are tied into our hormonal changes as well.

If you can't give up meat just alter the McDougall diet to include a little. My husband lost a lot of weight without fad diets. I just altered the McDougall diet for him. I think if you can learn to cook food without ANY oils, cheeses, butter or margarine you are taking a step in the right direction. I'm really a person committed to healthier eating so it's easy for me to stick to this lifestyle. I never skip meals and eat whenever I'm hungry, which, come to think of it is now. My breakfast will be brown rice with chickpeas and black beans. I cooked up a large amount yesterday and just heat up the portions I want out of the tupperware container it's stored in. Ugh, I hear you all saying! LOL!!!!I use to loathe brown rice but now I love it. Daisygirl is right, breads and pasta put on a lot of weight. Pasta made with whole wheat is more filling so you could have 1 or 2 cups at lunch. There really are a lot of good salad dressings without oil in them. I don't really eat too many salads. If you've got a Trader Joes near you they have lots of good frozen veggie combos. Just read the bags to notice the *total fat grams per serving. If you absolutely love meat buy a smaller steak and do what I do for my husband and son. I cut off every speck of fat. There really is too much on a good strip or Porterhouse anyway. It still has good flavor.
Dr. John McDougall has a website where you can get an idea of what he's about but I caution you, if you would never consider vegetarianism he's not for you. But as I said before, you can take what you like from his ideas. It worked for my husband and he's not a vegetarian.

[ December 14, 2005, 01:59 PM: Message edited by: ladybug ]