I have lost about four pounds since I started back to work two weeks ago. The biggest components of my new diet have been soy protein powder and nuts. In the morning at home I mix two scoops of protein powder with 10 ounces of water. This is quick, no fat, and fills me up until about 10:30 AM.

When I start to feel hungry again at mid-morning I will have three or four handfuls of peanuts, soybeans, or almonds. The high amount of nut oil cuts the hunger pangs almost immediately. There have also been a few studies recently indicating that nut oils have a lot of benefits to diabetics.

If you feel that nuts are a "bad" food because of the high fat content, remember two things: 1. They contain "good" fat that reduces the amount of "bad" fat in your body. 2. If the nuts are in place of other types of food rather than in addition to, you will be OK. For example, having nuts along with your beer and pizza during the football game is just extra calories. If the nuts are replacing a burger or a trip to the candy machine, you will actually be consuming fewer calories overall.

For lunch I have been taking either a frozen SmartOnes® frozen dinner, or packing a sensible lunch (turkey sandwich, fruit, tomato juice).

I will have some more nuts mid-afternoon when I start to get snack hungry, and then eat a normal dinner with Sheri.

There is also not a pop machine at work that is easy to get to. The closest one is in another building across the parking lot. I think that the amount of Diet Pepsi I was drinking at my previous job left me a little on the dehydrated and made my body less efficient at processing calories.

At KDOT there is a Culligan water dispenser about 20 feet from my desk. I have a 32 ounce cup from home that I have just been keeping filled up at my desk. I probably go through about four of those per day.