On my YouTube DietHobby channel,
I frequently get messages like this: 

Grandma,
I need to lose weight fast, please help,
what should I eat and not eat. 

Here is an example of my reply:

My website, at www.diethobby.com is where you should go

for information about dieting and weight loss.

That is the way I can give people information

without saying the same thing over and over. 

But I do have a little bit of time right now,

so you can start with this information,

and then for more information go there. 

Almost no one loses fat pounds fast. 

During the first two weeks of sticking to a diet,

most people lose about 5 to 7 lbs, but most of that is because

a person has less water and waste in their body. 

After a couple of weeks their body stops losing weight

until their water/waste issues readjust,

that is when most people quit their diet.

When they quit that water/waste weight returns immediately. 

If they stay with it, then eventually they will lose

an average of about 1 to 2 lbs of fat lbs per week. 

In order to lose weight, how much you eat

is much more important than what you eat. 

Food provides energy for the body.

The energy in that food is measured

by the number of calories in it.

In order for your body to lose weight,

it must take in less energy than the body uses. 

Almost all diets say to avoid foods that are fried

(like french fries, potato chips etc),

or high fat (like butter, salad dressings, oils, cream, cheese),

and foods made with sugar (candy, cake, pie, cookies)

and white flour  (bread, crackers plus cake cookies biscuits.).

and to eat only small amounts of carbs

(oats, wheat, grains, rice, potatoes, corn, beans) 

This is because these are the foods that have

a lot of calories packed into a small amount of food. 

Most diets also say to eat mostly lean meats, eggs,

green leafy vegetables, and vegetables like green beans,

brocolli, cauliflour, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes.

This is because these are the foods that have lots of nutrients

but less calories and so people can have larger amounts of these foods. 

Personally, I think the best diet is a diet that a person can live with

and stay on forever.  If you want to know what, and how much that I eat,

watch my cooking videos. These can give you ideas

of what and how much to eat if you want to lose weight. 

Most people do better by limiting the times they eat also

...like eating only 3 meals a day without snacking,,,

or no more than 1 very small snack between each of those meals.

If you are going to have a meal consisting of things

like a hamburger and french fries and a soda,

then you would buy one hamburger and eat only about half of it,

and eat only about 10 of your french fries,

(give away or throw away the rest) and drink a diet soda.

These are very general ideas about dieting.

For specific ideas, read the information at my DietHobby website. 

This month I've been suffering from overload.

Not overloaded with too much food, because I've been working hard to avoid that, but rather emotionally overloaded.

Partly this is due to the disruption of my normal routine by my household plumbing emergency and repairs, but a great deal of it is the busy schedule I've been keeping making videos, and answering viewers questions on YouTube.

This YouTube Grandma thing is taking a giant chunk of my time... like almost ALL of it.

The companion DietHobby channel on YouTube now has more than 2000 subscribers. So, I think and write more than ever before, but for right now, most of it is happening on my DietHobby YouTube channel where I'm answering my YouTube Grandbaby's questions about Life-in-general rather than writing about dieting issues here on my website. 

My husband is a Vietnam veteran, and one of the things about that culture that impressed him, was the saying and the attitude..."Buddha Take"... House gone, family gone,... Vietnamese people would just shake their heads open their hands and say "Buddha Take".

That has become a saying in our household when something changes or disappears. "Buddha Take."

I'm striving to achieve a balance, and I believe this will happen,
but it may take awhile.
So, if you come here and wonder what is happening,
where are all the insightful articles about dieting issues, ......... 
"Buddha Take"

Today, I uploaded a video about Selfishness.
I find the saying interesting and thought provoking.

Is it true for all?  I don't know,
Perhaps it is something that is true only some of the time?
Depending on how that truth is applied?  

Right this minute, as I write this, I am soooo frustrated.
Just as I put the finishing touches on my day's article,
which I felt was inspired, having spent the past 2 hours writing it.
my MacBook Air did one of it's tempermental crashes,
and I lost the entire article. 
Perhaps I'll write it again another time, but not today.

So annoying. 

Today I posted another cooking video, Grandma's Goulash
which is located at DietHobby, under RECIPES, Mealtime.
When exercising appropriate portion control, 
this dish will fit into a low-calorie lifestyle.

   Dreams and dedication IS a powerful combination.
Successful weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss
takes both of these elements.

If one didn't have the dream,
there would be no incentive or motivation to make it happen.
If one doesn't have the dedication,
one won't follow through with the effort that it takes to make it happen.

  And, make no mistake, a Great Deal of Effort is needed. 
Marketing interests that tell you different are lying to you. 
Yes, they are allowed to do that. 

For those of you who are following my “Ask Grandma” video series
Click : “Getting Along With Parents" to see my latest video,
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.