healthy snacks for kids to make, lunches, parties, on the go

Hi there, You know the story...been overweight since leaving college, tried everything, including not trying, pounds keep piling up, even exercising doesn't seem to work (yes, I gained weight doing two aerobic step classes plus two ballroom dance classes a week). I've had reasonable success with the Zone, but felt that trying to keep everything in that tight balance lead to an obsessive relationship with food.  All I could think about all day was how many blocks of carbs or fats or proteins I'd eaten that day, and if I didn't eat precisely every 4 hours I'd get extremely grumpy, to the point where I would even become non-functional. Most recently I tried veganism.  All the vegans I know look sickly and underfed, so I figured what the hell, if it made me drop some pounds then why not?  After a month I've gained nearly 5 pounds, am VERY tired, have an injury involving muscular tissue in my ankle that does not seem to be healing, and have a perpetual runny nose (I've never had allergies before). I know frequent alt.support.diet.low-carb poster Debby Padilla through ballroom dancing, and have been constantly amazed with her progress, energy, and attitude.  After the complete failure of veganism (you would not believe how many people kept telling me I'd feel fantastic, and I did not feel fantastic at all...see my one-month diary at http://www.lagassa.com/experiment.html), I've decided to give low-carb a try.  I've ordered the Protein Power book from Amazon, and expect to get started soon.  In the meantime I'll reintroduce animal products to my diet so I don't shock my system when I go low-carb. So here I am, I'm saying hi, and hoping this will work for me. Sincerely, Laura Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't.