Other articles by Kathy Manweiler:

Fruit salad pitas simple, tasty Red Lobster-style biscuits, but low-calorie Fudge brownie flavor with a big reduction in fat, calories Add veggies, trim fat for healthy meal Enjoy stuffed shells, Alfredo sauce with far fewer calories Hearty breakfast bowls are low on fat and caloriesCut the calories with these tasty muffinsTuna casserole still quick and affordable; now make it healthy Two tasty ways to prepare shrimp: flavored with mustard or lemon Cornbread is low in fat, even with some butter

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION General
A1 Communications
Cable Techs Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator

Sometimes even a dietitian struggles to fend off a snack attack.

Nutrition experts know great methods to help people eat healthy, and they practice what they preach. But if you think you can't follow their examples because they probably hate sugar and have tofu at every meal, prepare yourself for a shock.

"We're just like anyone else," says Sarah Smith, a clinical dietitian at Wesley Regional Medical Center in Wichita, Kan. "We have those certain temptations."

So we asked several experts to share the strategies that help the most in their own lives when cravings don't want to take no for an answer.

Mindy McElroy says her sweetheart, Chad Grow, has quite a sweet tooth.

"My soon-to-be husband is the biggest dessert fanatic you've ever seen in your life," says McElroy, a nutritionist at the Greater Wichita YMCA. "Ice cream and cheesecake are two of his favorites. So when we're out at a restaurant, he's always ordering dessert, and that's been a real struggle for me because I'll see it and say, 'Yeah, that looks good,' or 'I want some ice cream.' "

At a restaurant, it's all about willpower for McElroy when the dessert cart rolls around. Sometimes she can have a bite or two and be satisfied. But many nights, she knows she needs to just say no.

Conquering candy

Diane Greenleaf doesn't hesitate when asked to name a challenge she faces in her eating habits.

"I'm a sugar person," she says.

So when she needs a sugar fix, she's tempted to reach for too many candies like jelly beans and orange slices.

"I'm really working on that right now," says Greenleaf, a registered dietitian in Wichita. "I can't keep them around. I've been doing some hard candy or gum, and that helps me."

Eating a snack in the middle of the afternoon also steers Greenleaf away from too much sugar.

Linda Nye of the Wichita Clinic has been a registered dietitian for almost three decades, but she still struggles with portion sizes at times.

"I apply what I tell my patients in my own life, but still, if I didn't watch my portions and how many servings I get, I would be very overweight," she says. "There's no doubt in my mind."

If Nye eats too much one day, the next day she just starts fresh.

"I don't even think about it," she says. "A lot of people have guilt feelings or they go through this cycle where they think, 'Well, I screwed up a little here, so I'm going to screw up royally the rest of the day.' . . . You just can't let that trigger you to keep on going on a negative course."

All of our experts agree on one secret to success. Sticking with a healthy eating plan is a balancing act, they say.

"Of course I like my sweets and treats, but I don't think of foods as good or bad," says Connie Niederauer, a clinical dietitian.

Growing up on a farm taught her to prefer fresher tastes and less-processed foods, but Niederauer allows herself things like chocolate sometimes.

"There are no bad foods; it's just quantities," she says.

These experts are living proof that you don't have to deprive yourself or give up all of your favorite foods to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

If you get into a routine of eating healthy foods and leaving a little room to satisfy your cravings, you develop a good habit you can live with, they say.

"Don't say you can't have a chocolate chip cookie for a year or go on some crazy diet like that," McElroy says. "That won't work."