Scale It Back, Keep It Off

Getting ready to resolve to lose weight next year, like you have every year for as long as you can remember?

If you set your sights a little lower, your scales may follow suit, suggests a new survey for Gardenburger.

The online poll of 1,440 women nationwide showed three out of four make diet resolutions each year. But almost 90 percent reported little or no success — with 69 percent admitting they give up by March.

What goes wrong? The big problem is trying too hard, says registered dietitian Pat Baird.

“People set unrealistic goals, then load up their diets with foods they don’t like,” Baird says. “They will inevitably be dissatisfied, hungry all the time, and resort to bingeing.”

Some suggestions for taking smaller steps include planning meals in advance (to avoid last-minute fast-food frenzies), using low-fat conven-ience items and setting goals one week at a time.

And don’t give up. According to the survey, 65 percent of those who didn’t lose weight this year plan to try again in 1999.

Hangover-town fry

Then again, depending on what happens tomorrow night, your main resolution come Friday morning might be never to drink alcohol again.

If you’ve overindulged the night before, Eggland’s Best suggests “a hearty breakfast with eggs, bread, salt, spice, tomatoes and lots of water and fruit juice,” which helps replace the protein, potassium, salt and water your body has lost.

But skip the coffee; that only makes your dehydration worse.

Reliving the pastry

Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean you can stop baking yet.

The Fifth Annual National Pie Championships and Pie Festival is Jan. 23-24 in Boulder, Colo. Pre-registration deadline is Jan. 8; for information, call (303) 740-7437.

And 10 families will each win $2,500 in the Land O’Lakes Great American Family Cookie Swap recipe contest. Entry deadline is May 31; for rules, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Cookie Swap Rules, P.O. Box 39101, Chicago, IL 60639 or visit www.landolakes.com.

Raisin awareness

Finally, something to look forward to in 1999: According to the California Raisin Marketing Board, those adorable dancing raisins — which haven’t appeared in ads since 1994 — may make a comeback. Sort of.

“While plans are not final, the dancing raisins will likely not reappear on television in the short term, but may be used selectively in a support role as an element in an integrated communications effort,” the board says.