Nuts are the new comeback kid of food groups. For a long time nuts were shunned by those of us who ate in fear of fat and unwanted, hard to lose pounds. All of a sudden those of us who are continually watching our waistline and fighting the battle with hard to shed pounds, no longer have to fear the nut! Now, popular low carb diets; from Atkins to the South Beach Diet, tout the benefits of nuts in their diet plans. Nuts have become the snack food par excellence in dieting circles; a satisfying combination of protein and fat.

Who would not be tempted by an afternoon choice of almonds, walnuts, macadamias and filberts? There is one small (perhaps, large) thing to remember: portion control. It is a diet still, after all. The number of nuts you eat is important in its usefulness as a part of your dieting strategy.

I have found two helpful ways to assure that my nut eating stays within limits. First, I always count out the nuts I will be eating prior to beginning to feast on them. This assures I dont get chip hands -- that hand in bag way of eating chips that makes the bag empty before you know it. The second way that I assure that eating nuts will help me be a dieting success is: I buy nuts in their shells. My personal preference is almonds, walnuts and brazil nuts. I keep them in a bowl on my kitchen counter and when afternoon snack time arrives, I count out my nut allotment. Then I have fun with my snack and use a nutcracker to crack them open. This way it takes longer to eat the nuts, my snack lasts longer and it becomes a fun, special little activity for me.

Using my nutcracker when I have nuts for an at-home-movie-snack is especially great -- because while the rest of the family is eating popcorn or ice cream, my hands are busy and it is very distracting from what Im not eating. Ive learned: Its not just what you dont eat, its also what you do eat and how you eat it that helps you be a diet success story!