I’ve lost 50 lbs since July! I look and feel great 
I have amazing good health and tons of energy. It’s been both incredibly simple and incredibly hard to do this.
In my opinion, the only diet that works, is the diet you can stick to. Lifestyle change is key for me. It’s been 8 months, I am just as committed as I was the first day, no binges, no cheating, I don’t feel at all deprived, I feel WONDERFUL.
I actually ran into someone today I hadn’t seen since the summer he didn’t recognize me!
192/142/135
Skim over this next bit if you want - here’s a list of “my rules” that I typed up for a co-worker who asked me how I was doing it.
Rule 1 – I read this great book called Super Foods RX: 14 Food that Will Change Your Life by Steven Pratt. I made a goal to completely overhaul my eating in order to make me the healthiest person I could be. I have a family history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s. I am very interested in the science of using food as preventative measures against these diseases. When I look at a food option I think, "will this make me healthier?”
**Rule 2 ** – No radical, unsustainable changes. When I first decided I wanted to change my eating habits to be stronger and healthier, I knew I needed something I could stick with forever. I couldn’t radically change how I eat - there’s no way to maintain that long term. Plus, I had to take my boyfriend into consideration. We’ve been living together 8 years, both vegetarians, what could I change that meant we could still eat dinner together nearly every night? I looked at our usual dinner menus. We ate a lot of stir fries, curry dishes, pasta and quesadillas/enchiladas.
With John’s support, we switched from white rice to brown rice, regular pasta to whole wheat pasta, white flour tortillas to whole wheat tortillas. We added more veggies to our meals (broccoli in stir fry, wilted spinach in pasta sauce) and reduced the amount of cheese, oil and butter we cooked with. I also became more aware of a true serving size, actually eating a single serving of brown rice or whole wheat pasta (a little kitchen scale is one of the best purchases I ever made). For example, I used to eat a HUGE plate of pasta with a little sauce and a little salad. I now eat a small plate of pasta (carefully measured 2.0 oz serving) with a LOT of sauce and a BIG salad.
**Rule 3 ** - As much fruit and vegetables as I want. No counting, no nothing. If I want an apple – I eat an apple. If I want a whole bag of sugar snap peas - I eat the bag. I aim for 4 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables every day. Leafy greens and brightly colored veggies are my priority. (dried fruits are the exception, they are so condensed it’s easy to eat too many and they pack a calorie punch, I’m much more aware of an actual serving size of dried fruit).
**Rule 4 ** - Some sort of protein at every meal, protein helps me feel FULL. There are lots of good ways to get protein - lean meats, tofu, dairy, beans, legumes, peanut butter. As a former vegetarian, I’ve added some turkey into my menu planning and I’m eating a ton more fish (salmon, tuna).
**Rule 5 ** - Avoid processed crap. All those chemicals just weighed me down and the unscrupulous corporate bastards like to sneak in trans fat and high fructose corn syrup. I haven’t had fast food since July and I hope to live without it forever. No fast food, very little processed sugar, no empty carbs - the goal is good food that is good for me. Since I started eating “clean” I have so much more energy – I used to be sleepy every afternoon at work, so tired I would doze off at the keyboard. That hasn’t happened in months.
**Rule 6 ** – I never said no to carbs, I never stopped eating them. I did switch from empty carbs to better carbs. I try to include whole wheat bread (note, not just wheat bread, WHOLE wheat bread), sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta or brown rice every day. My carb grams are normally 100 a day, way over what Atkins considers okay even in maintenance mode. Although all people are different, in my case, staying at 100+ grams of carbs didn’t stop weight loss AT ALL and allowed me to keep eating the foods I love - key to sustainable weight loss.
**Rule 7 ** - Fat is a good thing, it makes your hair shiny and protects your organs and your brain. Don’t run out and eat a tub of butter or anything, but say yes to healthy fats like olive oil, peanut butter, dairy (low fat yogurt, cheese), and nuts. I eat a handful of nuts every day (walnuts or almonds).
**Rule 8 ** – Drinking – no empty calories. I stick to water and tea, with the occasional non fat, sugar free coffee drink treat. Juice isn’t bad for you, but I’d rather eat the fruit - get the healthy fiber and stay full longer. I do miss the occasional glass of red wine in the evening - it’s definitely going BACK on the menu for maintenance mode.
**Rule 9 ** – The hardest part for me has been incorporating some kind of exercise – I hate it! I try to do my aerobics tape at least 3 times a week. I realize the next logical step is to add weight training. Additional muscle mass is very good for me long term! I’ve taken the first baby steps to joining a gym. I will join a gym, I will join a gym!
Rule number 10 - Don’t be hungry. I figure, if I’m hungry, I’m doing it wrong. I count calories and never go below 1400 (I have recently increased daily calories to 1600 and weight is still coming off). If your calories drop low enough to trick your body into thinking there’s a famine – your body thinks that you are a Paleolithic hunter gatherer who can’t find any roots. Your body will work really hard save you from starvation, it will hold on to the calories in a baby carrot for months if it thought it would help you survive a famine. If you starve yourself, your body will BINGE when it gets a chance, that’s the way we are genetically created. Did the Paleolithic hunter gatherer not stuff themselves on mammoth if they got lucky enough to get one? (oh no, I’ll just eat this root) Heck no, they ate the whole thing and sucked the marrow. We are fighting 50K years of genetics! Eat a lot of small meals, eat before you get hungry! You only have one way to talk to your body – food! Your body has to know there is tons of food coming in, there is no famine or starvation, it can release the stored fat reserves – you DON’T NEED THEM.
**Rule 11 ** - Plan plan plan plan. I plan and shop so I have healthy food on hand all the time. I plan for meals, I plan for snacks. Keep dried fruit/nuts around for quick boosts. I go to the store at least 3 times a week. I buy food, use plastic baggies to portion it into one size servings. I ALWAYS HAVE options for healthy eating. I have a couple of healthy frozen dinners at home, I have some of that tomato/roasted red pepper soup on hand at work, I have dried fruit stashed at home/work for healthy snacks
Rule 12– Weigh only ONCE a week. Weight fluctuates too much during the week. A glass of water is HEAVY. Dinner is HEAVY. When I weighed myself every day (sometimes 2, 3 times a day during unsuccessful weight loss attempts) I was so discouraged if the scale moved up. Why bother to work so hard if it just wasn’t WORKING! I might as well eat a donut. Now that I weigh ONCE a week, I see positive results. You might need to write yourself a little contract to avoid getting on it – if you can only weigh on Sundays for 2 weeks, you get something new! The scale can be cruel – I use a tape and measure myself once a month and record the results.
Rule 13 – I gave myself permission to be a pain in the ass. I’m the coworker that doesn’t want to go out for Mexican. I’m the girlfriend that doesn’t want to order pizza. If coworkers and friends want to eat crap, I tell them to go have a nice time and I do my own thing. I say no to coworker’s birthday cake, I am firm when I remind coworkers NO I do not want a piece of their chocolates they got in Ireland. I am the unfriendly food girl around my office and I have lost 50 lbs and I am OKAY with that!
**Rule 14 ** - Incremental goals - I set 10 lbs goals and rewarded myself nicely every goal. My rewards have included: new sandals, massage, fancy haircut at an expensive salon, new clothes. When I wanted to lose 60 lbs, it was just so big and overwhelming, I had to break it up into small chunks that felt doable. Now that I’ve lost so much weight, I expect weight loss to slow down and I get close to my goal weight.
Rule 15 – I have before pictures, I keep track of measurements, I chart my progress with an Excel spreadsheet. I stay motivated by seeing how far I’ve come.
My goal is to lose the last 7 lbs by June I have a big event and I’m wearing something SLEEVELESS by god.