When I started my diet on January 3 I was my heaviest ever, 198.5 pounds. I am just glad I didn’t get to 200.
Initially, I lost weight rapidly. I got down to 182.5, 16 pounds from where I started and 17.5 pounds from where I needed to be. Then Gary Danko happened, which threw me off for a good week. I didn’t follow my diet very well and I got back up to 186. Diets have their ups and downs, especially when you’re dealing with 33.5 pounds, so I just shrugged it off and “charged forward.”
The next phase definitely wasn’t as good as the initial phase, but I have still lost weight. I am proud to report that this morning’s weigh-in was at 181.5. That is 17 pounds from where I started and 16.5 pounds from my final goal. Woo! The halfway point after just two months! That makes me feel great.
And now I will reveal my “secret” to weight loss. Of course, it isn’t a secret at all, since dieting is essentially just starving yourself; burning more calories than you consume. There is no way around that.
First of all, I am very lucky to have a job that fits in very well with my diet. I live two miles from work, and if I go the right way, the walk to and from is quite beautiful. So I have been walking to and from work most days, for four miles per day of walking. That is my only real exercise. But I think it is plenty; 70 minutes of walking per day is nothing to sneeze at.
The other component is the food. This whole time I have been skipping one meal per day and replacing it with a very small snack. I eventually settled on breakfast as the meal to skip, and in its place I just drink a bottle of juice in the morning. For lunch, I have the snack bar in the building make me a turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomato, and mustard. Or I go over to the Latte Express and get myself a Vietnamese sandwich. I really don’t know I haven’t gotten bored of the turkey sandwich yet, I am just glad that I haven’t. If I really can’t stand it, I will have a bag of chips in the afternoon. And then for dinner, I have something that is pre-portioned. Something pre-made. I have not cooked for myself almost at all during this time. If I cooked for myself, the portions would be too big for a diet. So I started off for a while having different kinds of “wraps” from my local grocery store. Greek wrap, bean and cheese wrap, burrito. Not the most nutritious things, but only about 500 calories and quite tasty.
I did eventually tire of these and recently I have switched to a can of cheese ravioli with some chips and salsa to add to it, as the ravioli is only about 380 calories. So let’s add this up:
Juice: 250 calories
Sandwich: 500 calories
Snack: 250 calories
Dinner: 500 calories
Total: 1500 calories
From some earlier “analysis,” I need about 3000 calories/day to break even in weight. Walking makes this higher. So on my best days (with no free lunches at work, walking both ways, and no drinking at night), I estimate that I have a 2000 calorie deficit. If I put my mind to it, I can easily lose about one pound per day. This can be hard to do for a whole week straight.
So this is how I have done it so far, and this is how I will continue to do it until 165. My advice for anyone that wants it:
– Make exercising part of “doing” something. My “doing” something is getting to work. It may be a little more difficult for you to find your thing to do, but just keep looking.
– Skip a meal and replace it with a small snack.
– Eat yummy things in small portions. I look forward to my dinners because they are tasty, but I just pick out things that have relatively low calories per portion.
– After eating your “allotted” portion, you may still feel really hungry. Give yourself 30 minutes, and you will probably feel more full after your mind has caught up with your belly.
Anyway, that is my advice, and I hope someone can use it. As for me, wish me luck in my last 16.5 pounds!