My Diet Story
Introduction
I was 100 pounds overweight four years ago. Most of that excess weight was acquired during my childbearing years. I overate during pregnancy and breastfeeding and continued to do so afterwards. I was addicted to sugar and carbs. My eating was out of control.
Trigger for Change
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Me with my daughter on a roller coaster in Summer of 2003. No problems fitting into seat belt this time around!
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I love roller coasters. Every summer, my family
makes a pilgrimage to Cedar Point Amusement Park. In the summer of 2002, I rode one of my favorite coasters, the Millenium Force. I was at my biggest size then, and could not get the seat belt buckled. The ride attendant had to come over and help me strech the strap and click the belt. This was so humiliating, that I decided that I was sick and tired of being fat. I made a commitment that I was going to be on a diet for the rest of my life.
So...I started dieting in Summer of 2002. I have lost about 1 pound a week for 70 weeks, totaling 64 pounds. (Obviously, I had a few relapses!) This is very slow weight loss - which makes it easy to keep on going. I’m not always starving. I’m hungry sometimes, but not starving.
Slim Fast
I used Slim Fast for about a year. I really liked how easy it was to follow the slim fast plan. It did not require me to count calories or points. I did not have to cook fancy meals and constantly slice veggies. I lost 50 pounds in 50 weeks using Slim Fast.
I also took advantage of Slim Fast’s online tool for weekly weigh-ins. The slim fast web site sent out a weekly E-mail reminder for me to weigh myself. This really helped me stay on track - similar to the way Weight Watcher meetings, with their weigh-in’s help keep WW dieters motivated. Except the slim fast web site weigh-ins are FREE! If I had a bad week, I would skip a weigh in and try very hard the next week, so my weigh-in would be less than the last time.
Brain Games
I used lots of “brain games” to help me get by in the beginning...thoughts that I repeat inside my head when I felt tempted. After dieting for 70 months, I only occasionally need these, and I am hardly ever tempted to overeat. Holidays and family gatherings are my only temptation now!
“It feels better to be a little hungry than to feel bloated from overeating”. (when tempted to binge) “I need to get back to my thinner self”. (after a binge and I was bloated and full... I would not eat again until I was truly hungry) “Food does not control me....I control it.” “Food does not make me happy.”
Counting WW Points
I had counted Weight Watcher’s in the past, off and on, without much success. Also, some of the time while doing slim fast, I counted Weight Watchers points, and tried to stay within a 25 point daily limit. (A Slim Fast shake has 3.5 points) I was very hungry when I was counting WW points, because I would eat my favorite sugary foods often, and thought I was doing well because I was staying within the 25 points.
Going Low Carb
After hearing how people doing Atkins are not constantly hungry, I decided to incorporate a low carb approach in with Slim Fast, by choosing lower carb items such as cheese, eggs, meat for my snacks and meals, instead of sweets, pasta or bread. I found that I was not so hungry all the time when I did this.
Finding the South Beach Diet
 In Summer 2003, I decided that I wanted a diet that would be healthy for my whole family, and one that I could adopt for the rest of my life. I liked the idea of carb control, but didn’t like Atkins because it just seemed so unhealthy to eat unlimited quantities of meat, cheese, and eggs. It was then that I ran across the South Beach Diet book. I decided to try the South Beach diet.
The South Beach diet is not low carb or low fat. It encourages heathly fats such as from fish or nuts. It also encourages healthy carbs in controlled quantities...from fruits, vegetables and whole grain sources.
On the South Beach Diet, I feel really good, not too hungry, and my whole family has benefited by my cooking healthy “controlled carb” meals. I plan on living the South Beach way the rest of my life.
Be sure to read my take on Phase 2 - and the need for counting calories!
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
Since I was stuck at 150 pounds for a long time, I have just recently purchased an e-book called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. The book talks about the importance of using mental strategies and setting goals. I think that is the single most important aspect of successful weight loss!
The food you eat on that plan is similar to south beach (limited good carbs, some healthy fats, lots of veggies and lean protein), but it also recommends counting calories and tells you how many calories you need based on your height, weight, activity level, etc. This is exactly what I have been doing for the past year or so, and has a lot more info than I could possibly include on my website. Learn more about Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.
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Running a 10k