Weight Loss And Not Really "dieting".

Well here's how it is for me.

I was overweight all my life. Eating out a few nights a week was the norm, I work full time and have two children, by the time my husband and I get home, we were usually too lazy to cook a proper meal.

I also quit smoking on jan 15th of this year and as of july I weighed in a 240 lbs!! I am 5' 9" and was totally depressed.

I cracked down and finally decided to start eating right! I consider it a low-fat lifestyle (cutting back on all the bad fats and eating more good fats). I eat whole wheat breads instead of white... Made hamburgers at home instead of eating out. Stuck to eating out once a week.

After a week of my own "diet" (believe me, it was a diet when I first started *imagine... I used to be able to eat a whole foot long sub with double meat and loaded with vegges, polish a chicken sandwich from mcd's and a bag of chips within 2 hours!). I cut back my "bad" fat intake to 10 grams per day... I don't count good fats (of course I also eat those in moderation... Eg: a salmon steak, or handful of peanuts).

I started using olive oil in my recipes and started grilling more often instead of baking. I cut down my portions to a more healthy size. Traded my high fat/high salt (chips) snacks to fruit or pretzles.

We also started walking 20 minutes three times a day (both husband and I walk 20 minutes before starting work, 20 minutes after we eat lunch, and 20 minutes when we get home with the kids). Within a week my fat started melting off!!

The point of a "diet" is not to starve yourself for a while, until you lose your weight and start going back to eating the way you did... But the "diet" is an introduction to a new healthy lifestyle.


After having my new lifestyle for 2 months I now weigh 25 lbs less and still losing (now only about 1 - 1.5 lbs a week, which is good enough for me). It took me years to get fat... Why should it take just a couple of days for me to lose it all?



Daily intake of food before lifestyle change: breakfast: none!! (i never touched anything for breakfast!!)... Lunch: personal sized pizza, bag of potatoe chips and bottle of pop... Snack: chocolate bar and 2% milk supper: 4 pieces of kfc, large handful of fries drenched in gravy, salad...Evening snack: half a large bag of chips and ice cream

daily intake of food now: breakfast: silouette yogurt drink or single sized fat free yogurt...(still not a breakfast person, but I eat something... Sometimes will have a breakfast bar) lunch: cottage cheese, tuna sandwich with low fat mayo and water or skim milk. Snack: handful of peanuts or soy-nuts. Dinner: 1 boca burger with the works (veggies, ketchup and mustard, fat free sliced cheese) and bowl of soup.

You can see the difference in intake. This is just an example of one of my daily meals during the week.

So before you start any fad diets, just try eating healthier. Substitute those junky items for something a little more sensible. Cut back on your serving sizes (even if it's just a couple of mouthful's at a time) and substitue that pop for water, 100% juice or skim or low fat milk.


And for exercise? If you can't find time to get into the gym... Just walk. Go up a set of stairs instead of the escalator, park farther away from the doors at the shopping mall. If you are not the type to spend money on a whim... Go window shopping. Play with your kids more often. Just a tiny bit of exercise a day will go a long way.