I've been on a diet since April 23rd. In two months time I've lost up to 15 pounds. I probably could have lost more if I starved myself, but I wanted to lose weight in a healthy way. Here's a bullet-point list of how I did it, in no particular order:1. I cut portions, which is called 'portion control' in the diet world.
2. I cut out sweets; no more cookies, ice cream, candy, sweetened tea, etc. I admit that I did give in a time or two... or three. When we went to Disneyland I gave in and had some cotton candy and a churro, but I did a lot of walking so felt it was ok to splurge a bit due to that.
3. I tried to eat light meals every day, with the exception of breakfast, I like a hearty bowl of oatmeal with all the fixin's(check out my 'flax is where it's at' post to find out more) most of the time. Oatmeal is good for you and it gives you energy to start the day, so it's a good thing. But there were occasions when I would eat high-calorie, fattening meals; I would make up for this by eating light beforehand and/or after.
4. I drank mostly water; I had lemonade on occasion, the kind with real sugar, no artificial sweetener like aspartame, etc., that's just not healthy. I would only drink a small amount each time.
5. I tried my best to stay away from salty foods. No chips, no salted nuts, and stayed away from other salty foods. I would limit the salt I put on food, usually replacing it with garlic and onion powder or Mrs. Dash No Salt Seasoning Blend.
6. I limited starchy foods(aka: carbohydrates). I love pasta so I didn't give it up all together, but put a limit on how much I could have, and I didn't have it too often; it was an occasional treat. I gave up potatoes. You can still eat potatoes, just do so in moderation. I just chose to give them up all together while dieting; but I did eat rice.
7. I would try and eat healthy snacks. I made up my own trail mix: no-salt nuts, plain Cheerios, little bits of organic granola bar(not much, just a few bites), dried cranberries and blueberries; you can also add raisins and plain Chex cereal. I would eat this or just plain nuts in between meals. Some say having six small meals a day is best, while others say eating three main meals a day with small snacks in between is the way to go. I think either is okay; I did both.
8. And last but not least, I did moderate exercise six days a week, if possible. Nothing major, just some calisthenics, lifting small weights, riding my stationary bike, and sometimes walking in the evenings or going for a hike. I tried to do them once a day Monday through Saturday, then rest on Sunday. I sometimes skipped exercising, and this is okay as long as you don't give up doing them all together.
Some healthy and tasty snack foods I enjoy: yogurt; no-salt nuts; fruit - blueberries, grapes, apples, and sometimes peaches and plums; plain Cheerios; hard-boiled eggs; multigrain flax crackers dipped in hummus(not much, just enough to taste, this can be fattening).
To sum it up... The main thing to remember is to eat in moderation; cut out sweets unless an occasion calls for it; eat light meals, unless there's an occasion for you to do otherwise, if this happens, make sure and limit your calorie intake beforehand and/or after; limit salt intake; drink mostly water, and limit or stop any intake of soda and sweetened coffee and tea; exercise - try to make it fun so you won't tire of it and stop exercising all together. And remember why you're doing it, for me it's to be healthy and feel great; that's all the incentive I needed. I would still like to lose five pounds; I should reach that goal by the end of July.
Don't ask me what kind of exercise this is(or the one at the top of this post), whatever they are, they seem to be workin' for her.
She's Miss Slim & Trim.
Don't make diet and exercise a chore, make it enjoyable, and include a friend if you want. Caitie knows how to make things fun; she's talking Molly-Mae into getting in shape too.
