What Worked for Me

I'm really not sure what to do for my first post, especially since I'm 28 weeks pregnant, so I figure I'll just give some pointers on what has worked well for me in the past concerning weight loss and healthy eating. And this is what I'll probably try to do once the baby arrives when I need to rid myself of the weight.

I have struggled with my metabolism most of my adult life (after college) and I got to a point where I was miserable one summer about five and a half years ago (right before I met MK). I looked into the Sugar Busters diet (their website is still in the dark ages), because I had heard it worked well, and any time I had cut out my sugar before, I had some success with weight loss. I had joined a gym and tried just working out for a few weeks beforehand but hadn't had much success, so I decided to work in some healthier eating. With Sugar Busters, you cut down a lot of your sugars and bread. It sounds really difficult and it's not easy at first, but once you get used to not eating as much sugar, you don't crave it. Honest.

One thing I love about the diet plan is that it allowed me to substitute my beloved bread with healthier versions...whole grains, stone ground wheat, rye, etc. So, if I had a bad carb craving, I could curb it with a healthy carb instead of loading up on refined sugars. You really can cater it to your needs and wants.

If you want to get started with this, substitution is the best way to begin. Here are some examples of things I ate:

• Whole wheat spaghetti noodles with a little bit of olive oil, parmesan cheese, canned chicken, and seasoning like garlic salt and Cavendars Greek Seasoning. These noodles are also good with lean ground beef and spaghetti sauce for a lower-fat version of spaghetti.
  
  
• Dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa (try to avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup--that means non-diet sodas too)
  
  
• Triscuits with chicken salad or tuna salad. Use canned chicken or tuna, light mayo (not too much of it) and add in some celery or dill relish. You can also use whole wheat pitas with some lettuce.
  
  
• Plenty of fish. Fish is a great lean meat and this diet plan calls for lean cuts of meat. You can broil, grill, or bake them and add your favorite seasonings. Just don't get carried away with any creamy, fatty sauces.
  
  
• Can't live without potatoes? Try sweet potatoes. They even have sweet potato fries now and they are excellent. Just don't add "too" much butter. :)
  
  

It doesn't sound like it, but even these small changes can make a huge difference if you stick to them. Use stone-ground whole wheat bread for your sandwiches, try sugar-free candy if you have a sweet tooth, brown rice instead of white, and just try to stay away from all things white: bread and sugar. I know it sounds gross right now, but I promise you get used to the taste after a week or two. You need plenty of veggies and protein as well.

On the exercise part of this, I was going to the gym about three times a week and using the weight machines. I'd work on my legs one day and then the next, alternate to my arms. I'd walk on the treadmill for about 15-20 minutes so I wasn't at the gym for more than an hour at a time. My body started toning up and I actually lost about 25 pounds in four months. It just takes motivation and dedication and if you can, get an accountability partner.

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