The Diet that Took Off Most of My 110 Pounds

As soon as someone finds out I lost 110 pounds the first question is what diet?  There’s not one answer.  I was not on the same diet for all 110.  My diet has evolved and is evolving.  I’m going to tell you the one I was on the longest, but I also want to tell you the best diet is the one that works for you.  Find it.  Experiment. 

I’ve read at least 100 diet books because my weight issues have been, and are, lifelong.  So far as I can see there is only one thing upon which experts agree, green vegetables are good.  They disagree on everything else.  I can’t live on green vegetables.

The diet that has worked best for me is eating high protein, low fat, low carb foods every three hours keeping calories at 300 or under each feeding. 

I eat a lot of

Eggs.  They feel good in my body.  I eat them hard boiled.  I cook scrambled eggs in muffin trays so I have them ready.  I make omelets with spinach, peppers, canned green chilies, asparagus, mushrooms or lean taco meat.  I use whole eggs or eggbeaters.  I have gotten away from cheese, even fat free cheese.   

I like chicken, turkey, fish (which I am more likely to order out than cook).  I also like lean beef, but it doesn’t work as well in my body as chicken and turkey.  Bags of frozen shrimp are also easy to thaw out and eat. 

When I was heavier I made certain I ate a measured portion of nuts daily.  I love nuts.  I also read they prevent gall bladder attacks which are common in people who lose a lot of weight.  I once saw a co-worker on a strict weight loss program suffer a gall bladder attack followed by surgery the next day.  She was in a lot of pain.  I did not want that.  I also have a penchant for Kind Almond Coconut bars.

I have a love/hate affair with Quest Bars.  I love them, but am not sure they work as well in my body as well as whole food.  They work better than some things and worse than others. 

I used to say I was eating South Beach Phase One foods, but that allows you to eat beans and limited dairy.  They don’t work so well in my body.  That does not mean they won’t work for you.

I also like Muscle Milk Light, as a meal, not as a beverage.

I drink water, tea, coffee and I like Sobe Lifewater and Vitamin Water Zero.  Sobe Lifewater black and blueberry is my favorite.  Occasionally I drink a diet soda as a treat, not as a regular thing.  My favorite artificial sweeteners are stevia followed by sweet and low, because the others are made from sugar and the sugar impacts me.

Cheating.  What I learned about cheating is that one cheat meal can undo a week’s worth of weight loss.  This made it so not worth it.  I also found I could gain weight, even eating the above listed foods if I ate too large a portion.  Cheating takes days to recover from, sad, but true.  The cheating that worked best for me is pick an event, far away.  Examples are Bob and Sue’ wedding or Labor Day Weekend, the event can be a whole weekend long, but don’t make it too frequent, not even monthly.  You do damage your dieting over that weekend, but you give yourself enough time to recover.

After weight loss the next question that arises is how do you easily maintain that?  I’ll let you know when I figure it out.  

Here I am, at the annual Hispanic Women of Distinction Luncheon in 2012.

And here I am with my beautiful daughter at that same luncheon in 2014.