How I lost 20 pounds in 4 months

I have never liked the word, "diet." It stresses me out, and makes me want to eat more.  I have never been completely happy with my body.  In high school, I had what could be termed as an eating disorder.  I went off to college and didn't think much about food, but didn't obsess over thinness.  After graduating, I developed a love for cooking.  Thankfully I married a man who also liked to cook--even though he was in the restaurant business.  Six years later, we had a baby.

I was back to my pre-maternity weight about 6 months after "Lucky" was born, but I was still overweight.  Spanks were my best friend. About that time, my husband went to see his primary doctor and she encouraged both of us to go to the Diabetes Nutrition class.  Honestly, we dreaded going to that class as much as we dreaded the birth classes we had to take the year before!  But - something finally clicked for us both after going to that class.

We first met with a nurse.  She explained the way your body acts and reacts to food.  She spent the first hour and a half helping us understand the disease and how differently it affects different people.  I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia (basically the opposite of diabetes) about 10 years ago, and the nurse suggested that I follow the nutritional plan as well.  We had read the book New Glucose Revolution, and knew the difference between eating the good kinds of carbs and the carbs that are bad for you. What we didn't know is that serving size makes an even bigger difference than the types of carbs you are eating.  For the next three hours, we met with a nutritionist.  She taught us how to count carbohydrates and helped us with a special formula to determine how many servings we needed each day.

The most interesting thing I learned is that the portions we were eating were entirely too big.  I wasn't eating the wrong foods--and this was very nice to hear--I was eating the wrong amount of those foods.   We were taught how to read the labels on the back of food packages and determine how to add those into our daily totals.  Since I love math and statistics, I turned it all into a game. 

I do not claim to be an expert on anything, but I feel like I have mastered this meal plan.  One "carb choice" equals 15 grams of carbohydrates.  Some examples of 1 carb choice would be a small (very small) apple, 1/2 cup of pasta, 1 granola bar, and 1 slice of bread. I started out eating 3 carb choices at breakfast, 1 snack around 10AM, 3 carb choices at lunch, 1 snack around 2, and 4 carb choices at dinner.  I think this was equivalent to about 1400 calories a day.  I did not go to bed hungry!  The snacks throughout the day really helped.  And the best part is, after about 3 weeks of following the plan, I got to the point where I felt full after eating the right amounts.  If we went to a restaurant and there was a huge portion, my stomach told me when to stop eating. 

In the class, we learned that it is so important not to deprive yourself anything - especially if it is something you are craving.  It can be very easy to incorporate a craved food into the plan--1/2 cup of ice cream after dinner, for example, equals one carb serving.  I also went to CVS and bought dark chocolate morsels.  3 of those made up one carb choice, and many afternoons, that snack allowed me to make it through to dinner.

We started this meal plan in mid-July.  Several nights each week after work, we would walk 2-3 miles.  It was harder to do that once the weather changed and the time change occurred.  I will say that it was a great way to catch up on the day and just visit with each other.  Our walks were a nice reatreat from work and stress.

About 2 months later, people started noticing that I had lost some weight.  3 months later, I would get comments like, "you look great!"  Those comments and the fact that none of my pants fit were the fuel that motivated me to stick to the plan.  I am at the point now where I feel like I need to tone the typical problem areas.  If I can add 10 minutes to the day, I want to start crunches, arm weights, and lunges.  In the meantime, I take the stairs at work, walk 6 blocks to meet a friend for lunch instead of driving, and continue to follow the plan.

If you are interested in this system, I can send you the formula for determining the nubmer of carb servings you should eat each day.  It's not rocket science, and it's not a diet.  It's a nutritional meal plan that is very easy to follow.  I would be happy to help you with explaining the meal plan as well.  I don't have before pictures, but I will try to upload some current photos soon.