Weight Loss Secrets Revealed

Yesterday I was watching Oprah and decided my 10 pounds is nothing! She was interviewing guests who had lost 100s of pounds. It was interesting because none of the people had taken weight loss drugs or had gastric bypass surgery. Their weight loss secrets are listed on www.oprah.com. Really there is no secret to it. I’ve read quite a few books and they keep telling me the same thing. It is common sense, but for some reason, I would still like to believe there is a magic pill or that I can eat whatever I want in excess and still lose weight.

I am down 3 more pounds (in 3 weeks) and a few more inches. I don’t think I will be at my weight goal by Christmas, but I think I will be able to fit into the pants. I am now able to pull them on and button them. I wouldn’t dare wear them in public, but some people would. I was at Wal-Mart in Dallas the other night and saw a very large woman wearing one of those 12 inch mini skirts. There is nothing like a trip to Wal-Mart to improve a person’s body image.

Taking a cue from Oprah, I am going to list my strategy for losing baby bulge.

• Fill up on fruits and veggies (even at meals)
• Don’t take seconds on the main course (I remove the serving dish from the table)
• Eat slowly
• Drink more water than I want to
• Eat 1 TBS of wheat germ a day (it keeps things moving and there simply isn’t enough whole grains in the normal food I eat)
• Don’t eat out (a study recently conducted showed that people consume 600 more calories when eating at a restaurant than if the would eat at home). Jeff and I eat out about 1 time a month or less. Yes, we are deprived, but we save our money and our calories.
• Exercise daily (T-tapp, the 7 minute miracle, or take a walk with the girls)
• Avoid dessert. I was off dessert entirely for almost a month, but now I indulge in fat-free fudge bars (60 calories), snack size candy bars (one for dessert), or ¼ cup of double churned low-fat ice cream (50 calories). An apple works for cutting my sugar craving as well.

Following these guidelines is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. It has really showed me how much self-discipline I lack. I have the hardest time with filling up with the ooy-gooy main course at dinner instead of stuffing myself full of green beans. I still make good food for my family, so my temptations are very delicious.

A few members of my family have and continue to do Weight Watchers. My aunt, grandma, sister, and cousin have all done the programs. While I get annoyed at hearing the point value that food has, it has been good for me to hear about the values in food. Again common sense says that food with high fat and sugar will have a high point value. Food like veggies have 0 points and you can eat those all you want. Also, food with high fiber (whole grains) have lower point values.

So, gone are the days when I could sit around on my motionless butt and eat Hot Pockets. It was fun while it lasted, but I will look forward to the day when I can fit into those skinny jeans once again.