Ten Secrets of Weigh Loss

Now that I’ve lost over thirty pounds, friends, coworkers, and even casual acquaintances are starting to notice and ask questions. Suddenly I am an expert on weight loss and blood pressure reduction without medication because I’ve been there, and I am doing it. Generally they start by saying they would like to lose some weight. I generally say, “OK, so lose it”. They then frequently tell me what their physician said. [Motive] I nod.

Then, they ask me what I’ve been doing. I tell them that I’ve been on a diet of less than 1400 calories per day, less than 20% of my calories from fat, and less than 1500 mg of sodium. I also tell them that I work out at the fitness center 4 days a week for about an hour and ten minutes. They then usually tell me that they: should, used to, haven’t been in a while, were thinking about starting, knew people who did, and so on. [Opportunity]

They usually ask me what I eat, and I tell them that I eat food that I like and make decisions so that I don’t exceed my daily goals. When they ask me exactly what I eat, I give them examples and the URL to my blog. It’s when I tell them about the spreadsheet that they either glaze over or ask me to email it to them. They usually conclude with, “I need somebody to tell me exactly what to eat; I can do that”, as they walk away.

I decided that I need to share my “diet secrets”, and some sample daily menus (I have everything I’ve eaten since January 3, 2997 logged). I’ll start with a preview of the ten things I’ve learned to this point. I'll elaborate on them, and toss in a few sample daily menus later.

The Ten Secrets of My Weight Loss

1. Knowledge is power-the power to make choices
2. Non-fat sour cream is my friend
3. Non-fat cream cheese is my friend
4. Fiber is filling
5. My palate took about three days to retrain to a low sodium diet
6. My dinner plate is a riot of color compared with what it used to be
7. Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet
8. Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering process
9. Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food
10. A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies

That’s it to this point. I’m sure more truths will come along later.

Here’s my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-3/30/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1121	73.56 g	186.72 g	759 mg	15.6 g	12.52%