Well, Brian, I know what you mean when you said those 100 pounds came on over the last eight years. If your weight gain was like mine, it snuck up behind your back until you just felt helpless to fight it or do anything about it.

You are correct about your weight. If you are packing an extra 100 pounds, then you can measure the days that you are taking away from your loved ones. I know that this may seem harsh to hear, but we both know that it is true, as you have already admitted. If you do nothing to change the path you are on, you surely will enjoy fewer birthdays.

But, you found our blog site, which means that you have been seeking change. Congratulations, you have taken the first and most important step. You desire to change!! Now, are you willing to do the work that it will take for you to be successful in your lifestyle change?  Are you willing to park your truck one to two times a day and exercise? Are you willing to put a little effort towards planning your meals? Are you willing to put down the sugar, fat, salt, and pick up the vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats? If so, then lets work on getting those extra pounds off together!!

First, regarding the nutritional plan I am on, the answer to your question is "NO"! I am not on Weight Watchers. I am not on the South Beach Diet, the Grapefruit Diet, the Atkins Diet, The Hollywood Diet, The Soup Diet, The Baby Food Diet, or the Yo Yo Diet. These are all diets I used to be on and they were all successful........in making me gain more weight!!

If you want to put a name to the way I eat now and call it a "diet", then I guess I would have to say I am on the "Eating Diet". That's right, I eat. I eat all the foods I like. So, your question must be, "How does she eat all the foods she likes and still loose all that weight". I will give you the simple answer that our nutritionist, Pam Whitfield, taught me. 

                              IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE FOODS THAT YOU ENJOY AND LOVE,
                              THEN YOU HAVE SET YOURSELF UP TO FOLLOW A PLAN THAT WILL TRULY
                              FAIL.

Now Brian, that doesn't mean you get to pile that chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream ten inches high on your plate. But, lets say you had a nice lean salad with low calorie dressing, a cup of vegetable soup, a small lean piece of grilled chicken, and half a baked potato with just a small dabble of sour cream for taste. Then, you have eaten a meal designed to nourish your body and promote weight loss. Now, you can go and get a small 1" x 1" piece of chocolate cake and a couple tablespoons of vanilla ice cream. It's all about moderation. The higher the caloric content of the food, the higher the fat content, the higher the carbohydrate content, the higher the sodium content, the less of that food you get to eat. The lower the caloric content, the higher the fiber, the higher the nutritional value, the higher the bulk, the more you get to eat. Can you do this?

Yes, vegetables are great for carrying around in your truck. We do all of our shopping at Wal Mart stores as we can almost always get our truck into a SUPER Wal Mart,  which has the grocery section. Also, I have recently noticed that the Flying J has started offering cut up celery and carrot sticks in a container with ranch dressing. They also offer other cut fresh vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and tomatoes. But, you will want to get a bottle of dressing that is low calorie. I like the South Beach ranch dressing as it tastes the best of the diet dressings. Watch some diet dressings, as they remove the fat but replace it with sugar to make it taste good and get consumers to buy it. Flying J also offers boiled eggs and a variety of decent looking lean salads in their deli case. I was actually impressed by the offering when I saw it the other day.

Fruit, while great for you, can add a lot of sugar to your diet. I am NOT saying that you should avoid fruit as it provides energy for your body and is a good source of fiber. I keep fruits down to three servings a day. A fruit serving is approximately 1/2 a cup. So, I carry Motts No Sugar Added apple sauce which comes in individually packed 1/2 cup sized tubs. I also find it easy to carry citrus fruits like tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit. Even in the summer, when the truck gets hot, I can get them to last unrefrigerated for about two weeks. I like grapes a lot, and when I have them handy I find that I overindulge, so I buy them only a couple of times a month. The best grapes are "black grapes" as they are the highest in antioxidants (and I think they taste the best).

As for menu choices at restaurants, I want you to STOP using the menus!!! I also want you to STOP eating from the buffets. From this point forward, I want you to go into a restaurant and sit down. When the waitress comes, tell her/him that you would like a large glass of water but no menu. While you drink half that cup of water , I want you to think about what kind of meat you would like (chicken, pork, steak, fish, hamburger). What kind of starch would you like (potato, pasta, rice)? What kind of steamed vegetable would you like (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, cabbage)? When your waitress comes, I want you to tell her.......

......."Please bring me a small flame grilled pork chop, a very tiny baked potato, and a very large plate
         of steamed cabbage........I would also like a GREEN side salad with blue cheese dressing on the
        side. Bring me a very small dab of butter and a very small dab of sour cream. If you have a banana
        anywhere in the building, or some melon, then I would like a banana or a small, cold bowl of melon
        brought at the end of my meal..........


Brian, see the restaurant as a giant store that has almost any food product you could think of and then simply order what you feel like eating. Now, when you get the order I described above, you have to start looking at the food with your mind. What foods should I eat the most of and what foods should I eat less of. Start by finishing your entire salad with the other half of your water (if you read my blog, then you know how to use the salad dressing!!). Then get some more water and start eating your entrée. If they brought a potato that is larger than a one cup serving, cut off the extra and get rid of it before you take your first bite. Cut all the fat off the pork chop and wipe up any extra fatty juice off the plate. You previously bought a bottle of "spray butter", so spray your cabbage lightly to add flavor. Use just enough butter and sour cream on your potato to just get the taste and get rid of the rest right away so you are not tempted to add more. After eating your entrée, while finishing that second glass of water, slowly savor the sweet taste of your banana or your melon. At ANY point you feel you could stop eating and be satisfied, then dump water on your plate to "destroy" the food before you change your mind and start eating again.

So, what I am saying Brian, is eat the foods you like, but eat the foods you shouldn't have in portions that are within reason and reflect your desire to loose weight and gain back some of those birthdays you are going to loose. You don't need Weight Watchers!! The only thing you need is a desire to get your life back; and that desire must be stronger than your desire to overeat or "cheat"!!

I am going to issue you a one week lifestyle challenge. Assuming you have been seen by a physician and approved for a lifestyle change, here is your personal challenge from me to you. If you complete the challenge successfully, then you will know that you will make it to the end. If not, then you need to decide if you can continue to live with that extra 100 pounds plus the additional 100 you will probably put on over the next eight years.

First, buy a pocket calorie counter and a good quality pedometer. Then...............
EACH of the next seven days, walk a total of 6000 steps over the course of each day, eat between 2400 and 2800 calories and drink no less than 80 ounces of clear, fresh water over the course of the day.   

Get your weight before you start and let me know how much you loose in the week. Good Luck and I am with you for each of those 42,000 steps you are taking to a healthier life.