I’ve lost 25 pounds since getting serious about this and I haven’t resorted to extreme pills or restrictive diets or even anything that would normally fit into what people call a ‘diet’. If I notice I’m getting overboard on ‘fat kid’ food (frozen pizza, taco bell, heavy starches) I back off. I also do not keep sugary stuff in the house. If I really want ice cream, I have to find the motivation to go out of the house to get it, and when I do, I go to an ice cream place and get two scoops. It’s a lot harder to find the motivation to get dressed, drive to the place, wait in line and pay more for it.

I’ve realized that there are some foods I enjoy a lot and can’t completely deprive myself of, or I will be tempted to go out just to eat a lot of that food. Potato chips are one of those. Now I get the kind that have only potatoes, salt and oil. Not sure if the preservative thing is BS or not, but those kind usually have less calories than the fully loaded kind and I prefer plain chips anyway.

I’ve made gradual changes in what I buy. Instead of regular shredded cheese, I buy the 2% or fat free varieties. Instead of white bread I get the 45 calorie bread. Instead of regular pork sausage, I get turkey sausage. Instead of regular sour cream, I get fat free. I honestly do not notice a change in taste with a lot of these products.

This has not been difficult this time around. Magical HCG spray left me feeling like shit every single day, just tired and drained and generally upset. The green tea/hoodia/etc pills didn’t do anything for me either. It feels better to be doing this correctly.