How I did it: I gained 20 pounds before I found the motivation to lose that and the original 20. That motivation is the real key.

Once I got determined, I tracked everything I ate on nutritiondata.com. There are other similar sites, too. I enter everything I eat, and use the website to analyse the nutritional balance so that I learn to make healthier choices.  I also used some of their tools to help me determine a reasonable goal, and calorie targets to reach that goal.

Something that helped me keep the calories down was buying some small dishes, so portiion control was easier psychologically. Sometimes I eat Japanese bento style, too, by which I mean a lot of little tastes together, a few bites of each, as in justbento.com. and there are other similar websites, as well.  That made eating just a little bit actually be fun, which is half the battle.

In addtion to watching what I ate, I started swimming. I did my best to swim a mile a day, though I don't actually make it every day.  Swimming gives me energy, (so I don't eat so much), takes away my appetite (so I don't eat so much), and reduces stress (so I don't miss a beer or two in the evening).  It also replaces time I would have spent sitting at the computer or on the couch, so I burn a lot more calories and boost my metabolism.

These were really the most important changes I made. Motivation, tracking food and educating myself, small plates for small portions, and daily excercise dropped the pounds pretty quickly.  Now I feel GREAT!!!

Nov 03, 10:24AM PST | 0 comments | 2 cheers