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I am someone who loves food and especially the types of food which are not very good for you, I adore cheeses of all varieties, blue cheese, goat cheese, feta, Jarlsberg and I love restaurants with cheese plates as desserts, and pair the cheese with things like pear slices, honey or sweet wine. I am also a lover of rich Italian food and any other hearty food.
My point to all of this is that I have mentioned before on my other blogs, I had gained much weight over the years of 1996 – 2006. I had gained 40+ pounds and was a heavy set 207 at my highest weight. I had decided to take back control of my weight after some stomach issues and acid reflux problems (turns out they were stress related, but still glad I lost weight).
I had always had a treadmill in my house and used it but not as often as I should have. It took a steady amount of food portion control (not dieting) and muscle building exercise. I seriously just bought an old fashioned bench and started doing weights, I also supplemented with 30 – 45 minutes of Wii Fit every day. I kid you not, if you are not in shape, Wii Fit will help give you a great jumpstart. Just do 20 push up and side planks, and 30 Jack Knifes and you will feel sore for 2 days until you get used to it.
Bottom line is reduce your portions, eat whatever you want, but be aware of the total calories. Reduce your carbohydrate intake but don’t go nuts, keep healthy fats (plant fats are healthy), and eat a little less over a longer period of time. A combination of these factors will help anyone.
I lost 50+ pounds in around 22 months, which is a very healthy weight loss. I am now between 156 and 159 pounds and I feel lighter, I am stronger thanks to the weight bench and I find myself eating whatever I want, but not as much in one sitting as I used to.
Good luck to everyone trying to lose weight, I know how hard it is. I was a compulsive eater and would gorge myself until I was full. I would eat emotionally when I was depressed too, would down a whole box of poptarts at night watching TV. So I know how difficult it is, and I still break down and eat cheese before bed, or pepperoni and cheese platters once and a while as a treat.
-Justin Germino