Alright! So here it is. My big announcement. I weighed in Monday morning and behold! I finally hit the big 25! That’s twenty-five pounds! Gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Elvis has left the building! Or at least 25 pounds of Elvis. =) I waited until today to tell you because I wanted to make sure I would maintain the loss, which I have, all week. I’m actually down 28 pounds as of this morning. But who’s counting? Ahhhh, I am!!!

I guess the big question is “How did you do it?” I started my weight loss discussion with the post “Next Stop 25 Pounds“. But I wanted to wait until I had some real progress to share with you what I have been doing. And I guess there is no arguing that 25 pounds is “real” progress. So Here goes.

If you having been paying attention, you probably know that I cook most of the meals in our family. Further, if you have seen my recipes, you know that I mostly cook healthy meals. Or at least try to! I believe that diet, more than anything else is responsible for my weight loss results. So I will try to document what I am doing. Please note that I have tried all kinds of diets over the years, read many diet books and have talked to many other people about dieting. What I am doing is a cumulative result of my past experiences and is not a completely documented “diet”. So, here are my “diet” guidelines.

1. I have decided that this is permanent, not a “diet”
2. I eat breakfast every morning.
3. I have a 10:00 AM snack
4. I eat a healthy lunch
5. I have a 3:00 PM snack
6. I eat a healthy dinner
7. I restrict meat to 4 oz portions
8. I have reduced all of my portion sizes
9. I never eat after 8:00 PM
10. If I’m bad one day, I make it up the next
11. I try to substitute chicken for beef and pork
12. I try to always have a veggie with dinner
13. I restrict my fat grams to 19 per meal
14. I try to eat low calorie meals
15. I have researched what I can eat at different restaurants
16. I try to avoid fast food
17. I try to avoid deserts
18. I try to avoid bleached, processed white flour
19. I use wheat flour and whole grains whenever possible
20. I substitute whole wheat pasta for regular pasta
21. I cook brown rice instead of white
22. I drink a large glass of water 1/2 hour before a meal
23. I substitute ground turkey for ground beef
24. I try to eat at least one meatless dinner a week
25. I try to avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup
26. I try to avoid anything with partially hydrogenated oil

Breakfast
I usually eat oatmeal and fruit

Snacks
I snack on fruit, veggies, pretzels, 100 calorie snack packs & yogurt

Lunch
Veggie or turkey subs, salad, homemade sandwich, soup, veggies, fruit
I watch fat and calories

Dinner
One of my recipes, anything with chicken, whole wheat spagehtti, veggies
I watch fat and calories

I started walking regularly in November 2007 which you can read about in 5 Reasons To Start Walking Today! My dog and I take a 1/2 an hour walk every morning and most nights. Additionally, I started out with a vigorous workout last November which included the stationary bike, treadmill, push ups, crunches and Hindu Squats. I think this helped kick start my metabolism, which seemed almost non-existent at the time. =) My problem with this routine lately is a severe lack of time. I hope to return to this routine sometime in the future. Until then, I will keep walking. Here are some ways I try to maximize my walking time:

1. I park as far away from my destination as possible and walk

2. I try to get up and personally visit co-workers, instead of calling on phone

3. I park at work and then walk around building to get to the entrance

4. I am trying to walk during my lunch at work

5. I bring my mail to work and walk to the corner post box

I started doing the above because of my time shortage, I figure it can’t hurt.

My wife and I started using Alli in January. Alli is the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved diet pill available without a prescription. It is a watered down version of the prescription diet pill, Xenical (orlistat). It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

How it Works
Alli comes in a pill form and is taken with each meal. Alli blocks fat from being absorbed into the body. It is said to block 25% of your fat intake allowing it to pass through your digestive system and out of your body.

My Personal Take
I believe, based on my past experiences, that we have lost more weight while taking Alli, than if we did not take the diet aide. Having said that, I am not recommending you try Alli. It is hard to tell how effective it has been because we started our new eating habits and exercising at the same time. But, I do believe it is worth checking out. If you decide to try it, you can purchase it here at a good price.

A Word of Caution
I don’t really want to go into great detail here, but some people have reported “side effects” while taking Alli. Neither my wife or I have had any side effects while taking it. I recommend you visit the company website and decide for yourself. As always, before taking anything or starting any diet or exercise program, please consult your physician.

So there you have it. Diet, Exercise and Alli. That’s what’s working for me. Have any weight loss suggestions? Please leave a comment and get the discussion started!

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