A LOT of people have asked me specifically how I lost 47 pounds (so far…probably won’t lose any more).  I did follow a particular diet called “The Ideal Protein Diet“.  My chiropractor said she was tired of telling people to lose weight to help with their back problems but then not having a real suggestion that was easy and worked.  She researched around and found this diet and tried it.  It worked so she became a provider.

I know people have all sorts of self-image issues and skinny isn’t always good and fat isn’t always bad.  I am not about chasing the “skinny ideal” and everyone has to make their own decisions about their own health so please don’t think I mean to judge anyone on whether they are thin or not thin.  I have blood pressure and cholesterol issues and those are the reasons why I did this diet.  My blood pressure is normal now without my medicine.  I will continue to monitor it daily, but so far, so good.  For me, I was comfortable at my previous weight but not with my other issues.

Anyhow, the gist of the diet is to minimize carbs and maximize protein but it is unlike Adkins or those sorts of diets in that the practitioners of this diet want participants to eat good protein (i.e. not bacon, etc) and to eat lots of vegetables, control portion sizes and hydrate.  It has worked for us because the diet program provides a video series that is excellent and not just smoke-blowing.  We see a weight-loss coach weekly who is helpful to our monitor progress and guide us forward.  The diet is very well regimented so there is no counting points or calories or anything like that…it’s just easy.  The other neat thing is that the process includes monitoring muscle loss and fat loss.  The idea is to minimize muscle loss and focus on fat.  It’s interesting but I lost very little muscle in this process which is not typical of most diets.

It is a little expensive to start as there are “good protein” products we eat to supplement other lean meats, etc but it has worked very well and I have not been uncomfortable or weak/tired, etc.

I am transitioning to the third phase where I begin to reintroduce healthy carbs and prepare for a maintenance phase.  The idea is to retrain my way of thinking about food and what is really going into my body.  The focus now is on eating whole foods, good portion sizes and how to enjoy food without gorging and snacking constantly.  There is no magic to keeping the weight off…no more eating donuts every day.  No more drinking four Mountain Dews a day.  No more snacking on chips right up until bed time.  This diet helped me get the weight off.  Of course, it is now up to me to keep it off and I have been pretty well educated on what causes weight gain, how to manage it and how to move forward while still being able to enjoy food.

I don’t usually advertise stuff on this blog because this space is not really about that but I know weight loss is hard and I am so pleased with how this worked that it seems like others may benefit.  If you are local, the link to my provider is above.