I used to weigh 180 pounds. I decided I didn't want to feel fat anymore so I started working out. I jogged 3 -5 miles a day and worked out in the gym three times a week for two months but barely dropped 5 pounds. Yes, I was a little bit thinner, but I wanted more results. It wasn't until I changed my diet that the weight loss happened and my body started getting thinner and more toned. It was the Twinkie diet that changed everything.
I HATE the word diet. I associate it with depriving myself of food I love. I love meat, my life would be miserable without carbs, I almost never eat vegetables. I thought exercising alone would be enough, but it wasn't. I searched online for ways that would speed up my weight loss and came across the story about the Twinkie diet. Mark Haub, a human nutrition professor at Kansas State University tried to prove to his students that, in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what mattered most. He limited his diet to 1800 calories a day, eating mostly Twinkies and junk food, to prove his point. He dropped almost 30 pounds in two months WITHOUT any additional exercise.
I kept a food diary for a month and found I was eating, on average, 5000 calories a day. I decided to try out his calorie counting technique, although I kept working out. I limited my diet to around 1400 calories a day, although there were some days I went over this amount. I didn't just eat Twinkies and junk food though. I also didn't eradicate carbs from my diet, become a vegetarian, or eat only raw foods. I still ate what I normally would eat, just less of it. 4 months later, I was down to 140 pounds. I felt great! I liked my body more than I had in years and I had more energy than when I started.
I felt hungry for the first few days, then I started substituting food that had the same volume, just less calories. I drank 2% milk instead of half and half (yes, I drank half and half). I switched from 5 regular sodas a day to one regular soda, diet soda, water, and unsweetened iced tea. I ate small french fries instead of large and I had the small ice cream at Cold Stone instead of the large. I started eating more fruit and less potato chips. I drank a little extra water instead of having that extra cup of rice. Eventually, I didn't feel hungry anymore. There were days went I would feel full and satisfied before I reached my 1400 calorie limit so I'd treat myself to cookies.
I can't say it was the calorie counting alone. I was working out. I drank more water because I had read that staying properly hydrated helps metabolism. I spread out those 1400 calories throughout the day as much as possible (300 calories here, 50 calories there) because I read that eating smaller meals through out the day helped. I took multi vitamins to help me get the right nutrition.
I eventually went back to my old ways, stopped counting calories, but continued to work out and yes, I started gaining the weight back. A few days ago I heard about the McDonalds diet in which John Cisna, a science teacher from Iowa ate nothing but McDonalds. He limited his diet to 2000 calories a day, lost 37 pounds in three months, and lowered his cholesterol from 249 to 170.
It's the new year and I've decided I want to loose some weight again. I'll be working out and counting calories. I'm not saying calorie counting alone will do the trick, but I do think it helps. It's free! You don't have to buy special meals or join Weight Watchers and figure out their point system. Nutrition labels can be found on plenty of food products, chain restaurants now provide calorie count right in the menu, and if you still can't find it, google usually works.
If you guys are planning to loose weight or have tips on how you lost weight, leave me a comment. I'd love to know how you did it. Hopefully this will help someone with their New Year's Resolutions for weight loss or just getting healthier.
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