How I Lost 27 Pounds In 6 Months Without Taking Pills Or Starving Myself…

Wow…I was FAT!! And the thing was I lived a healthy lifestyle by most peoples standards. At least that’s what I thought…

I was running 3 days a week and hiked nearly every weekend. I ate mostly fruits and vegetables and almost always some sort of sandwich for lunch. And since I owned a smoothie franchise at the time, I would have a fresh fruit smoothie nearly every morning and almost never ate fast food.

But despite all of this, I was still fat. “What was the problem?” I would ask myself, “Why can’t I lose weight?… Finally, enough was enough…

At the time I was tipping the scales at around 207 pounds and had maintained that weight for almost four years. It seemed that no matter what I tried wouldn’t work. So after several months of “trying”, I got fed up with the situation and took the initial steps to change my situation once and for all..

Ironically, the shift came towards the end of a two year relationship I was in. I was reaching a point where I was ready for a change on all levels. I am sure some people can relate. But basically, it was time for some major shifts to happen in my life.

I wanted to find a serious training program that would combine nutrition as well as exercise. I was ready to pay whatever price it took, both financially and physically, and I wanted someone to hold me accountable for my success.

Before long, I came across a website for a training center in Phoenix called Larry Reynolds Affordable Personal Training. And after a short introduction with the owner, I immediately took action and signed up for my first thirty sessions.

What Was My Motivation?

Losing this weight was something I truly wanted for many reasons. But the most important one was to prove to myself that I could do it. Losing weight is easily among the most difficult things for most people to achieve. In addition to the health aspects, it was literally a real life experiment in beating my mind and following through on a difficult long term goal that would prove to create massive change in my life.

Losing this weight would require me to remain constantly aware of my objective and switch thoughts of overeating and indulging in short term pleasures out of my mind… not for days, not for weeks but for months and months.

I knew that by accomplishing this goal would not only have an effect on my physical appearance (and all the many positives that come with that) but it would provide the mental conditioning that would allow for other major shifts to occur my life.

For example, I knew that I could apply the same level of determination to my next business and achieve a level of success that was currently outside of my reality. I could also use the mindset to embark on my around the world trip and finally write the book that I have been talking about for so long.

You see, ones ability to persevere and achieve seemingly impossible goals is really like muscle. And the more you train your mind to follow through on the things you set out to accomplish, the easier and more confident you become in achieving new and more ambition goals. You gain more trust in yourself and your level of self respect and self esteem rises. And best of all, you feel good about your life on nearly all levels.

In fact, if you feel like your in a rut right now, setting a goal that is physical in nature i.e. losing weight, running a half marathon, completing a triathlon etc..  is hands down the absolute best way to create momentum in your life and get back on a positive track. I promise you, everything will seem easier just by taking the first steps.

So how did I finally lose the weight?…

For Approximately The Last 6 Months Here Is Exactly What I Did…

In the beginning, and by far the most important aspect of the entire campaign was making the shift in my eating habits. (Notice I said shift… this has nothing to do with short term dieting, also known as yo-yo dieting which NEVER works and only makes you fatter)

When I looked at how I was eating before,  I realized I was eating no different than what most Americans ate. Lots of bread, lots of cereals, juices, occasional sodas, and tons of rice, potatoes and/or pasta with almost every meal. What I didn’t realize at the time however, was just how many carbohydrates I was taking in every day. It was no wonder I couldn’t lose weight. I was indeed fighting an uphill battle.

I know its cliche to say, but carbs really are the problem.  Not only that, but most people, including myself, eat huge portions of food with every meal. Later, I was amazed to find that our stomachs, when in their natural state, are no bigger than the size of your fist. (I know your making a fist right now dork

So what were the shifts in my eating habits? Well, for starters, I began replacing my breakfast and lunch with a shake that I would make in my kitchen blender. The shake consisted of the following ingredients:

• One cold bottle of water
• Approximately five large frozen strawberries
• About an inch thick layer of frozen raspberries on top of the water (don’t worry, they’ll float)
• One large scoop of high quality vanilla protein powder
• One large scoop of high quality vanilla egg powder
• About one table spoon of Safflower oil
• Two tablespoons of very high quality liquid multi-vitamins
• One teaspoon of fresh organic cinnamon powder
• One tablespoon of fiber

This is a great meal replacement, especially if your doing physical exercise. Believe me you won’t go hungry as the shakes are giant. For snacks, in between I would eat a hard boiled egg, maybe a few slices of organic turkey and almost always a small hand full of raw organic almonds.

For dinner I would usually bake a piece of organic chicken or wild caught fish lightly coated in olive oil. As a side dish I would make a “cereal bowl” sized salad typically with the following ingredients:

• 1 large hand full of chopped dark green portion of romaine lettuce
• 1 small hand full of raw spinach
• 1 very small hand full of snap peas
• Several small cherry tomatoes
• 1 hard boiled egg sliced
• 1 small hand full of cooked salted almonds
• 1/2 of an avocado – sliced
• topped with about two table spoons of ranch dressing and crushed black pepper.

It was absolutely delicious and still one of my favorite salads.

There are many variations that you can make using the above basic ideas..Essentially what your after is a small portion of some type of white meat protein, prepared however you like and a portion of some mixture of vegetables. Get creative with it, it doesn’t have to be boring.

After a few months you can start to throw in a little brown rice or maybe a yam or sweet potato. But in my opinion its best to be strict with yourself in the beginning so you quickly develop your new eating habits. After awhile, carbs will take on the same ora as swear words in a church, and you’ll naturally begin moving away from them. (You sinner)

The Hardest Part

So here’s really what it comes down to… In order to lose weight effectively you need to make sure you are not taking in more than about net 40 carbs per day, at least in the beginning. If you do this, even after the first month, I guarantee you your clothes will not fit anymore. Thats how important it is to start cutting out carbs from your diet. Again, in time you can gradually increase your carb intake, but for the most part, this is a shift in your eating if you want the results to become permanent.

Unfortunately, when you start looking at the labels on most foods you’ll soon discover just how many carbs are in the foods we eat as Americans. For example just a half slice of bread can contain more than your entire carb intake for the day. And the sad part is, if you are exceeding this, it’s nearly impossible to lose weight effectively and permanently.

That means, cut out white rice, (brown rice is ok in moderation) cut back on the bread (especially white bread), cut back on potatoes (substitute yams or sweet potatoes if you can. They are more fibrous and contain less carbs) and cut waaay back on sugar…At least for 6 days per week. Why only six days? Because on the seventh day God rested!!

Even God Had A Cheat Day

Ahh the cheat day. I do remember them vividly…Every Sunday, I would embark on a cheat day. On this day I would allow myself to indulge in any of my favorite foods, which usually consisted of pizza or pasta. I would even eat ice cream (in moderation) and pretty much whatever I wanted. However, I think you’ll find, just as I found, that at this point your feeling so proud of yourself that you sincerely don’t crave these foods like you used to. Don’t get me wrong, I still ate them..But I naturally stopped eating as soon as I felt full.

Getting In Touch With Your Bodies True Need For Food

One of the biggest break through I had, was getting in touch with my bodies true need for food. Prior to this, I never knew that my stomach actually took up to 20 minutes to communicate to my brain that I was full. This is the reason when you go to a buffet, often times you can hardly move by the time your driving home in your car. It’s because your full beyond your stomachs capacity and your mind is just now receiving the message. its simply not necessary.

One of the best habits to get into is to start eat slowly, and try to be present and allow time for your mind to process that you are taking in food. Try drinking plain water with your meals as this will help you feel full quicker and quench any desire to drink soda. And for God sake, when you feel full push the plate away. You will feel a great sense of self control an awesome about yourself as a result.

And the best part is, even after 6 months, my eating habits, although not as strict as they were in the beginning, have changed dramatically. I am now much more aware of the foods I eat and the size of my portions. I admit, it has been a bit harder as I travel for the mere fact that some cultures eat huge amounts of carbs as a major a part of their diet and its almost impossible to eat according to the above plan. But I still try seeking out foods that are more consistent with this regimen.

My Exercise Program

In addition to the change in my eating habits, I would work out with a personal trainer three days a week. Usually Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The workouts were approximately 45 minutes each and extremely intensive. It’s a fast paced weight lifting program that is designed to keep my heart rate up while simultaneously building muscle. We focus on building muscle more than cardio for two reasons:

1. Having toned muscles makes us look better which is obviously one of our goals.
2. But more importantly, as we build muscle, our bodies metabolism increases. And metabolism is the process and speed in which our bodies burn fat.

So basically the more muscle you have, the faster your body will naturally burn fat even when your resting. And for the ladies who are worried about bulking up, not too worry. You’ll be glad to know that one of the best places to focus building muscle is in your legs. The reason is because your legs have the biggest muscles in your body, which gives you the biggest bang for your buck. And in case you didn’t know, guys love women with muscular legs.

And that’s pretty much it…My workout was literally a combined total of about one and half hours per week and I changed my eating habits from a high carb diet to a diet that consisted of mainly proteins and leafy green vegetables. The rest was just consistency and determination. It’s really as easy or as hard as you make it to be.

Anyhow, if you have been wanting to lose some weight for some time I hope you make the commitment. I highly recommend doing whatever it takes to get on a personal training program. I personally could not  have done it without the help of a trainer. (At least in the beginning) By having a personal trainer, it made me plan my life around my workouts instead of planning my workouts around my life, which almost always leads to failure. I know for a fact if I didn’t have a trainer waiting for me to arrive on certain days, I would have most definitely skipped my workout. Nor would I have pushed myself as hard as my trainers did. My motto is, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest” It works in all areas of your life.

What was a major commitment that you planned for and achieved? How did it make you feel? Please leave your comments..