Dawn, you are so right that it's all about babysteps. After more than a year on this weight-loss journey, I've pretty much abandoned the low-carb plan because I'm just not good at doing it long-term. I also don't like to write down what I eat during the day, so have abandoned the food journals that so many diets recommend. I so enjoy making lists that I'll get sidetracked and not ever get anything else accomplished. I've found that I can still lose weight eating whatever I want (within reason, and eating reasonable portions, of course) using these few simple steps. It's not really a diet, and so much easier than most plans. I didn't start with all of this at once, it was a process of adding babysteps to my usual routine.
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Take vitamins daily.
3. Exercise of some sort most every day. I love tracking progress with stickers on my wall calendar so I can see at a glance if I've missed too many days.
4. Weigh daily, and track weight, water, vitamins, and exercise. (I have a form if you're interested--I track 6 weeks on 1 page.)
5. Eat something for breakfast soon after you get up to "break the fast" and rev up your metabolism. Consume most of your calories earlier in the day, and eat a light and/or early supper. I like to eat a light supper or substantial snack by 3:00 or 4:00 and then nothing other than water or decaf coffee with sugar-free creamer and sweet 'n low after that. If I can make myself do this, I often drop a pound or more by the next morning.
I discovered the effectiveness of skipping supper by accident in January 2006 when our pastor at church asked us to consider fasting during the evening meal during a week of prayer. I cheated and ate a little one evening that week, but still lost 7 pounds in 5 days! This method might not continue to work if you did it too long, but I've never managed to do it many days in a row. It also might quit working if total calories were too low. Another thing I've done if I get really hungry in the evening is eat a salad or other high fiber/reasonably low calorie food. Stir-fried veggies might be another good choice.
Fasting at the evening meal might not be a good idea for diabetics, and may not work for nursing moms or others with special medical concerns, either. Every person is different, so you may want to try it and see if it works for you. If you do eat supper, consider eating the smallest portion you can to keep your blood sugar level. Fiber supplements help prevent hunger and the South Beach Diet book said that they'll keep your body from absorbing as many carbs.
These ideas and FlyLady's daily encouragement these past 3 1/2 years are what I credit for the 70 pounds I've lost since September 2005, most of it since I started over in January 2006. It has been a long, slow process, but I feel so much younger and healthier than before! I'd love to know if some of these ideas work for anyone else. Hope they help!
