The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser


Frankly, I am losing the excess weight I recently gained and now I am working half as hard as I used to in order to get lean and mean. I figure, why keep the secrets all to myself

Just a month a go I was blogging about how to sabotage your weight loss efforts, and now I have ample reason to blog about a different view point: How to HELP your weight loss efforts. Before you read this, keep in mind that I am being rather strict ( above and beyond what is needed) with it because I have a wedding, that is basically tomorrow! But for most of us, a few cheats here or there are perfectly fine plus you can alter the plan to fit your lifestyle best!

There are 3 keys to my weight loss plan this time around

• High Protein
• Low Sugar/Fats
• Moderate Carbs ( the good kind only)

I never thought in my life I would be saying this, but exercise hasn’t really been all that big of a factor this time around. I am going to be a fitness buff for life so I could never stop exercising but you know how they say diet is 80% and exercise is 20%? Well they weren’t freaking kidding. Literally, if you eat right, you don’t have to do diddly in the gym unless you are looking for toning and of course keeping your heart healthy, which of course matters!! The serious exercise is for vanity anyway, getting the toned and muscular look. Also, having more muscle on you is going to help your body burn more fat at rest, and isn’t that what this is all about anyway? So go ahead, lift those weights (but no requirement to live in the gym to be happy and fit).

Before trying this new way of eating, I just counted calories every single day, kept a food journal, and worked out at the gym until my arms and legs fell off. I was exhausted, yet wondering why my scale would not budge. It’s not just about calories, but about the type and quality of calories. What do ya know eh?

After doing some research ( seriously in depth) I learned that the way your body burns proteins is very different than how it process tons of sugar, fats, carbs , etc etc.
I always have known that eating less carbs, processed foods and choosing “better” food instead is good for you but I didn’t understand why. Well now I do. The less fat you put in , the less work your body has to do BEFORE it can start to burn the fat on your body, and you stay leaner with less work. You body wants to burn away that tummy fat, but how can it do that if its chugging away ALL DAY long burning away the junk you put in that whole week, it will never have time! So don’t overwork your system, its just that Simple! If you eat a protein, your body goes right to work and obliterates that, if you eat a fat, your body frowns! Plus proteins are more complex so you body has to work super hard just to break it down( you just might burn some extra calories in the process while once again, doing NADA), and the added bonus is that the protein isn’t going to sit on you and collect!

I learned that counting calories isn’t always going to be the way to go, because all calories are not created equal! ( like black people! Ha ha)

For example, I could eat 500 calories of plain grilled chicken at 10pm and wake up the next day and be the same weight. If I ate 500 calories of pizza, or say, a whole box of cheeze its! I would wake up the next day up 2 lbs plus bloated and feeling awful.

The way this plan has worked for me, is I eat “The good foods” so that I am energetic and never starving or hungry, but I don’t mess with the “Bad foods” except very sparingly. Obviously like at a happy hour or something! The critics say that’s its important not to label foods as “Good” and “Bad”, but I think to some extent you have to set up some boundaries!

I would also like to talk about alcohol. I have learned SO much lately about how that affects weight loss efforts. All this time, I assumed that since alcoholic beverages have calories and sugars that it hinders your weight loss efforts that way. However, that is not entirely true. We can drink in moderation, make the right beverage choices and still lose weight, but let me explain how else it can get in your way!

Every day your body burns fats, sugars, carbs, etc etc in order for you to live. The key to weight loss is making sure that your body is burning the right things( ie. Fat!) So you can get that slim figure.

For example, If I want to lose 2 lbs per week, and I eat a fresh and healthy diet all week, but then on the weekends I go to the clubs and binge drink all night, I may just have set myself back a few days. If you drink a vodka –water ( yuck)...on that particular drink , the carb content is 0 and so is the fat, but there is the alcohol its self ( and The alcohol is a source of energy that your body can use and wants to use, and if you don’t burn it off accordingly, your body will shrug its shoulder and happily store it as fat!)

I say all that to say, if you drink a lot your body is going to waste precious time and energy burning off the alcohol all the while leaving the fat sitting on your stomach and legs lying dormant. On top of that, your body likes to burn the alcohol first! So its like your body likes to drink too!:) If you don’t put in the alcohol in the first place, your body will go straight to burning off the good stuff! ( um, like your muffin top?) I don’t drink much, right now so every day I burn more and more, so the result is my thighs are getting smaller and my stomach is flatter. I work out moderate level about 4 days per week now; instead of 7 at full mast …I would say this is a sweet deal :)

So I’ve been putting this program to the test for the last 4 weeks and it’s produced some amazing results.
The program isn’t easy but over time it gets easier and more manageable, my appetite is adjusting as well.

I eat until I am full and I feel like I am eating more for fuel and energy and not for fun and excitement. And yes, this kind of does suck, but you know what sucks more? Being a black mammoth /sea lion combination that can’t fit into ANYTHING 

Any time I am hungry, I reach for primarily proteins. I don’t eat any “white stuff” like white bread or rice, chips, cookies, cakes. Don’t panic, you can eat these things, but just not every single day! I stay away from them right now because I Am afraid I will eat a little and then spiral into a frenzy. Anything that may set me off, I just try to stay away from. If you think you can handle it, then by ALL means!

The program can be different for everyone, but I am just telling you how this has worked specifically for me.

It’s been hard and I complain and some days I feel kind of bitchy, but I am not starving myself nor am I am constantly feeling a hunger in my stomach. I do want cakes and candy some days, or like, mashed potatoes with loaded toppings! Lol, but I try not to put anything in that I am not 100% sure my body can burn off plus some. I don’t want that feeling of a glob of food sitting in my stomach and not going anywhere. Or even, worse have to go back to crazy maniacal exercise program! ( yuck)

Prior to this program, I tried your standard “ diets” and I found those to be tedious, complicating and frustrating. This program is the easiest I have ever done.
The program is moderate carbs, or you can do low carbs. I know low carbs doesn’t work for everyone ( plus there is tons of controversy), so you can alter that to fit your needs and comfort level. Just making sure it’s the right carbs, is most important. I am not an expert on good carbs and bad carbs but I am sure its easy to find the info on the web or get a used book with more details. I know cutting carbs completely is bad news, but you do have to figure out which carbs your body can take and what others cause you to gain!

The real key to this program is high protein and low FAT, the carbs aren’t as much of a factor.

I want to note that I don’t eat much veggies and fruits on this diet, but I take supplements to be sure my body is getting the nutrients that it needs. You do not have to cut out fruits and veggies ! I repeat, please eat fruits and veggies. I don’t understand which fruits and veggies are the best/healthiest ones and which contain the least sugar, so I avoid them for the most part, however there are tons of websites which list in plain English which fruit and veggie choices are the best. I found that when I eat a lot of fruit I don’t lose weight SO I had to make that executive decision.

I drink water all day as well, 8 ounces about 10 times per day ( so 80 ounces roughly ?)
I put crystal light into my mix sometimes to help me get all that dang water down. I kind of hate water, you know? But you know what I hate more? Morbid obesity 

Also, I have to cook more on this program. But I make my food every other day so I always have something good ready to heat up if the urge to eat hits me! I don’t slave away in the kitchen but it helps me stay on track if I feel a hunger pain and all I have to do is heat up a burger patty or bake some fish and then rock and roll baby!

So lets just say, with the least effort I have ever put forward in my 28 years of life, I am now back into my size 6 clothes ( with room) plus my wedding dress is loose as a goose. I have no worries going into swim suit season and into my upcoming graduation and wedding ceremonies. I can worry about other things, like the growing EXPENSES! LOL

This is the EASIEST plan I have ever had to follow, however let me give you a few menus so you can see exactly what type of foods are lighting my fat burning fire!

This is an example of 2 of my daily menus:

Breakfast:
Coffee ( no cream) with sweet n low
4 slices of Turkey Bacon
2 eggs

Snack
1 can of tuna with cottage cheese
2 mozzarella cheese sticks

Lunch
Grilled chicken breasts with skim-milk parmesan cheese melted on top
Snapple diet tea ( best stuff on earth? Um, heck yeah dude)

Snack
1 large Turkey burger patty, seasoned ! with mustard to dip ( just dip baby dip!)

Dinner
2 Tilapia filets and grilled shrimp ( yum!)

Dessert
Sugar free Jello and Diet SunDrop! ( burn extra calories by dropping it like its hot)

Another daily menu:

Breakfast
Omelet with ham and cheese ( skim milk based cheese!)
2 cups coffee
Diet dr pepper ( yup, I aint cutting the doctor!)

Snack
Turkey sausage ( 2 links)

Lunch
Sliced turkey breast
2 hard boiled eggs (cut up and seasoned!)
Tea

Snack
More sliced turkey breast with Dijon mustard sauce

Dinner
Roasted Chicken with Celery/onions and Broth

Dessert:
Sugar free fruit popsicle



Does that sound like starving to you?
Didn’t think so :)




-Tanya Jackson