I know, you're probably thinking - "Yeah, right." Well, I am here to tell you that I honestly lost 90 pounds in six months in a very healthy way! Not only have I lost the 90 pounds, but I have kept it off for the last 10 years! I'll tell you how I did it, but first, a little about my background.
I am the third oldest of 9 children - a total of 5 girls and 4 boys. We didn't have much money back then and so I developed a scarcity mentality around food. Whenever someone offered me food, even if I wasn't hungry, I would say yes and eat it. I've always had a sweet tooth. I love Drakes Cakes, Hostess, pies, cookies, ice cream - you name it, if it was sweet, I loved it. Not only did I love sweets, I loved salty foods too. Hell, I loved food - period. I realized early on that the way I ate was not normal. Meaning, not only was I a sneak eater, but I had a total inability to delay gratification around food. Hence, I would eat my lunch on the school bus on the way to school in the mornings. This of course, left me no other choice but to steal the other children's snacks from their lunch boxes at recess time! So every day when the rest of the class went to recess, I always back tracked and rummaged through every lunch box wolfing down all of the tasty delights that awaited me. Shame, fear, guilt and remorse were my constant companions, but I could not stop eating. After a while, I knew which kids brought the best snacks from home and therefore, which lunch boxes to raid during recess when all of the other children were out on the playground.
Needless to say, I was a fat kid who later grew up to be a fat adult. As an adult, I was a smoker. But when I decided to quit smoking, I went from 140 pounds to 170 pounds - almost overnight. I thought, "no problem I'll take it off in no time." But the scale kept creeping up, 175, 180, 185....I topped off at 213 pounds. After that I stopped getting on the scale. It was too painful. I was buying clothes from Lane Bryant, Ashley Stuart (both very nice stores, but made for fat folks). My blouses were size 3X and my pants were between a size 18 and 22. There I was, 28 years-old and looking and feeling like a 50 year-old!
I tried Weight Watchers - a terrific food plan by the way! Back then, Weight Watchers had the Point System. The problem was, my eating progressed to such where I would purchase mass amounts of their Smart Ones Desserts - at 2 points each - and then proceeded to eat every single box purchased. I began "borrowing" points into the next week! My binges consisted of furious raids of my refrigerator late at night; midnight runs to IHOP; driving to deserted parking lots for more secret eating. Hell, once I even pulled over to the curb in front of a STOP sign to eat my McDonald's Egg McMuffin sandwich as the drivers behind me furiously honked their horns and gave me the finger! I was oblivious to it all! I was in food heaven!
Finally, I ran into an old friend whom I hadn't seen in years. She was thin! I asked her how she did it. She told me of this free program. When I went there, everyone was thin and radiant. I thought "Wow." I wanted what they had. So I asked them what they did. They told me that I was a compulsive overeater and that I was addicted to sugar and refined carbohydrates. You don't say? You mean there was a reason for my utter madness? Well, I thought, "What DO you eat? I couldn't imagine eating anything else except carbs and sugar. They gave me their food plan. The food plan was extremely strict. I was to weigh my food every single day without exception. I could only eat three meals a day and I had to abstain from sugar and refined carbohydrates. At first it seemed weird. But as I looked at the food plan, I saw that there was an abundance of food!! Not only that, I could eat a lot of my favorites if I chose to. I could eat bacon, pork rinds, fried foods, and still lose weight!
As I said, I started off at 213 pounds. During the first month I lost 16 pounds. The second month I lost 12 pounds; the third month I lost 12 pounds; it was amazing. I was going shopping for new jeans every month! In addition, I exercised at the gym every day. It's amazing, when I started to lose weight I actually wanted to exercise. Where was I? Oh, yes, as I said, I started off at 213, and by the fourth month, my jeans were a size 5 and by the sixth month I was a size 2. I have my before, during, and after pictures which I will be happy to show anyone through my eBook. My body was toned and tight because I had exercised the whole time I was losing weight - so I didn't have the hanging skin. My doctor loved my new food plan but advised me to start picking leaner proteins because he didn't want my cholesterol going up. I started picking items like egg whites, fish, poultry, etc. But at least I knew that if I wanted to, I would not have to be deprived because I could always pick up any fatty greasy food within the food plan that I wanted. Also, we were allowed to have any diet soda and any artificial sweetener - which took care of the problem of my sweet tooth.
It has been over 9.5 years later, and this creature unlike any other is still a size 2-4! This way of eating is a lifestyle change. I found this food plan to be extremely strict though, and so I found a way to modify it so that it can be a portable lifestyle change for anyone to follow. My sister lost 100 pounds on the modified version. I have tailored the plan so that anyone can follow it and still lose weight fast. Are you ready for the food plan that will change your life dramatically and make you lose weight quickly and healthfully?
Shalisha Alston
