Gary North

Feb. 6, 2010

One year ago, I started a weight loss program. It was not a diet. It was a lifestyle change. I knew this when I began.

I started lifting weights. I still do: three days a week. I also cut most carbs out of my meals.

I have taken off over 10% of my weight. I have kept it off.

I let myself gain three pounds over the holidays. Then I took them off.

I no longer have cravings for cookies, high-fat ice cream, and bread. It would be easy to slip back, so I don't slip back. To keep off the weight, I must play psychological games. I think "costs-benefits." I think to myself: "The brief pleasure is not worth the long battle to get off the extra weight." This helps.

I find that I can avoid cravings more easily if I can eat items on a daily basis that substitute for sweets, but without carbs or a lot of sugar. It took me a while to locate two candidates.

The first is a bag of frozen fruit: Dole's "Wildly Nutritious." This includes sliced strawberries, pineapple, peaches, and mangos. I eat them frozen. I put them in a bowl and snack. I have one or two servings every day.

Second, Townsend Farms' "Triple Berry Blend": raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I have a bowl full daily. I add no-fat milk, plus a little half & half. (Note: fat is not the problem with half & half: conversion to sugar is. Same with low-fat milk. Milk is my unbroken habit.) I have this for breakfast. Some days I have another bowl.

I have found that the weight stays off. If I gain weight, I will cut back on the berries. I buy both products in the frozen foods section of Sam's Club.

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