How to Painlessly Lose 25% of Your Body Weight in Just a Few Months

I was a 260-pound wreck of a man just a few months ago, but after a change in lifestyle and mindset, I’m a lean, mean fighting machine again.

Sometimes it takes a health crisis to wake up to how badly out of shape you’ve let yourself become. That’s what happened to me. Last summer, I went for a routine checkup only to leave my doctor’s office in an ambulance.

What happened was my blood pressure was an astronomical 235/133 and my blood sugar was a whopping 297. The doctor could not believe that I was still standing, called me lucky and then sent me away to the local emergency room. She called ahead to alert the staff I was coming in and they took me right away.

Thank God. Had I waited any longer, I could have had a stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, eye aneurysm and/or scores of other episodes you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

After several stints in the hospital (something I highly recommend you avoid), the medical team was able to get my numbers down, albeit slightly. I was placed on a regimen of several blood pressure meds and a diabetes program that had me testing my blood three times a day and injecting myself with insulin four.

It was clear to me that this was no way for me to live. Weighing 258 pounds (and has averaged 275 the past decade) at age 55 was killing me very slowly. Even though I was 6’ 3”, the weight was too much for me to carry. I wasn’t the 30-year-old madman who played softball three times a week anymore. I turned into a middle-aged couch potato that put his health on the back burner.

I decided, along with my wife, who is a vegan, to change some of my lifelong bad habits. It would take discipline to break away from my prior life. I had to learn proper nutrition all over again. But, I learned that all of the things people tell you about dieting were all B.S..

I began a personal austerity program that worked for me. I went from 258 pounds to 208 pounds in a matter of months. And it didn’t really take a lot of sacrifices.

I learned that you can still eat a lot of what you used to with just a few exceptions. All it takes for you to lose weight is to stay disciplined and follow these simple rules.

Stop Drinking Soda 

There’s something to what NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg said about Americans being overweight from drinking too much soda. It’s poison. Soda has a ton of sinful elements to it – mainly calories and sugar. Even if you drink just one 12 oz. can per day, by cutting it out you can knock off 15 pounds over the course of a year. Diet soda is not the way to go, either. They don’t have the calories of regular soda but contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose which give it a much sweeter taste. It gives the individual the illusion that it’s safe to eat or drink something else fattening because they are cutting down on calories with a diet soda. Show me a person who drinks a lot of diet soda and I’ll show you a fat person who isn’t losing any weight. Better to just stay away. Drink seltzer or mineral water instead.

White Pasta and Bread are the Devil 

I used to eat pasta 3-4 times a week. Why? Because it’s delicious. But it’s bad for you in volume. You don’t have to cut it out completely, but you should cut down. Once a week is fine and then only have a cup or so. Try whole wheat or whole grain pasta instead. I’ll admit, they aren’t as tasty but are much healthier for you. If you don’t change your sauce, after a while you’ll never know the difference. As for white bread and rice, do the same. I would steer clear of both if possible. Whole grain bread is the way to go and brown rice is a much less-starchier alternative to white rice. It will keep both your weight and sugar in check.

Breakfast Can Still Be Exciting

Whole grain cereal with either a half of a banana and/or a few strawberries are a must. I use unsweetened soy milk on it, too. Believe me, it tastes just like real milk. Bacon and eggs are still in, but not too much bacon, please. I recommend them at least once a week. But don’t forget to eat a bowl of fruit along with it. In fact, eat a bowl of fruit every morning. I buy the fruit already sliced into chunks and make a fruit salad of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, and pineapple. Delicious. I wash that down with a 12 oz cup of fresh ground decaffeinated coffee with the soy milk. Once a week my wife makes me vegan pancakes with blueberries, bananas, walnuts and unsweetened, fresh maple syrup. I never feel hungry after eating any of these breakfasts.

Eat at Least Five Times a Day and Drink Water

Breakfast is just one meal of maybe five you should have. Lunch should be either the second or third time you eat and also should be something you like. What I do, is make a sandwich and a salad and count out four sugar-free cookies with 12 oz. seltzer. The sandwich should be on whole wheat or whole grain bread. Avoid cheese if possible and use condiments moderately. A better idea is three times a week just eat half the sandwich and save the rest for later or tomorrow. Dinner should be a measured meal of some substance: a salad, a carb, a protein and a vegetable. No dessert, if possible. You should have one snack in the afternoon and one about an hour before you go to bed. Make the early snack a healthy one – an apple, peach, nuts etc. The late night snack could be more of an indulgence such as a small sugar-free pudding. Don’t forget to drink a glass of water with all of your meals. Do this, and your metabolism will change for the better. Your body will process food better since you’re not overloading it. The weight will come flying off, watch.

Never Eat Anything Out of a Can

Canned food has a load of sodium and preservatives. That goes for items packed in bottles and other packages as well. Your best bet is to eat as many fresh meals as possible.

Get Moving

You can join a gym if you want, but there are too many reasons not to go. The best way to exercise and get outside is to have a dog (or two) and walk them twice a day. Also, only drive when you need to. Walk to the store or church or any place you can get reasonably get to on foot. Also, make sure you do a lot of stretching and take up a hobby like yoga or tennis. Get your blood flowing. And get out in the sun once in a while, will ya?

Alcohol and Smoking

I never smoked and if you do, stop if you can. Or at least cutback. I used to drink a lot, though. On a normal week, I could down the equivalent of 20 drinks, sometimes more. My tolerance was becoming less and less the past few years which led me to go from 275 to 260 but I still binge drank like a college kid. The medications I was taking did not mix well with alcohol causing me to cut down. I stopped drinking beer and began drinking just wine and straight booze. But…I only can three drinks a night maximum and only do it once a week. This way, I never lose the taste for it and I’m not killing myself. I only drink red wine, and I try to buy organic if possible – less sulfites. I never mix the booze with anything but water or ice. No soda, no juice as you already know.

Get More Sleep

Sleeping is essential. Duh. For some people, they work long hours, have kids and other responsibilities that cut into sleep. You’re going to have to change that. Your body needs to wind down so that it can wind back up again. I get a minimum of six hours a night, That’s not enough, I know, but I make up for it by taking a cat nap here and there. It works.

If you follow these steps, you will gradually lose weight and it won’t be like many of the other painful programs you have to pay a fortune for. Yes, the philosophy is everything in moderation but you’ll never starve and you will be getting all of the nutrients your body needs.

Let me know if you try this and if it works for you. @John_Fennelly