Date Weight Belly
Jun 01 165# 38" (approximate)
Dec 29 141# 34"

I'd say it was a pretty good year in the weight loss department. But I still have a few more inches to shed from my waist.

I need to get back to exercising. Haven't done that regularly in a couple months. Plus the holidays were a killer for me food wise. Too much good stuff! So for now I need to focus on exercising and watching what I eat... which is the cornerstone of all weight loss programs.

In June of this year, I weighed about 165 pounds and had a belly-measurement of 38". On September 29th I weighed 148 pounds and had a belly-measurement of 35". I don't know about you, but those numbers look pretty good to me.

I did this all by changing my diet. I didn't join a gym (but I do try to work out at home.) I didn't join Weight Watchers. I don't put my food into Zones. I just make smarter decisions about the foods I eat.

And I decided to write out my diet (what I eat) for the world to read and scrutinize.

Now I've read plenty of diet books. While there are quite a few that are really good, there are some that are just plain scary. For me, the book that made the most sense was The Abs Diet, which my diet is based on.

I recommend this book for these reasons:

1. It simply has you replace the bad foods with better foods and teaches you how to eat better.
2. You don't have to count calories or Zone your foods or check off boxes for protein, fats and carb consumption.
3. You get to eat more often. Yes, it's like an "eat when your body tells you to" diet.
4. Instead of just telling you to exercise (most books spend a page or two telling you this) the Abs Diet shows you things you can do.

While The Abs Diet is my book of choice, other good books are The South Beach Diet and The Mediterranean Diet. The Zone Diet is okay, but reads more like a medical journal than a diet book.

I've been pretty good over the last few months in not eating a lot of sugar. I don't drink much soda; I did have a Coke a couple months ago, and probably a couple months before that. In fact, I have a bottle of Pepsi sitting in a cabinet that has an expiration date of... (going to look)... well, it expires in a couple days! (August 6th, 2007!) Pop isn't a problem for me.

I don't eat candy bars. Often. I had a Kit-Kat a couple months ago. (I really needed a break.) I've had some of those sugar-free candies, but I'm not going to count them.

I will admit to having a couple Frosties from Wendy's over the past few months. Twice I went there just for Frosties and French Fries. Now that is a wonderful combination! Mmmmm. I've also had a couple donuts. But I'm proud to say over the last few years I haven't eaten cans of chocolate frosting. (Yes, I've done that.)

But I still have a sugar problem.

Coffee.