I lost a lot of weight this time without using the usual suspects of brand name diets, shakes, supplements, meal replacements or diet pills.

Sometimes we are so obsessed with losing weight that we will pursue it at all costs, even if it means sacrificing our own health and sanity.

I have nothing against brand name diets, I’ve tried them in the past and I don’t know if they failed or they failed me, but I just couldn’t get them to work long term.

I always got off to a good start, lost some weight, plateaued, went off the diet, tried eating in the real world and gained all the weight back and more.

I learned that my brain has a set point that acts like a thermostat. It maintains my body weight no matter how unhealthy it may be for me. Unfortunately, that meant all of my best attempts at weight loss were thwarted because even at 300 pounds, my body wanted to keep me at that weight because it was convinced it was the best weight for me.

No matter what I did, I would gain all the weight back and more within a month or two of coming off the diet.

Part of the reason was because these diets don’t prepare me for eating in the real world.

They just told me to eat as many food points or just open this pre-packaged food and microwave it or mix it up and drink this sachet.

What he had to understand was that eating real-world food was food he would eventually have to eat anyway when he got out of pre-packaged servings.

That’s why when I started my eating plan it was foods that I determined myself, they didn’t come prepackaged, I didn’t have to wait to receive them in the mail to eat. It was real, whole food that I bought at the store and prepared myself. 24 weeks and 52 pounds later, I’m still eating wonderfully this way.

To lose weight, eat real food. Eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day.

I have cheat days where I can go crazy, which makes me feel like I’m not on a diet. This is the way I will continue to eat because it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

Here is an idea of ​​what I could eat in a day, there are no hard and fast rules and I control how much I feel like eating. The power is back in my own hands.

Meal 1 Fruity French Toast

Meal 2 Bran Cereal

Meal 3 Steak with Sweet Potatoes

Meal 4 Pumpkin Seeds and Almonds

Meal 5 Baked Pumpkin Chicken