I used to be fat. Not quite obese, but definetly fat. No "politically correct" words such as "heavyset" or "chubby" or "cuddly" - I was fat. I really do not know exactly how much I weighed at my fattest, but at one point I weighed in at 265 pounds.

The first thing I did was simple, yet also the hardest thing to do: I admitted I was fat to myself, I stopped making excuses for it (oh, it's my allergies, or my metabolism, or I'm too busy to diet...) and I ACCEPTED myself as I was.

I was fat, and that was that. Being fat did NOT define who *I* was, it just was something among many things that I was. If I never lost the weight, if I never fit into a size 10 (or even 16!) dress, so be it.

Oddly enough, once I stopped making excuses and simply accepted the fact that I was fat, I found myself thinking about WHY I was fat. Really thinking honestly about it. And came to three simple conclusions:

• I was fat because I ate too much food.
• I was fat because I ate really unhealthy food.
• I was fat because I didn't move around enough, didn't excercise much.

And that I was tired of being fat.

So, now what... I accepted myself for who I was... I stopped making excuses for my weight, I knew why I was fat, and it was no one else's fault or responsibility but my own...what to do about it?

Simple answer: Lose weight. How?

Eat less. I "attacked" the problem of eating LESS FOOD first. I started cooking smaller portions of anything that I cooked. When I ate out at restaurants, I started ordering only one entree, and often, a small entree. Over time, I actually would order something off of the "Kids" menu to get a smaller portion! I only ordered desert half the time, same thing with soup.

Do you realize how RIDICULOUSLY LARGE the average portion of food an American eats is? Bigger is "in," just look at the size of a MEDIUM pizza! Super-size this, mega-size that... As a consumer culture, when we buy food, we expect extraordinary food size. You never see news stories on the smallest pumpkin in the patch around Halloween, only on the biggest.

When we eat out in a restaurant, we expect to be served enough food to feed a family of twelve on a single plate. Ask your favorite restaurant what one of their most common complaints is and they will respond "portion size is too small."

On top of that... we as individuals feel compelled to eat everything on our plate. To "not waste" food... the waste is not in our leaving food on the plate, the waste is in that we were served (or we requested) more food than we could reasonably be expected to eat in the first place.

I didn't starve myself, no way! I didn't eat portions that were the size of a computer mouse either... I just ate LESS food. I stopped taking "seconds," I stopped "super sizing" my ValueMeals at the local fast-food place. You get the idea.

I'm a BIG pasta freak! Love the stuff. I discovered that pasta tastes just as good with two or three pats of butter and some fresh garlic as it does with half a bottle of tomato sauce (actually, it tastes better!)... that I can "fill my stomach" with 12 raviolis instead of the whole bag (36)... that Fetticini Alfredo can be just as tasty with half the amount of sauce the recipe suggests...

Move my body. I went for a walk every day. At first, it was just half-way down the block... over time, all the way to the end of the block... then around the block... to the corner store... and I still go for a walk at least four times a week. I take my dogs with me, they keep me moving at a nice pace, and they love going out for a walk.

I never joined a health-club, I didn't embark on some overly ambitious "work out" program with expensive membership fees or equipment costs... I knew myself better than that, I knew I would be bored to tears using a StairMaster for hours on end and would give up on it within a week...

I just went for a walk.

Eventually, I got into some "walking habits" such as parking at the first spot I saw in the parking lot, instead of driving around and around looking for a "good" spot. I would take the stairs instead of the elevator, especially when I was only going to the second or third floor. Simple things like that, to get in a few extra steps every day.

Eat better. I started to eat healthier. Not "healthy" - just healthier. In particular:

• I stopped eating ALL fried foods. This probably was the biggest reason I lost as much weight as I did - fried foods=guaranteed fat!
• I stopped eating most processed foods (microwave meals, TV dinners, bologna and other cold cuts, etc.) All those chemicals, artificial flavorings/colorings and preservatives!!
• Although I'm allergic to most vegetables and fruits, I tried to eat more of the ones I am not allergic to, such as green beans and pineapple. I still don't eat enough vegetables and fruit!! But at least I eat SOME... I used to eat NONE!
• Any snack-foods I bought had to last me a MONTH, and I only bought one of each. My favorite snack foods are potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, Twix bars, and orange sherbet ice cream. I started stretching out the one bag of chips so that it would last about two weeks (never did get it to last a month!), same thing with cookies and ice cream. Instead of eating a whole pint of ice cream at one sitting, I would eat just a few spoonfulls at one sitting. If I ate something up before the month was over, that was it for the rest of the month. Yes, this takes some self-control... but I was determined and relentless: I was going to lose some weight.
• I stopped using most condiments, and when I did use them, I used them very sparingly. I'm talking about ketchup, mayonaise, mustard, etc.
• I stopped eating so-called "lite" foods. I was a big fan of so-called "lite" foods, because I mistakenly believed they were "healthier" or "less fattening." In some cases they are... but for the most part, they just "give you permission" to eat MORE of them. Is it really "healthier" for you to eat 8 "lite" brownies than it is to eat one "real" brownie? No... it is not... So I stopped wasting my money on "lite" foods.
• I started to eat a lot more "real" foods... I started to COOK. I would buy a fresh chicken and bake or broil it, instead of buying a box of frozen fried chicken and throwing it in the microwave. If I felt like a hamburger, I would go buy some 90% lean ground beef and broil a burger instead of going to a fast-food restaurant.
• I started "eating European" - meaning my "big" meal of the day became lunch, instead of dinner.

That's when I finally weighed myself. At that point in time, I had lost at least 65 pounds. I had no clue I had lost that much weight simply by eating less, eating better, and moving more. Moderation is an amazing thing... :) The next time I weighed myself was five months later, and I was down to 158 pounds. The same as I had weighed when I graduated high school, oddly enough! Although I never had a specific weight-loss goal in mind ("I'm going to lose 20 pounds!) I knew I had reached my goal... I had done it. I was no longer FAT.

What I did NOT do:

• I didn't spend money on a fitness club membership or exercise equipment. That stuff works for a LOT of people, but I knew it wasn't for me.
• I didn't join a weight-loss program and spend money on expensive pre-packaged meals. These sort of programs work for a lot of people, but again, I knew it wasn't for me.
• I didn't tell ANYONE I was "on a diet." I didn't even tell myself I was on a diet. I simply decided that I was TAKING CONTROL OF *MY* EATING HABITS, and that it was no one else's business but my own.
• I never hated myself for being fat. I never hated myself when I "slipped" and ate six cookies instead of four...
• I never stopped believing that I could lose weight. I didn't give up.
• I stopped eating right before going to sleep.
• I didn't obsess about my weight. If I lost weight, great, if I didn't great. In many ways, I actually really didn't think about my weight that much at all once the decision had been made to take control of my eating.

The eating less, eating better, and moving more became a LIFE STYLE, the way I live. Of course, I do eat the occasional box of french fries, or I might eat a slice of Boston Creme Pie... but it's all in moderation. When I get a craving for ice cream, I eat ice cream. I just don't eat the whole carton!! I don't walk every day anymore... but I do go for a walk four or five times a week...

but I've kept the weight off. My weight has not varied by more than 15 pounds in six years. And that, by anyone's standard, is a success.

So... How can YOU lose weight?

• Lose weight for the RIGHT reason: Because *YOU* want to. Not because your spouse, parent, friend or sibling "thinks" you should lose weight, lose weight because YOU and ONLY YOU want to lose weight. Do NOT lose weight so you can look like a magazine cover... lose weight because you want to.
• Realize you didn't get fat overnight, and you are not going to lose the weight overnight either. There is no quick-fix to being overweight... all you can do is change your lifestyle and take control of your body and your eating habits.
• Honestly assess your lifestyle. Are you eating out all the time? Do you live for pecan pie? Do you REWARD yourself with food? Do you get out and move your body at all or are you always sitting in front of the TV or computer? Do you eat TOO MUCH? Ask yourself honest questions about the quantity and quality of the food you eat, and how much you move your body. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF... no one else is going to.
• Honestly ask yourself what you will and will not do. If you know you can't stick with a rigid exercise program at a fitness center, then don't buy into one. If you know you can't stop eating chocolate chip cookies, then don't stop eating them - stop eating peanut butter cookies that you don't like as much, and eat FEWER chocolate chip cookies!
• Never "punish" yourself because you are fat... don't hate yourself. Regardless of how much you weigh, your friends and family LOVE YOU. They really do. They may be concerned about your weight and how it affects your health, but they still LOVE YOU. It's time to love yourself, whether or not you decide to lose weight.
• Understand that losing weight is not going to get you the man of your dreams, the job of your dreams, or change your life. I may have lost 100+ pounds, but I still haven't met the man of my dreams :) Losing weight, however, will make you proud of yourself for taking control of YOUR body, and it WILL improve your overall health.
• Eat less food
• Eat healthier food, i.e., more fruits, veggies, fresh meats.
• Cook healthier... broil or bake your food instead of frying it.
• Eat till you are NOT HUNGRY. Don't eat till you are FULL. If you have trouble getting up from the table because you are "stuffed" you ate too much.
• Sit down at the table and eat. Avoid eating in front of the TV or while driving. Eating should be sat down and ENJOYED, not done mindlessly while your brain is involved in a movie or driving. You will be a lot more aware of how much and what you ate when you take the time to eat instead of mixing eating up with some other daily function of your life.
• Go for a walk. Even if it's only to the end of the driveway, go for a walk. Every day. Look at the beautiful blue sky, feel the wind on your cheeks, the warmth of the sun on your arms, the cool of the rain on your face. If you do nothing else, go for a walk.