# How I lost 40 Lbs



## olsonla (Dec 5, 2005)

I had a baby in Jan and thought it would be fairly easy to lose the 50-60 lbs I gained- But I was sadly mistaken! after 4 months of dieting and exercising- Nothing was working. So I was desprate.... I looked on line and found the Raw Food Diet... I know this may sound rediculous- but it does work and if you independatly do the reserch on the nutritional vaules of the raw food that you do eat- you will get every thing you need- I have now lost 45 lbs in 5 months With sticking to Raw 80-90% of the time and working out (fairly Hard) 3-5x a week.... Raw Food is anything in its purest form, ie, apples, bananas, carrots, lettuce, seeds, nuts, etc. It is simple, But far from easy. about once or twice a week I will have toast and/or meat, but only as a treat- not part of my main diet... I have recieved many critical comments on they way I eat (saying I don't get enough Protein) but since I took a physical fitness test (for the Army) in Aug- I improved my Push-ups, sit-ups and run, since before I was pregnant! 

I have also been researching the value of Omega-3s(in greens) vs Omega 6s fats (which is found in corn/ soy products).....

I say the proof is in the pudding! I am not a Vegan by any means (ask my steers!) but they are raised on grass, and we will keep only a 1/4, for special occasions. I also added (my own grass fed chicken) eggs to my diet for addtional protien. I have another PT and wiegh-in test on Friday- Will let you know the results! 

Lori in WI


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## SageLady (Jun 10, 2008)

Congrats on your weight loss, but the easiest way to lose baby fat is to breastfeed.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Good luck with your PT and weigh-in!!!!

I hear ya about the Raw diet...I couldn't do it though because I'm a 'cold, chilly' type of person, I need HOT food. 
I went Vegetarian 13 months ago and have lost nearly 50 lbs., my husband is eating meat every-other day and has lost 25 lbs.

Once again GOOD LUCK from a Veteran Marine Mom


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## olsonla (Dec 5, 2005)

Oh, believe me I tried!! Until I did not produce enough (Plus I had to go back to work).... So while If I could have stayed home with the Little Shaver to breast feed, I would have loved to do that instead- but was not fesible... 

Marinemomtatt- While it is somewhat true about being cold- I have started drinking Hot tea..... and that seems to help my "cold bloodedness" -& Thanks for the Luck! after 20 years you would think it gets easier!HA never! I am hopeing to MAX my sit-ups this time, though! (Being older does have some advatages, less reps to do!)

Lori


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## mrhealthguy (Oct 2, 2009)

SageLady said:


> Congrats on your weight loss, but the easiest way to lose baby fat is to breastfeed.


Raising the metabolism is the best way to burn body fat stores, and experts will agree that exercising more will help raise your metabolism. The problem is many people don&#8217;t want to be exercising for hours in the gym just to speed up the metabolic rate. People want to spend less time exercising.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

glad I found this post-- what particular website did you read? What book do you recommend?
I'm not over weight, but could eat healthier-- I love meat and fish, so it wouldn't be everyday thing. I am interested, though . . . .

I found some websites, but didn't say much aside from buying some kind of 'blowers' or 'heaters' to 'warm your food' (yuk-- why not zap it in microwave or heat briefly onstove if you can achieve same temp?)
Yes, what the other said about 'hot' (especially in Maine in winter)

Also, how do you eat stuff like parsnips raw (Ilove them, but dont think I'd like them raw without butter or in a stew)
What are your references?
just curious-- thanks!
Sherry


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## stargazer (Mar 6, 2009)

On the radio the other day a Dr Fred Bisci was talking about this very subject. He recommends raw foods. His book is titled "Your Healthy Journey". I think you could google him.


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## liquorlawman (Jun 14, 2008)

I lost almost 80 pounds by eliminating caffeine, sugar, and going on 1800 calories a day. I drank bottled water and walking on a treadmill twice daily for an hour each time. Took only three months.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Congratulations on losing weight! 

Wow, liquorlawman, now THAT is a great testimonial against one of the hardest things to drop and one of the worst sweet stuff for us- SUGAR.

My weight loss isn't so dramatic, but here goes.

In November, 2008, I grabbed a pair of jeans, normally fit loose and comfortable, and couldn't get those baby's up past my hips. I knew I had gained a little, but?! So, I did the rare thing, stepped on the scale. I did a double-take! 140#s. Now, at 5'5, small boned, some would just consider that mildly plump. Tell my CLOTHES THAT! This wasn't to be a minor thing, since most of my clothing was purchased for office wear, is fitted, and it was purchased over a period of years (I normally don't vary by more than 5 pounds due to fitness, not diet so much). This is only the 2nd time in my life, I weight 140#s, so not pleased (first time was when I delivered my daughter). Worse? I couldn't afford to buy new clothes at all.

So, first thing I did, was to drop sugar out of my diet. That first month, with little extra activity, I lost 10#s. When I dropped everything I could find that contained fructose, corn syrup, even beet sugar, the following month, dropped 10#s more. So, now I am not adding sugar back into my diet, trying to refrain from all hidden sugars, and obvious ones, and limit my fruit consumption. I eat meat every day, plenty of organic veggies, drink a Kefir Smoothie, complex carbs (very little starch & stay away from empty carbs). When my weight dipped below 120#s, I had to add more complex carbs back in. Right now, stable and very happy to be back into my clothing. I like eating raw veggies, too, and don't drink alcohol.

It really helped me that DH didn't say anything negative to me about gaining the weight, and was supportive to me when I lost it.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

When I went Vegetarian and started dropping the weight my goal became 165 or 160, I'm now 149 lbs....I can't lose anymore or I'm afraid I'll catch every bug that goes around like I did many years ago when I was about this weight....What to do, what to do.
I also avoid sugar like it's a plague, I do have 'homegrown' honey in my morning coffee though. I don't like dessert, much to my families dislike...hehehe! We have pasta maybe once every ten days and Jasmine rice about once a week, our side dishes are two to three different veggies and fruits. We eat very little bread even though I bake once a week (the chickens usually wind up with half a loaf) and as time goes by I've found that dairy products and I don't get along (I love cheese but it gives me BAD vapors and prevents me from having bm's...boohoo) SO..except for eating eggs I could become Vegan but I like's me eggs and honey!

Congrats to all of you that are getting back onto the healthy wagon!!!!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I also think weight is an individual thing. If you weigh the same most of your life and suddenly start gaining, it is likely the weight you were most of your life was a good healthy weight (if it was consistent & no weight issue). My normal weight varied between 112#-116#s, but in my 30s, felt that a bit thin. Just a few extra pounds makes a difference on my frame, so the weight I am is perfect for me right now. Being healthy is the most important thing (fitting into my clothes was pretty critical for me, too), of course. I have a very good immune system and haven't caught the flu in many years, haven't even had a cold in a few years. A small amount of honey is great, but the best for you is raw unfiltered pure natural honey. That can be purchased easily in almost every area of the country and help support your local Beekeepers. I am a Beekeeper of just 5 hives, don't sell my honey, but just produce enough for our own use. This wasn't a great year for honey, so not much extra.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

We're beekeepers too, 4 colonies. Yup, there's nothing out there that compares to 'homegrown' honey. Our year wasn't so good cuz the Bees had to be moved several times due to property owner spraying pesticides.
The PH of honey is different then that of sugar and since our bodies basically balance ph and acid...oh DRATS! I forgot what I was trying to say...DRATS, DRATS...I'll be back when I remember...DRATS!


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## ejagno (Jan 2, 2008)

olsonla;

Thank you for sharing your great news. I know it was alot of hard work and self discipline but YOU DID IT! Congratulations.

I've been trying to take off some extra pounds since my scale and I went to war on Sept. 24th. To date I've lost 12.8 lbs. in 20 days. I couldn't believe I weighed that much since my clothes still fit................although a bit snugger than usual. What got my attention was my overall condition. I was tired all the time, had trouble remembering anything and my joints were causing me some grief. I did as most of you and began by eliminating sugar and even carbs since they break down into sugar in the body. I eat alot of meat and green veggies, eggs and cheese. I grew up with hypoglycemia so I knew the diet all to well from that. I've not touched any breads or chips since I began. I use to crave potato chips and I thought this would kill me but it really hasn't been difficult at all. As for sugar, I'm down to less than 1/2 cup per gallon of tea. Splenda and other artificial sweeteners give me terrible headaches so I'd just rather wein myself off of sugar period. My energy is returning and my memory seems to be more focused but my bodies elimination system is having a difficult time with this change in diet. This is very difficult when your husband is an Executive Chef. I'd like to rejoin the gym and plan on checking them out tomorrow if possible. I think this would definitely help.

Your testimony is very encouraging for those of us trying to get in better shape.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

SageLady said:


> Congrats on your weight loss, but the easiest way to lose baby fat is to breastfeed.


maybe for everyone else! lol 
I only lost about 20 pounds and between two kids, I nursed for _four years_.


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## mosepijo (Oct 21, 2008)

I went to a month long class at our local Health Food Store. It was a 21 day detoxify and cleanse by "Standard Process". It was drinking shakes one hour before you ate, supplements, and a raw food diet for the first week, nuts and seeds added for the second week and rice, grains etc added for the third week. I felt so good and the majority of the women at the class, including myself, lost 10 pounds. We all felt great.

What the detox and cleanse did mostly was open my eyes up on eating the right foods. We did not count calories or anything else. Just ate as much raw foods as we like and exercised daily.

They recommend a detox and cleanse every season.

It was so easy to do. I was worried about being hungry with the shakes but I can truthfully say that an hour after I drank them, I was not hungry for the meal. Some of the meals I skipped. And if you wanted to juice a bunch of veggies to add to the shake, you could. Or your meal could even be juiced.

After researching "raw food" diets, I was very surprised at the variety of raw food recipes. It doesn't even seem that you are eating raw foods at all. I do like my occasional 3oz. hamburger patty once in a while.. And my homemade bread. But just not a steady diet of it.


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