Article - This is the cut the crap diet that really works

This is the ‘tongue in cheek’, ‘cut-the-crap diet’ that really works, if you stick to it forever, you will continue to loose weight and keep it off forever.

Why pay out for expensive pills that rarely work or expensive ‘low-fat diet meals’ that you really cannot afford? If you really, honestly and truly want to loose weight all you have to do is ‘cut-the-crap’ and keep moving.

…and

You don’t have to join expensive weekly slimming clubs where you are praised when you loose weight and humiliated when you gain.

As a teenager, I always struggled with my weight. My older sister was tall and sickeningly slim (still is) but I didn’t have the height and always looked and felt ‘dumpy’. Into my twenties, practically anorexic I managed to maintain my weight between 6 and 7 stone, after the birth of my son I managed to maintain my weight between 7 and 8 stone and I was comfortable.

Ha ah but the years take their toll. I’m fifty now and about five years ago I moved house, from Town to Country and although I opted to be green and travel to work by bus, it seems that I never have to walk very far. Even though I live in the country, go for walks along the canal at the weekends, and do the occasional sponsored walk, I do not seem to be getting enough exercise during the week while I am working. Sad but true! I get a lift to the bus station; I work 2 minutes from the stop where I get off the bus, vice versa…hence, the pounds just piled on almost without me noticing.

During those five years I didn’t get on the scales so I must have known what was happening somewhere in the depths of my conscience with depression building while munching on bars of chocolate and crisps every day in between breakfast, lunch and my evening meal.

Then I saw a picture of myself on a digital camera and was shocked. Later that day, I stood gingerly on the scales and nearly died when the reading said ‘11 stone’. I have never been that heavy not even when I was carrying my one and only child. I felt fat!! I had gone from size 8’s to 10’s to 12’s and was slipping rapidly into size 14 (UK sizes obviously).

That night I made my decision. I was going to ‘cut-the-crap’. I pondered shamefully over my unhealthy usual diet and snacks. Out went dairy products, white bread and potatoes, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cakes, any other sweet sugary things including numerous drinks especially ‘Lucozade’ which is loaded with sugar and any other fizzy, sugary drinks; and in came yoghurts, fresh fruit, vegetables, water, probiotic drinks, fruit juice (unsweetened and not made from concentrate), tortilla wraps, rice and rice cakes (very slightly salted). The great thing is that I can have a good meal in the evening (no sweet stuff) and at the weekend, I treat myself to a bar of dark chocolate, a small cake, or an ice-cream (not all at once). I look forward to my treat. You have to give yourself a treat at least once a week otherwise this diet will not work.

I cut out alcohol, all alcohol because I could never remember which put weight on. I also cut down on my coffee and tea intake to almost half the norm. Usually I need at least three mugs of coffee to get me going in a morning I am now down to one before I leave home, another when I get to work and then nothing until I get home after 7pm. I love black coffee, strong black coffee as mentioned in a previous hub ‘Leni Sands, Coffee Addict’, so this is quite an achievement for me (gives self a pat on back). Although coffee and Tea are both diurectics, too much is not good for you so cutting down is really useful especially when you are on the ‘cut-the-crap diet’.

Rice cakes have been my ‘saving grace’. I have them for breakfast and lunch but in the evening I have a proper meal using smaller portions of everything (I pile my extras on his plate (ha ha). If, I want to snack, I snack on fruit and rice cakes and guess what, rice cakes don’t cost a fortune? Home Bargains and B&M’s do good sized packs for a mere 39p. 3 x 39p per week on snacks has got to be a good thing, hasn’t it? The thing to remember about rice cakes is that they are full of carbs and essential fats. Rice cakes replace bread as well so you are on a winner all the way and you can dress them up with low fat spreads – or anything you normally use to make a sandwich. I even dip them in my low fat soups.

• Watch those low fat foods, though, some of them, especially the ones that say ‘as part of a calorie controlled diet’, are not as low fat as you think and watch the salt content!

This all started in April and it is now early in September and I have lost 16lbs. Yes, I know this diet is slow but because you change your eating habit’s you are more likely to keep it off. If you loose weight to quickly you put it straight back on. With this diet, I don’t feel hungry at anytime and I don’t feel as if I am missing out on anything.

Exercise!?!

I still don’t get the exercise I should get to help tone my body but I have started to concentrate more on pulling my stomach muscles in and the more I do this the tighter they will become. Exercise would probably tighten up all the flabby bits and as soon as I have the time I will make sure I do it but my job means that I run up and down the stairs all day so at least four days a week I get some exercise even if it isn’t the right kind of exercise.

To conclude

In conclusion, the ‘cut-the-crap diet’ is straightforward, no need for special recipes, no need for expensive clubs and foods, no need for praise (except self praise) and no need for public humiliation, you can give yourself enough of that when you add a couple of pounds accidentally by eating something you know you shouldn’t.

All you need to do is just…

• Replace bread with rice cakes or tortilla wraps
• Replace potatoes with rice
• Don’t touch dairy products
• And forget about sweet sugary foods and chocolate
• Snack on rice cakes and fresh fruit
• Eat more fruit and vegetables
• Cut down on coffee and tea
• No alcohol

The fresh fruit and veg you can purchase at the end of the day at your local supermarket where you will pay much less for it. Low fat foods are ok in moderation but read the packet to check fat and salt contents and try to avoid those that say …’as part of a calorie controlled diet’.

• You don’t have to starve yourself or spend loads of money to loose weight just eat sensibly and….

CUT THE CRAP!!

I hope you enjoyed this hub.

I take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this hub – the only proof I have is it worked for me.

Good luck with your weight loss. If it don’t work you ain’t doin’ it right!! Stop cheatin’. (lol).

Copyright © Leni Sands 2011