How I lost weight eating real food – more than ever! Find out the five easy lifestyle changes to lose weight that you can do, too.
Thank you for all your wonderful comments and feedback to my weighty issue! When I decided to do a series here on AOC about weight loss and real food, it was because of this – if I can help even one person get healthy and feel better by my story and tips, it’s beyond worth sharing my struggles. As hard as those are sometimes to tell.
This series will consist of the real, doable steps I took that you can, too, to get to your healthy weight eating delicious whole foods. But first, the pants.
Before I go any further, I want to share about the pants I used for the “big pants” in the series banner. These are a sporty pair of pants from the Gap that I’ve had for a number of years. After my daughter saw these pictures she said, “Yeah, but those were loose on you before, weren’t they?”
Um, no. When I bought these pants they were on the edge of my size, if you know what I mean. I should’ve bought a large, but was so happy to fit into a medium (hello, GAP, this is a medium?), that I bought them, even though they were snug.
Which became tight after washing. So I hung them to dry (classic technique to help your tight clothes fit looser), and then would have to do some deep knee bends after putting them on to stretch them a bit further. But I was always uncomfortable in them, because I knew they were tight.
We took a number of pictures to try and illustrate how baggy these pants are on me now, but it just doesn’t show up very well. Take my word for it – there’s a lot of fabric there. And realizing how big these pants are now confirmed to me that this time I’ve reached a new milestone – this is real weight loss, that works in real life, with real food.
Oh yeah, these fit much better. Except that pose is so.not.me. Brian just thinks “after” poses should look like this, ha!
This is more me. It shows off my “pear” shape more, but it is what it is. I think it also shows that I’m normal – nowhere near the realm of too skinny. Just right for me and where my body wants to be – when it’s being fed real food.
Sure wish I had known that years ago!
How I Lost Weight Eating Real Food
Here are 5 lifestyle-changing things I did – and continue to do – to help me be at my best weight ever:
- Cut portions in half. Everything, even fruits and vegetables, in order to get out of that “all-you-can-eat” mentality. I will do another post with more detail and showing what these portions look like (which you can now read here), but suffice it to say that my portion sizes had crept up over the years and needed to be cut back. It just seemed the most simple for me to tell myself to halve everything. I’d already tried diets where you write things down, weigh, and measure your food. These things haven’t been sustainable for me. But eating half a hamburger or only one slice of pizza? Easy. And it’s still easy two years later. But I’m not going to lie – eating smaller portions is a lifestyle change that you have to be diligent about because TV, magazines, blogs, and restaurants constantly skew the portions to bigger amounts.
- Eat real, whole foods. I cook with butter, bacon, coconut oil and olive oil – a glance at AOC’s recipe index will give you more of an idea how we eat. I’ve moved to more and more whole foods over the life of this blog, including whole milk and cream, cheeses, and eggs (of course, vegetables and fruits are part of this, too, but that’s not the different part!) and I lost weight eating these foods. That didn’t change. BUT- I was eating these foods a year ago when I was at a weight I wasn’t comfortable with, so this alone won’t help you lose weight. My point is, real food should be one part of a healthy, sustainable, weight loss plan. Weird, processed, fake, or nutritionally light “diet”foods should not.
- Limit carbs and focus on protein. Not Atkins, South Beach, or “paleo,” but when a choice of food needs to be made, I go for a protein. Nuts have become my go-to snack instead of crackers or toast. Half an apple alone never satisfied me in the past, but one with a tablespoon of nut butter will. I don’t care about the buns on hamburgers, so it’s easy for me to use a lettuce leaf instead. We don’t eat a lot of pasta, and when we do, I try to have more sauce than noodles. I make sure I eat the protein and vegetable in a meal first, so if I get full, it’s the carb I’ll leave. But when I do want the carb, I eat it (but just half!). I find that the protein and good fat fills and satisfies me, so I don’t need to overload on carbs.
- Cut down on sweets. Well…duh. This one is typical, I guess. Except that I didn’t cut sugar out altogether. We still end our meals with a piece of dark chocolate. Some nights we have a few chocolate chips (about 1/8 cup measured out) when we’re watching TV and once a week we have ice cream (often homemade with real cream- and no machine). I’ve never gone to someone’s house and refused dessert saying, “sorry, I’m dieting.” I have a very small portion and then I’m satisfied. See what I mean about real life, real food, and really sustainable?
- Use easy “rules” and tricks. I’ve developed some habits that work for me- things I either really thought about or that have developed over the last year and work well towards losing weight and keeping it off.
In fact, I believe that adopting these techniques (or similar ones that work for you) are so important to making healthy lifestyle changes that are sustainable that I’m going into detail in the next installment of Losing Weight With Real, Whole Foods: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques to Help You Lose Weight.
In the meantime…thoughts? Do you agree with the five lifestyle changes that helped me lose weight with real food or disagree? What would you add to the list that has worked for you?
Read the other articles in the series on Losing Weight with Real, Whole Foods:
- A Weighty Issue – My history with weight and body image
- Tips, Tricks, and Techniques For Weight Loss
- More Tips, Tricks, and Techniques For Weight Loss
- Portion Control: Real Life, Real Food
- Is Exercise Necessary For Weight Loss?
- A Simple, Easy Workout {+ Printable}
Doris says
I’m glad I found your page. I’ve been eating healthy for years and struggled with weight. I’ve not been fat; but not comfortable. For the last 2 months I’ve been eating “less” of mostly what I ate before. I’ve lost 17 lbs & feel and think I look so much better. I’m sure if I continue (which is the plan) that I will lose even more.
I appreciate your page & look forward to using your recipes. (I’ve got sourdough bread rising right now.)
Thanks.
Jami says
Congratulations, Doris – that’s just great results! I hope you enjoy the recipes – and the bread. π
Julia says
Hi Jami.
I am curious if you still practice the ‘1/2 everything’ portion control? Would it be accurate to say that sometimes the portions you eat aren’t very big? I am having trouble overcoming the hurdle of how little the portions seem to be when I practice this idea.
Jami says
Yes I still do! Though I’m first to admit not 100% – maybe 80/20. My stomach has gotten used to smaller portions, though, and usually makes me sorry when I decided to have 2 pieces of pizza instead of one. π I didn’t keep cutting in half, though – I just stick to my half sandwich or burger, smaller bowls for cereal and soup, etc.
You are right that the amounts are small when you compare to what others are eating and what is served in most restaurants. I think it helps to change our mindsets from “I can’t have all this” to “this is all I can eat.” I look forward to leftovers, since I know I’ll enjoy them more when I’m not full. You will get used to it if you keep at it and it will become easier to listen to you body telling you it’s enough.
Julia Irvin says
Thank you for your reply, Jami!
It is very helpful to hear from your first-hand experience!
Melissa Miller says
AGREEDππβ€οΈ
Christina says
Another Oregon gal here! Hi! I love this article! I’ve been on Weight Watchers lately, after two pregnancies back to back, and I lost 10 pounds the first time, then gained most of it back. I’m back on it now, and losing again, but I’ve been feeling uncomfortable with all my fat free cheeses, mayos, and light everything. I’ve known for awhile that these aren’t really healthy, and yet I just really wanted to lose weight without being hungry.
I have been thinking about how I don’t want to track points forever. If I stop, the weight comes back, so it isn’t something that can work long term for me. I saw this article, and then went all over the internet reading about how bad for me all these ingredients are that I’m using. I think I’ll be trying your method.
The bummer thing is, I finally created a blog like I have always wanted to….and I’ve been pretty much putting Weight Watcher recipes on it that use these ingredients! It’s only 4 or 5 though, so not to hard to change at this point in time.
Thanks for the inspiration! Your blog is beautiful too!
Jami says
I’m so happy to know this was inspiring to you, Christina! Obviously you know I agree with your thoughts here. π And you definitely can go towards healthy real foods on your blog – this is a perfect time to change. I wish you good blogging vibes!
gina says
Thanks a lot really nice article!
Tami says
I was searching for the next diet when I came across your blog. Could it really be this simple after years of being food obsessed? I can eat real food and cut portions in half. I’m going to step back from my diet mentality and give it a try. Thank you for your post. You have given me hope.
Jami says
I hope so, Tami – it really has continued to work for me! And spurred me on to keep researching healthy eating and living (my latest is getting into fermenting). There’s no “off” though – it’s a lifestyle that I have to constantly be diligent about because the portions seem to just creep back up. It’s easy, though, to start cutting back again and drink more tea. π
Kathy says
Hi I have been trying to eat half portions and I have been wondering if you ate at structured mealtimes such as breakfast lunch dinner or did you just go with the flow eating when hungry?
Jami says
I do eat regular meals, Kathy! But the timing is not in stone – if I exercise one morning, then I’ll eat breakfast and lunch later. But generally I eat breakfast around 8:30-9; lunch 12:30-1:00; snack at around 4; and dinner at 6:30. If I’m not feeling hungry, I’ll just eat less, but I found it messed with my head if I didn’t eat a meal – then I’d tend to overeat the next. π
Julia says
Jami, hi. π
I have followed your blog for a couple of years now. Always enjoy your posts even though I don’t garden myself or cook with grains (for health reasons). Because I don’t use grains (and very limited dairy) I had adopted the mentality that AOC was very limited in what I could glean from it food-wise. But I had forgotten about this series! (I know, I know, I need to check all the veggie and meat recipes too!) I have been “trying” (sometimes in earnest, sometimes not) to lose my baby weight for three and a half years now. I was so close a year ago, within 10 lbs, but then I gave up and stopped watching my portions. I have gained 20-25 lbs since then. I recently had to use the clothes money I had been saving (for when I reached my comfortable weight) to buy clothes that fit me now. I have been very discouraged but the Lord reminded me of these posts. I have printed out and taped your tips and tricks to my fridge and am going to use your ideas. I will let you know how it goes!
Jami says
Hmmm, you can pretty much find anything on the internet, can’t you Scott? And they all contradict each other. π As you can guess, I don’t agree. The idea that pressing an olive to get the oil (or any nut to get more of the oil that you can easily see when you pick one up) is ‘processing’ it, making it equivalent to a processed junk food to me seems like they’re saying you can’t do anything to any food (like cook vegetables). I didn’t watch them all the way through – are they raw food advocates? Because cooking vegetables releases vitamins and enzymes that our bodies need as much as raw.
We need a balance, mostly, and the diet industry makes tons of money off of UNBALANCE – get rid of this! don’t eat that! Do eat only this! – which gets very OLD. Our bodies need fat. There are healthy fats with as many studies to back them up as not. In the end you have to make your own choices. I’ve come to the point where I have to judge on a couple of life-facts (for me):
1. Is it sustainable? (no oil ever? really, how long will that last?)
2. Does it make sense with what I know of the world? (I see oil in nuts, etc.)
3. Can I replicate it at home? (nut oils are easy, so are meat oils – I could probably press olives and coconuts if I lived in an area where they grew…)
4. Is it a real food that’s been around for 100’s of years?
What do YOU think, Scott? π
Juju says
Jami~
From one “Oregon girl” to another, Thank you for this post! I totally agree about cutting out fake food, diet food, etc. and eating real food, as close to the way God made it as possible!
I’ve been on your website for about 2 hours exploring and I have to say, I really love what you’ve done with your home on a limited budget. Awesome!
Oregon girl currently transplanted to Hawaii ~
Juju
Jami says
So glad you’ve found it helpful, Juju! And I wouldn’t mind being transplanted to Hawaii… π
Laurie says
Just found you today, THANK YOU! I was beginning to feel alone in thinking that real foods including whole milk and real butter were better for you as well as tasting better! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if people are actually eating 11 servings of grain a day they will become obese! I am also going to go one further – I feel that alot of the increased autism is related to the increased processed food in diets today.
Jami says
So happy you found me, too, Laurie! Seems like we’re on the same wave-length for sure. π
Nita says
Agree 100%. And am working on it, but it does seem to be taking a while! I find that being hungry between meals is the hardest. I think that after I turned 50 it suddenly got vey hard to loose these last 20 pounds.
Floyd D. Calhoun says
Hi, I’m new here and truly enjoy your ideas. I especially like your “Tex-Mex” spice rub. I do a lot of cooking here and use rubs a lot. This per mix will save me a lot of prep time. Like all foods this will be easy to tweak.
As for weight and diets. I want to give this little story. At 65 I have put on the tummy most men get. I have always been physically active but years have caught up to me. My wife of 35 years ( praise the Lord) has always been weight conscious and watched her diet. But years have “gained” on her as well. Now for the results. Sorry no before pictures, just some stats. I started with a 42 inch waist and now fit loosely into a 36 waist jeans. My lovely wife has gone from a size 16-18 to a 8.-10 this. Our journey is not over yet.
Now the important thing here is not just our weight and size change, our health. And yes guys to can enjoy great food and loose the weight. We cut out most of the processed foods and a lot of the starchy foods. I read the labels now , and pay close attention to what we eat. We have incorporated a large salad with our dinner. I know what the guys are going to say, “I don’t like rabbit food”. Really guys when you eat a well balance salad with, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, garbonso beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, and what ever else you personally like, your taste buds will be in heaven. Now don’t get me wrong, I still love my meat. What we have changed is the selection. We eat more chicken, and fish now. We limit our red meat to once a week and have included more pork into our diet( personnel choice)
The bottom line is that no matter where you are in your own weight issue, you can do it with a personal choice to change. Good luck with your own journey.
Jami says
Wow, that’s so awesome, Floyd – what a great inspiration!! And that you are at a healthier place without resorting to weird or fad diets, but just paying attention to the types of food you put in your body and eating in moderation (I’m assuming). I love it – thank you for taking the time to tell us your (and your wife’s) story. π