When my husband and I first started following a Plant Strong Diet based on fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, seeds and beans, we both lost a lot of weight. Over time, however; my husband got too thin so I increased the amount of nuts, seeds, avocados and olives we were eating.
This worked for my hubby, now he’s at a perfect weight. For me, however; increasing these high fat foods (as well as cheating too much on things like Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies) made me gain more weight than I’m happy with.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not fat. I still weigh less than I did before we went Plant Strong. It’s just that I liked how I looked and felt at my lowest weight and I’d like to get down to that for the summer.
I know that if I just followed the Plant Strong diet I’d lose the weight, but I’ve been trying and keep slipping up. So, I’ve decided to spend 21-days following the diet I lost 50 pounds on in my 20’s – the Fit for Life Diet.
This diet is similar to the Plant Strong diet in that it doesn’t allow dairy and discourages eating meat. It differs in that it’s very structured and is concerned with how foods are combined. I don’t believe that careful food combining is necessary, but the structure makes it easy to follow. And right now, I feel like I need the structure to succeed.
How I lost 50 pounds!
So here’s how I followed the Fit for Life Diet and lost 50 pound in my 20’s.
• I had fruit for breakfast.
• I had a carbohydrate like a baked potato or grain with vegetables for lunch.
• I had protein like chicken or beans (this time, of course I’ll forgo the meat) with vegetables for dinner.
• I had as much hot chocolate as I wanted after dinner (this time, I’ll have my I Can’t Believe it’s Healthy Hot Chocolate)
• I allowed myself one day to eat whatever I wanted.
The diet is more involved than this and the hot chocolate is not allowed, but this is what worked for me.
I’m going to follow a vegan version of this diet for the next 21-days. To keep me honest, I’ll post how I did for the week every Sunday. And to kick my butt into gear, I’m going to give a $20.00 Barnes & Noble gift certificate to one of my readers if I cheat more than twice the first week. So check back on the 10th!
I welcome you to join me in this diet, but please note that I’m not a nutritionist so I’m not qualified to give any diet advice. Thus, if you choose to follow this diet please refer to Fit For Life to do it properly. I also recommend The Engine 2 Diet, which details the Plant Strong Diet that has also helped my husband and me to lose weight (and lowered my hubby’s blood pressure and cholesterol).
Photo courtesy of marin at freedigitalphotos.net.
