I have lost 100 pounds using a variety of diet tips and tricks. I don't follow a specific weight loss diet because there's no one meal plan that hits everything I'm looking for. So I do like they say in the Al-Anon slogans, "take what you like and leave the rest."
The 'how I lost 100 pounds' diet
My eating strategies are culled from a variety of weight loss programs. The Ketogenic Diet, South Beach, hypertension DASH diet, paleo, Mediterranean Diet, Weight Watchers and more. Some of my favorite weight loss tricks are food swaps. Using the "eat this, not that" and "hungry girl" concepts, I create recipes that trade fatty, sugary, salty, junky ingredients for healthier, low-calorie ones.
I package them like Nutrisystem does, for ease of use.
Religious fasting
I also follow many of the dietary fasts and restrictions of other religions. I'm not a Muslim, but Islam's halal foods are typically healthier. So are Jewish fasts and kosher foods. I am Catholic and observe Lent, but I try to do it all year-long. Many celebrities are preaching diets that have been put together centuries ago by different religions. Even doctors recommend some fasting (I say even because I got very little help with weight loss from the medical community, aside from bariatric surgery or gastric bypass advice). So I'm not to het up over traditional medicine.
Vegan and diabetic diets
Arguably, vegan or at least vegetarian is how we should all be eating.
Supergirl Gabrielle Union says she's imitating the fittest women who are vegan. I'm not diabetic but before I lost weight my glucose number was getting higher. I was tentatively diagnosed with pre-diabetes (aka insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome). So I try to avoid refined sugar as if I had Type 2 diabetes.
Superfood bowls
"Bowling" is not only a sport but a trendy eating style just now. It just means eating food in bowls, typically based on salad. Now I adore pasta and potato salads and cole slaw. But made the usual way, sloppy with mayo, sugar, etc., they are calorie-bombs. So I put together a to-die-for coleslaw recipe you could literally live on.
It's vegan, superfood-dense, protein-rich, diabetic, bad fat-free, ketogenic (high in good fatty acids) low sodium, gluten-free, sugarfree and a meal in itself. Oh, and it's super cheap to make. And my diet recipe is pretty too! See the picture above! (Those aren't bugs, lol, but seeds)
Superfood kale slaw bowl
chopped kale with stems removed
coarsely grated carrots
chopped green and purple cabbage
cubed salad cucumbers (much tastier than other cukes)
chopped zucchini
sliced grape tomatoes
cashews and/or walnuts and/or almonds
pumpkin seeds
milled flaxseed
chia seeds
unsweetened dried strawberries, cranberries or blueberries
dash liquid smoke
apple cider, acai or pomegranate vinegar
whole seed, Dijon or horseradish mustard
lemon juice and zest
100% juice, raw honey (omit if making vegan) or blue agave syrup (optional)
Chop, slice, toss ingredients, season to taste with vinegar, mustard juice or honey, and enjoy. This kale slaw is sweet enough for me without any honey or juice. But you may like it sweeter. Go easy on the juice and dried fruit as they are full of sugar and will spike glucose levels.
