The Not So Incredible Shrinking Woman Tackles The Flat Belly Diet

When it comes to losing weight, I am a work in progress. Over the last few years I have tried a myriad of diets including Weight Watchers, and many fad diets. I often wonder why there are so many. My son swears by Atkins, but I need some carbs. Doing a lot of reading regarding weight loss only confused me. It seems there is not a one diet fits all.

I was a bit leery when someone suggested that I try the above mentioned diet, telling me it really works. I went out and bought the book while Sam was recuperating from his cancer surgery. I read it and it made sense to me, and because it was formulated by the editors of Prevention Magazine, (giving it credence in my eyes) I thought it sounded like something I could do.

Those of you who know me, know that I am hooked on caffeine. It was not unusual for me to drink a couple of pots of coffee a day and don't get me started on my Diet Coke habit. Caffeine is one thing that you really should give up, because it is a diuretic and messes with your metabolism. Carbonated beverages are also a no-no, due to the fact that the bubbles create bloating.

One of the pains about starting a new eating program is the expense of buying all the food. This was not cheap, but if I had gone to Meijer, instead of the Jewel, I could have save about $20. So $70 later I am ready to begin. After 4 days, I had lost 4 pounds. Does not sound like much does it? But the great part was that I had lost inches. It almost appeared that I had a waist! This gave me the desire to keep it up. For 28 more days I lugged my food around with me every where I went.

The first week without coffee nearly killed me. Seriously, it was crazy how caffeine lifted my mood and gave me energy to face the day. Well now I didn't have it and boy this better be worth it! But after 4 days, seeing a difference, it made it easier for me to continue. Results are the impetus to continue anything you are doing in your life.

I started the "Flat Belly Diet" by Liz Vaccariello, on June 21 and as of today, August 20, I have lost 16 lbs. and several inches. I went from an xl to a medium and I feel so much better. Once more this is a great way to eat and you can still splurge once in a while (because God knows I CANNOT give up my beer) . I enjoy 1 cup of coffee in the morning now and that seems to be enough. I can walk by cherry Gummi Bears on the sidewalk and not be the least bit tempted to pick them up.

It needs to be noted that I did not accomplish these results without exercise, running 2 miles on the treadmill 5 days a week. I still want to lose an additional 15 pounds so until then I remain focused. The upside is that I will continue to eat this way the rest of my life (it is basically a Mediterranean diet) so it shouldn't be hard to keep the weight off.

So I encourage any of you who want to lose weight to go out and by the book and get started. It will change your life!

This Is NOT The Life I Ordered

Unrealistic expectations. I believe we all start out with them. When I was growing up in a small town, I was not exposed to life anywhere else. Thinking that all there was to life for me, was to get married, have children, and be there for my husband. Well that didn't work out so pretty good.

I did not go to college, as a drinking incident put me on probation (and I was too embarrassed to continue.) So I went to Parsons Business School, where I studied Fashion Merchandising. I have to admit that was fun and one of the highlights was a trip to New York City with a couple of my fellow students. We visited a few of the fashion houses on 7th Avenue. That was back when Bobbie Brooks was around and I think we even met Geoffrey Beene. It was very exciting, but I limited my options by not attending college.

So what happened was I started working at a bank, in Delton, married the first guy that asked me, from Delton, pretty much limiting what I could get out of life. The best thing that happened to me from that first marriage was my son. So after the divorce we continued on and ventured to Kalamazoo where I had better opportunities.

Sure enough I worked myself up the food chain both in my work and love life. It was not easy but within the next 5 years I married a great guy and had a great job at a major employer. By the time we moved to Washington in 2004, I had owned my own real estate business for 8 years. But none of that was planned ahead of time. Yes I put in the work, but on the fly, more or less. When I found myself really not liking a job I explored my options (there's that word again) and I found that indeed, I did have options.

Once again at age (gasp) 60, I find myself restless and wanting more out of life. I am in the midst of researching some alternatives. So just as I was ready to flag down my waiter to tell them this not the life I ordered, I find that maybe it's a good thing that I did not have a plan, because after all, I have options.