A typical day – which is 5 days a week - would be toast and jelly, 1 slice bacon, and coffee.  A non-typical day – weekend eating – would be 1/2 patty pan sausage, 2 small pancakes w/syrup; 1 scrambled egg, 1 slice bacon and toast.    If you like cereal, that would be a good alternate – I just don’t like milk.  And, if we’re traveling or on vacation, I eat whatever is on the menu – just less of  it.

The  ‘S’ word – Snack.  If I must snack mid-morning, the snack will be 1/2 an apple, banana or other fruit.  Raw veggies or a few chips are OK – about 1/2 cup.

Lunch is a normal, regular meal.  This includes any and everything I want – mayonnaise, butter, salad dressings, any kind of meat – fried shrimp included, veggies in any form, and sometimes  a baked potato with all the trimmings.   Even hot bread with butter is allowed.    While anything is allowed, I do limit the serving size.   I allow myself only 1 average serving – NO heaping - and, NO going back for seconds.  This includes eating the last bite in the bowl when clearing the table.  I’ve learned to either save the leftovers for another day or throw them out.  Dessert is optional.  I’m not fond of sweets so no dessert is not a problem for me.

Supper is half of whatever I’m serving David.  Most of the time supper is light – soup, sandwich, nachos, wrap-ups, etc.  This is the key meal to keep small and light.  I will take vitamins before supper as the extra water helps make me feel full.  Dessert is 1 Fig Newton.   Don’t like Fig Newtons?  Pick something you do like but keep the calorie count low. 

Lastly – absolutely nothing to eat after 8 pm.  I have found this the hardest to do since snacking while watching TV was standard at our house.  So now, I just get a glass of water or sugar-free iced tea to curb my nibbles. 

I plan on staying on my ‘cement’ diet because it makes me feel better.  And, like my doctor said during my last visit, “… nothing but good old common sense just like Mother used to give you.”

Warning:    Before I continue, please don’t anyone attempt to try this yourself.  I did weight lifting for many, many years and know that there is a proper way to lift heavy weight so as to not hurt yourself.  So – under no circumstances should anyone try the lift/carry part as the cement bags are very heavy.  If you want to get an idea of what extra weight would feel like, pick up a couple of bags of flour or sugar.

I started this diet last year when we had a load of supplies delivered from Lowe’s.  Included were about 40 bags of cement – 60 lbs. each.  I wanted to help David move the bags to cover so they wouldn’t get wet, so I picked up a bag and carried it to the garage.  By the time I got there, I was thinking how heavy it seemed.  I then got to thinking that this was what  the extra weight my body was carrying around must feel like.   That was an eye-opening experience.  What a constant strain that must be on my back, knees  and legs – not to mention the strain on the internal organs.  That was my epiphany – the light bulb went on.  From that day forward I’ve been on a diet.  I’ve lost 30 pounds this last year simply by watching what I eat.   Has it been ‘easy’?   No!   But, do I feel better and like the way I look?  YES!!! 

It’s been a slow process – but they say that’s the best way to keep the weight off.    And, I’ve not given up anything I like to eat.  Nothing is off limits.  I just eat less of   it.  I’ll give you the  meal-by-meal  details of what I eat  and my eating schedule in my next blog.  And if I get real brave – I might put up a picture