Brides always want to lose those extra pounds before everyone's staring at them as they make their way down the aisle. A lot of brides make the mistake of starving themselves. I think I've finally figured out how to lose weight and feel good and be healthy at the same time without exercise even! 

In November my doctor told me I had high cholesterol and should be on a low/no fat diet. I immediately took it to the extreme just because I know how bad heart disesase is in my family. I decided to start buying all fat free foods. This was making me sad because I felt like I wasn't going to be able to eat anything! Here I am a HUGE chocolate lover and I NEED dessert after dinner every night! Well...I realized that supplementing the things I crave with healthier and less fat items would soon take pounds and inches from me. The first 2 weeks was tough, but now I enjoy figuring out what I'm having to eat each day. I have some rules:

1. CONVENIENCE is key!! I'm always on the run!! I used to think it was okay to grab lunch at McDonald's after all...how big is a cheeseburger in a happy meal? Kids eat them...they're kid-sized. WRONG! What I did learn from kids though is that moms pack snacks for them. All of my friends have toddlers. They pack bottles or juice cups for them with snacks and I realized hey, wait a minute...I should be taking care of myself like that! So, I decided to start carrying around granola bars and things that would take the place of that quick cheeseburger or fries.

2. FAT intake. I read the nutrition facts of just about everything! I make sure that just about everything I'm buying is no fat to maybe 2grams at most. The only thing I allow myself to have with possible fats in it is my dinner meat whether it be chicken or turkey.

3. PORTION control! Wow! You wouldn't BELIEVE how much you eat! I realized this one day during a different diet I was trying when I ate a Lean Cuisine. THAT is the portion of food you're supposed to have?? Okay...I think I was eating about 10 times that amount!! I realized that you do not have to clean your entire plate. When you're starting to feel full, you need to take a break and you'll realize that you really don't need that second helping!

4. EVERYTHING in moderation! You have to and must allow yourself to have a reward at least once a week. Maybe have pizza for dinner one night (but remember that you don't need 4 slices...2 is plenty...have a salad with it!). Enjoy ice cream! Don't get the biggest size...get a kid's size! I was the biggest ice cream eater I know and now I find myself hardly eating it! One to two bites satisfies me (and I would be laughing at this and saying 'yeah right' if it was a few months ago, but it's true!).

5. WATER! Drinking wather throughout the day will help you to feel full and it's also good for you! BUT...be sure to throw some fruit juices in there. I say that it's important to keep yourself fueled with some sugars. Your body needs carbohydrates to run!

6. OUT TO EAT. Here's a trick. If you're going out to eat, have a little something before you go that is healthy. This way you won't be starving when you are at the restaurant and feel the need to order the overloaded cheese oozing bundle of goo on a plate! Be mindful of what you're ordering as well. Sometimes ordering a soup and salad is the way to go for me. I have trained myself in to feeling as though an entire chicken dinner with potatoes and appetizers is not the way for me! I enjoy a piece of bread and eat my meal with a water w/lemon and I rarely order those amazing brownie on top of brownie on top of ice cream on top of brownie desserts! I wait until I'm home to have my dessert.

7. Do NOT DEPRIVE yourself! If chocolate is what you like...you'll find a way to incorporate it in to your diet. Here's what I did:

I started with getting in to breakfast! I am sure to have a decent sized bowl of cereal (something healthy like Cheerios) with a banana each morning. I start out with half of the banana and then if I'm still hungry, I'll add the other half. I use Fat Free milk.

For lunch I will either have a salad that I make myself with Fat Free dressing or some rice or a plain turkey sandwhich. No cheese. There is a cheese that I found that is Fat Free and guess what...it's awesome! If you need cheese...that's the way to go!

I am always sure to have a nice snack with my lunch...usually a 90 calorie chocolate chip granola bar (need my chocolate). I drink water and some juice with lunch.

If I need a snack before dinner, I chow down on some fat free pretzels. They always do the trick with a little chocolate soy milk to wash them down with that is!! I never thought I'd like soy milk, but I have to say that 7th Continent puts out a Light Chocolate soy milk that is soooo good!!! Shake it up and it's almost like a milk shake!

Then dinner...I have some quick easy meals that involve either boneless chicken or ground chicken or turkey. What I've done to my dinner was cut out the sides...the mashed potatoes...the macaroni and cheese...I've substituted that with rice or pasta and sweet potatoe fries! Remember...portion control and moderation. Don't have it every night. Every night have something different. Maybe two of those nights just have a salad with some chicken on it. If you're still feeling hungry, have a piece of bread. Throughout the week you can be sure I'm eating turkey tacos at some point...maybe even two nights a week. Load them with lettuce and tomatoes and you won't miss the cheese. Use fat free sour cream and voile!

Okay, so you KNOW I have to have dessert!! I've had sherbert on some occassions to get that ice cream feel that I was missing here and there, but now what I eat every night is Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt with a 100 Calorie Brownie Stick broken in to it. My goodness that is sooo good!!!

And finally, would you believe that I also treat myself to a bowl of sugary cereal each night before bed?? haha. I feel like all I do is eat all day!!! But somehow, even without the help of exercise except running from store to store to purchase things for my clients, I've managed to go from 150lbs to 125lbs in 6-7 months! I was a size 12 and am now a size 4!!!

My point is...You don't have to starve yourself and it's not good to starve yourself!! Just watch what you're eating and take care of you!!