How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs with super easy calorie cuts

Hello again, friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass surgery or weight loss drugs! I shared recently that I have gained some weight back and how I plan to lose weight again. I promised some super easy food swaps to cut calories for weight loss and here they are. 

On the show "My 600-lb Life" we see gastric bypass patients with morbid obesity losing weight with a 1200 calorie diet. This 1200 diet is how I lost 100 pounds too. I didn't follow a specific diet plan but used elements of several different schools of thought: food swaps, keto, low carbohydrate, no white food (potatoes, rice, pasta and white bread) and some intermittent fasting. 

"My 600-lb Life" explores extreme obesity but the 1200 calorie diet is not extreme. I maintain that with this diet, anyone can lose weight, like I did, without gastric bypass. It may not always be easy, what with temptation and cravings, but the 1200 calorie diet is simple. And even the cravings are factored into this eating plan. Following a 1200 calorie diet involves the simple step of identifying and stopping up calorie leaks. Here are 15 super easy food swaps to cut calories.

light bread or keto bread

Carb control tortillas (I just skip tortillas altogether and eat taco salad with no carbs)

light mayonnaise and less of it

dijon mustard (instead of mayo)

breadless sandwiches, tacos

peanut butter instead of PBJ sandwiches

lettuce wraps 

salads instead of sandwiches or bread based handhelds like tacos (this is one of the easiest food swaps to cut calories: just put fillings or sandwich toppings on lettuce, spinach or spring mix)

light butter or spray butter 

homemade sugar-free condiments with keto fat options (recipes to follow in upcoming post)

low salt lunchmeats (don't just count calories, count and reduce sodium too)

more seafood (ahi tuna, swordfish, shrimp, tuna, salmon

grilled and broiled instead of fried or deep fried 

cauliflower instead of potatoes

fruit with pulp and skin instead of juice

chicken instead of any other meat

nuts instead of salty snacks like chips and pretzels

These food swaps cut calories to maintain a 1200 calorie diet and still feel full. They are the basic eating plan for how I lost 100 pounds. 

How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass and can do it again

 

Hello friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass. Today I had the unpleasant experience of seeing myself in a candid photo. I realized that I have gained weight again and from the side, look pretty overweight. So before I lost weight, this would have sent me into a tailspin of depression. But now I know that I can lose weight again. 

Part of how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass was to identify negative and hurtful self-image messages and to discover my own ability to lose weight and overcome obesity. Now, instead of defaulting to self-hatred and shame, I look at myself objectively. 

First, I acknowledge that the picture I saw was a side profile. I wearing a fitted hoodie and was bending over. This is going to show every bulge and also, bent over, makes me look more overweight than I would standing straight. Am I making excuses and in  denial over weight gain? Am I acting like the gastric bypass patients on "My 600-lb Life" who blind themselves to obesity and justify weight gain with falsehoods?

No, I'm just clarifying to myself part of why I look so much bigger so that I can avoid the negative self-image and stay focused and goal oriented. If you've ever struggled with low self esteem, you'll know how it can sabotage healthy choices. Low self-esteem causes depression which can lead to comfort eating of comfort food. Low self-esteem is actually be counter-productive to weight loss. 

That said, I've gained weight. Not 100 pounds, thank God. I'm may be overweight, according to some BMI scales. but that's debatable and I'm not obese. Are there reasons I've gained weight? Sure. My husband has been off on disability with a very painful shoulder injury. We've been eating more junk food and not been as active. BUT, these are reasons, not excuses. Here's what I have learned about reasons. To lose weight, I have to take the focus off from them and put it on the solution. Which is direct action.

So the next step, the easy part, is to do what I did when I lost 100 pounds (without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs): go back to the calorie cuts I made when I first lost weight. I might not even need to restart the 1200 calorie diet though I think it would be a good idea starting after Christmas. 

In the next post on how I lost 100 pounds and can do it again, I'll look at super simple calorie cuts to lose weight!

I'm praying you all have just the kind of holiday you need it to be <3 mar