Diet Plans

by Sheree Munro- Job Seeker
(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Diet Plans

Hi everyone, my name is Sheree and I cannot seem to decide which diet plan story I would like to share with you. I have been through almost all types of diet plans; some old, some new, some worked and some did not. I had been placed on diet plans by my mother and our family doctor since I was fourteen years old because I was alarmingly enormous.

Young as I was then, I even had fun cheating on my mother and her diet plans for me. It made the idea of eating behind her back fun and exciting. My mother had actually given up on me with all her diet plans because nothing seemed to work.

My obesity hit me one day like a bolt of lightning. After graduating from high school, I could not find work, not even as a babysitter. People who interviewed me somehow had the impression that I was slow and not capable of responding quickly to situations. I finally understood why my mother was doing everything she can except put me on diet pills, just to make me lose weight. Even if I went to college and earned myself a degree, I would have a hard time looking for a job and build a career because my obesity will be the first thing noticeable about me.

I went into some self assessment and established the reasons what made me cheat on the diet plans before and listed them down. I can say that by doing this I was able to come up with my own diet plan:

1. Losing weight should be something that I really wanted for myself and not just my mother wanting it for me. By this, it meant I should have a personal commitment to follow my diet plan, to eat in small portions and to eat only what was prescribed or recommended.

2. I had to set a realistic weight loss goal and not just the idea of losing all the pounds I was carrying. By realistic, it meant gradual wherein I started to aim even for just one to two pounds in the first week.

3. I had to set the number of calorie intakes and for this, I asked our family doctor for help. My doctor said it was not just a matter of limiting my calories; it was also a matter of burning an equivalent amount of calories per day. So if my goal was realistically set at one pound per week, I should take in 1500 calories and burn 2000 per day. This meant I will be using up all the 1500 calories I ate and the 500 hundred calorie deficit will be charged against my stored fat.

4. I had to have an exercise that I enjoyed doing. By engaging in something I really liked, my mind felt less pressured about the calories I had to burn. If there is any sport that I love it is swimming, but because I did not fit well in swimsuits I hardly go to pool facilities for fear of being ridiculed. I solved my problem by looking for an affordable gym with swimming pool facilities. This way the environment will be more private and more obese-friendly.

5. I researched the net for some food lists that had an equivalent calorie per serving. I found a good one and from there I found acceptable foods that I like to eat. One of the reasons I often cheated with the diet plans mom had for me was that they were mostly food I did not like, particularly the vegetables. Since I was not doing much, I made my own diet plans by modifying some of the menus my mom came up with years ago. If I had to eat in portions, it was at least something I like to eat. I showed it to my doctor who approved of it with some minor adjustments to make sure I get a balanced diet.

6. One advice I got from forums was to make sure my diet meal was always available, otherwise you will resort to looking for alternatives and eventually cheat on your diet plan and then lose it altogether.

7. I finally weighed myself and established my weight at a staggering 240 pounds and only 17 years old. I went down to 135 after 15 months of eating and exercising around the diet plan I made. It was not easy at first, but the more weight I lost, the more encouraged I became. Before the year was up I was wearing some of my moms dresses and pants.

Diet plans are only good as far as your personal commitment is concerned. The diet plan my mom made me work on was not effective because they were mostly food and activities I did not like. Every diet plan should fit your own personal preferences and you are the only person who knows what they are. It is a long struggle at first, but if you came up with the plans you will know how to adjust. If you eat more then strive to burn more which you will learn to do in time once you get your system adjusted to your diet plan.

This summer, I am about to board a cruise ship as a staff for the fun club and activity center for kids. Thanks to all those hours of daily swimming exercises, I was accepted as a lifeguard for the swimming pool for kids