Alan Klayman's New Hope Diet
How I lost 50 lbs without any fad diet or crazy program. 10 yrs later gained back 15 (eye off the ball?) and then took off another 25.
(c) 2008, 2014 Alan Klayman
Turns out I have been eating the "right food" all along. One reason was because I was trying to be healthy, another because I had to or my health would fail. Bad genetics.
And still I gained a lot of weight (for me). I was 175 and shot up to 225.
This weight gain occurred on a diet that had consisted of; no red meat, no fried, soy products substituted for cheese and dairy.
I was an avid exerciser (I thought). 100 sit-ups in the morning, 100 crunches at night.
Still I gained all that weight.
Discovery:
One day I was in Nordstrom trying on dress pants for my work and I picked out a 36 waist. The tailor picked out a 38. Hmmm... Then he proceeded to let the waist out! OMG I was a 32 waist when I graduated High School. What happened? How did I get so much bigger?
I went home and stepped on the scale, OVER 220... 224/225. I am not that big a person. No wonder my back and knees hurt all the time. I was carrying around "your pick" of bowling balls under my shirt.
I really thought about what had happened.
It took a few days of going over my food. Turkey bacon, Soy Milk, Egg White breakfasts. That's not it. I really took stock of everything I was eating and I couldn't find fault with my food.
My back was killing me at the time (no wonder), and I couldn't exercise like I wanted to.
So what was going on?
I did a lot of reading and studying of diets, exercise programs, and came up with what worked for me:
Simple formula
Calories Taken in - Calories Burned = [+] Gain weight
Calories Taken in - Calories Burned = [-] Lose weight
Exercise:
My back hurt too much but I needed to increase the Calories Burned.
So I went back to simple, easy, 5th grade calisthenics (1,2,3-1, 1,2,3-2, 1,2,3-3) up to ten. Nothing strenuous to start.
Food:
What could I do about my food?
I didn't want some crazy diet because I knew that once I stopped the diet and went back to eating what I really, really, really wanted, I would gain it back.
Ahhh, figured it out...
Step 1) Eat less of everything. But don't stop eating anything.
I wasn't exercising like I wanted to, so I kept gaining weight.
Looking at the simple equation, for food, all I needed to do was reduce the Calories Taken in.
Okay so how?:
First and foremost I DIDN'T stop eating the foods I like. I just decided to eat less.
And I cut everything in half.
Half a sandwich.
Go to a restaurant: I eat half the soup, half the pasta, half the entree. Take it all home for later in the week.
At Home: Butter (Smart Balance) one side of the bagel. 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon (not 10), 3 egg whites (not 4).
Half Half Half
1/2
50%
.5
You get the picture.
When I got hungry I did 2 things.
1) I drank water (fills me up)
2) If I was hungry it meant I was losing weight
Being hungry = Losing weight
But Alan, weren't you hungry?
You bet I was but Being hungry = Losing weight.
How quick did the weight come off?
10 lbs in the first week.
In a month under 200.
Then when I stopped losing weight at about 190 and decided to rethink and
Step 2 Be Honest about 1/2 and pick up the exercising.
1/2 a bagel
Switch to wheat from white
Go to Organic
Add in more exercising without hurting myself.
No more beer every night. Beer 1-2 times per week.
Red Wine every night.
I was listening to the founder of Sam Adams, Jim Koch on Terry Gross' Radio program and he said that his Father told him that there is no beer in food, but there is food in beer. So substitute out food when you have a beer. Okay Jim's Dad, Thanks! I did that too.
After 3 months I was down to 170 and stayed between 170-175 for quite some time.
Step 3 Keeping my eye on the ball
I started a new position a few years ago and bumped up to 185. New job, what do you expect. Well what I should have expected is that if you start eating food you are not used to eating (fried, entire portions, etc.) you gain back weight.
No Excuses
I was born needing to wear skates (ice skates?, no metal skates for really weak legs).
Also I was born with Spinal Stenosis (a narrowing of the vertebrae) which can make you prone to slipped disks.
And just for fun at age 17 I had Spinal Meningitis (Viral, I recovered).
But Meningitis is a nasty dis-ease and has lingering side effects that are too long to list. But you get used to it and move on.
Step 3 Taking off another 25 lbs and staying at 160 lbs - No more Headaches please
About a year ago I was having killer headaches again (Meningitis thank you for those killer headaches from time to time) and went on a Meningitis blog out of the UK (www.Meningitis.org) and was reading the posts and one lady whose leftover annoyances, headaches, paralysis that were identical to mine; talked about Kundalini Yoga.
My exercising was nothing to speak about so why not give it a try (and lose those 15 lbs)?
So I went. And I limbered up. And integrated exercises in the morning that I learned in Yoga (stretching, breathing), and tightened up my diet a little bit more.
I stayed strict. Moderation is one thing. But sticking to what you know works is another.
And have been between 160-165 for almost a year, and I plan to stay there.
Conclusion: This worked for me.
Any combination of healthy eating and exercising works. So does just about any diet or exercise program for a while, because if you weren't doing anything, now you are doing something.
But most of them are not sustainable. You stop exercising, or go back to the way you were eating and you gain it back and then some.
I found by not getting rid of things I really like (cookies (2 with breakfast), chocolate (1 piece of dark a day), beer, wine) but enjoying them is a sensible moderate way that I don't lose nor miss them.
And by slowly exercising, not trying to kill myself from the get-go, but working it in.
And by staying to the formula:
Calories Taken in - Calories Burned = [+] Gain weight
Calories Taken in - Calories Burned = [-] Lose weight
I have an easy lifestyle that keeps me feeling the right weight, I am a 32 waist again, and my back doesn't hurt all the time (just sometimes).
My New Hope Diet worked for me & I am grateful for it.
Peace to all, Light to all, Love to all
Alan Klayman
twitter @AlanKlayman
email alan.klayman@gmail.com
