I’m just going to catch up with the story in my head before I go on with the new. I’ve had my road to Damascus moment, talked it through with my doctor and, now with the help of my family friends, I’ve made the start on losing those pounds.

Well, made a start is a bit of an exaggeration. I’d been into the library and read through those reference books, made a pile of photocopies (private study, no breach of copyright) and now all I had to do was make it all happen.

Everything I’d read and my doctor’s emphatic advice was that taking phentermine, Acomplia or Meridia on its own is not enough. No matter how good they are, they all work best when they’re combined with a diet and some exercise. So, there I was. I’d already taken a few days of Acomplia — there were no side effects, big relief — and I knew I had to do something else.

My family were threatening a riot — they felt they had the upper hand because I’d finally been to see the doctor.

My friends were grumbling that I was all talk and no action.

So what was I really supposed to “do” to get all these little monkeys off my back (I love them really but they can all be a pesky nuisance sometimes). Funny how those association of ideas work. Now that I think about it, I’m sure there’s a Stephen King story about someone who gets a monkey on their back which physically stops them from eating. It’s a fast way to slim through starvation. And it’s that kind of story that gets in the way of actually starting a diet.

You think of all the things you’ll be giving up and don’t know what to put in their place, so the first thing that pops into your mind is that you’re going hungry. And hunger is not good for morale.

But then I went back through all those photocopies (I knew they’d come in useful). Boiling it all down (don’t you just love those beautiful thick reduction sauces?), you avoid crash diets. There’s no need for anything supernatural to grab you round the throat. You just carry on eating what you eat, but cut down the portion sizes.

No more supersizing at burger joints. And talking about burgers makes me think of sugar. You should definitely eat less sugar in your diet. Have you ever looked at the McDonald’s recipes (as on http://www.epicconstructions.com/mirror/mcd/). They put sugar into fourteen different recipes. That’s why we like burgers and their sauces. They appeal to our sweet tooth.

And watch out for colas and all those other fizzy drinks. They’ve got just as much sugar in them.

And sugar means calories.

And too many calories add on the weight.

So here’s your first simple step. This is not hard or difficult. For your first starter:

• eat smaller portions and
• cut down on the sugar.

Nothing extreme. Just reducing your calorie intake by gentle steps.

That’s how I started over the first few weeks and, together with the Acomplia at first (later the phentermine), I’ve been consistently losing a pound or so every month. It may not sound a lot. Only a pound a month. But after eighteen months, my diary shows me almost twenty pounds lighter on my feet.

And I feel so much better for it. I’ve become a “Success” at losing weight and keeping it off! In fact, the whole family is losing weight because we’re all eating in more (so we know what we’re eating) and we’re all eating less. It’s good news all round for us.

It can be for you too.

Tagged with: acomplia • diet • losing weight