"How did you lose the weight?"

This is the question we all ask people who have lost a substantial amount of weight. I know I used to (and still do) ask this of people all the time.. tell me your secret! On the other side of the scale now, I get this question often.

I wish I could tell people some simple trick, like sleep with lemon under your pillow and wake up skinny. Fortunately, it is a pretty simple answer. Eat close to the earth, move your body. That's it.

I began eating almost zero fruits or vegetables, except corn and potatoes - the midwest healthy stuff! I ate a lot of fast food, processed crap, and a ton of meat. My first step was small; I just cut back on portion sizes. I think this is so common in our culture to over indulge on meals. We all love to eat.

Watch the potions! Think about this: a serving of chicken should be about the size of a deck of cards. How many of us eat that size?

As I progressed, my diet evolved more and more. I started giving F&V a chance, slowly. I found the best way is to slowly "dilute" the bad with the good. Eventually, you'll do away with the back.

For instance, pastas are a big staple for a lot of people, because it is so easy and versatile. Unfortunately, it gives your body a rollercoaster ride you don't want to be on. Glucose, insulin, hormones, ahh!

Solution? Start adding in vegetables to your pasta. This way you are getting an abundance of nutrients and not just refined grains. I moved from spaghetti noodles, to spaghetti & zucchini noodles to only zucchini noodles. It's a process, take it as slowly as you need to but take the step!

Eventually, you will start craving the real, unprocessed foods. Even now if I crave something really unhealthy and let myself have it, I'm actually let down by it. McD's fries aren't as good as I remembered!

Start eating from the earth. Do you know what the ingredients are? Eat as much as you can WITHOUT a label - that's real food. If it does have a label, READ IT! Do you know what the ingredients are or are they completely foreign terms? If they are foreign to you, they are foreign to your body an