28-Pounds and Shrinking

As a part of today’s Ohio Blogging Association’s Cleveland November Blog Swap, I am featuring a guest post from Kevin who writes “Kevin’s Journal.” On this day, bloggers from around the Northeast Ohio area are guest posting on each others blogs as a way to introduce their readers to new blogs, help promote the OBA and foster community among OBA members.

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Howdy, everyone! My name is Kevin F. Smith, and I maintain a poetry blog titled “Kevin’s Journal.” However, for this guest post, I will write about the steps I am currently taking to lose weight. So far, I have lost about 28 pounds and am continuing to shrink; therefore, these steps are proving to work.

“This shirt did not fit me at all before I lost weight.”

It all started when a friend of mine returned to our college from summer break looking very much thinner than she had the semester before. When I mentioned that I needed to lose weight myself (I weighed 275 pounds at that time, and I am not exceptionally tall), this friend was eager to share the advice which had helped her.

The first, and biggest, step was to cut out all processed and otherwise unhealthy carbohydrates from my diet. This was also the hardest step, because I could not eat my favorite food, potatoes. However, I continue to resist such temptations by making substitutions. For example, instead of white potatoes, I can eat sweet potatoes, and instead of the sugary cereals that I used to love, I eat Kashi® biscuit-style cereals, which are still lightly sweetened but much more nutritious.

The second step that I took was to decrease my portion sizes. I found that, as my mother has always said, I can eat less if I wait for my stomach to settle after my first serving. By doing this, my hunger has time to subside. In this way, I have reduced my daily lunch from two small cheeseburgers AND two sandwiches to only one sandwich OR two small cheeseburgers. Of course, I always order the burgers with no bun. In case I get hungry between meals, I keep fruit and healthy cereal in my dorm room.

The third and final step that I have taken so far is to always take the stairs instead of using elevators. This one small change of routine is the reason for the eight most recent pounds I’ve lost. It feels good, too!

I hope that these guidelines will help others to improve their lifestyles as I am doing. It takes a lot of determination and willpower, but with the right goals and support in place, it can be done by anyone! My goal is to get down to 180 pounds, and my supporters are my friends, family and my doctors.

Good luck to anyone who decides to live by this example in order to get in shape!

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