This entry by Hula

Hula's Secret Blog said...
Good job doing stuff for YOU this past week! :)

And good job going down a WHOLE SIZE! YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Any advice on that one??

I printed that whole comment because if I answered just the question (although I don’t suspect it was an "official" question for what I’m doing on the interview), it wouldn’t make sense and since I don’t think many come back to see if I answered them, I’m going to answer it here.

What I commented back: Thanks Hula! Eating modifications (don’t dare call it a diet or else it won’t work) and 30 minutes on the exercise bike everyday (when I get to where I need to be I can cut down to 3-4 times a week for maintenance). Keep the foods high in fiber, low fat. NO SODA (not that it mattered as I don’t drink much anyhow because it upsets my belly when I over indulge) and cut down on the treats. One treat a week under 100 cals. I can eat all I want if it's a veggie (watch the corn and taters as they have tons of starch). Gosh I can go all day on this though...LOL

Expanding upon this: The dr said I can eat all I care to so long as a great deal of it is veggies. I’m allowed 6 oz meat total for the day. I have to try and have no more than 3 grams of fat in my foods (this is impossible for me so I keep the serving size to single digits for fat grams...no peanut butter as 2 tablespoons is 16 grams!!!) and shoot for over 5 grams of fiber (get the double fiber bread...it's 5 grams a SLICE so a sandwich will give you 10 grams of fiber on the bread alone!). She wants me to get at least 25 grams of fiber daily. This is really easy to do once you add in the apple I have every day (3 grams), the banana (3 grams), my sandwich (10 grams), 2 cups of soup (8+grams on those healthy soups), a Special K breakfast bar (5grams) AND for sweeteners in tea or coffee....use Splenda with fiber (1 gram per envelope). Don’t skimp on the dairy...just keep it low fat or skim. Spritzer dressings are your friend as is Parkay spritz butter. So many things you can change. I get 7+ grams of fiber a day just with one of my smoothies.

Smoothie recipe:
2/3 cup Fat free yogurt...Stick with plain or vanilla...or you can get a flavor to compliment the fruit you use (Light and Fit has only 80 calories for 6 oz)

1/2 cup skim milk

1 banana (gotta have the potassium...medium banana is 3 grams fiber, large bananas have 4-5 grams)

1.5 cups of additional fruit (I use the frozen fruits for a thicker smoothie....if you use frozen fruit you won’t need to add ice like some recipes call for) (many of the fruits are about 3.5-4 grams a fiber a serving)

2 pkts Splenda with fiber (if needed....frozen peaches you'll need it but if you use mangos, they're sweet enough all on their own)

Blend in a heavy duty blender or smoothie maker (or a food processor...but the lid doesn’t seal nicely and it can get messy with the liquid) until smooth. This recipe makes about 32-40 ounces. Don’t feel guilty! You would have eaten all that food anyhow. Oh and if it's thick enough I suspect it can be frozen for a nummy dessert!

Since October, I’ve lost a bit over 30 pounds. I’m down 2 sizes in panties (although I still wear the same size pants because a gal’s gotta be able to sit in them!), about 1-1.5 bra sizes on the band (a full size in the cup!) and about 1.5 sizes down in the shirts (the 3x used to be a bit big but comfy but now in some cuts I wear as small as a 1x). I’ve hit a bit of a plateau right now but I suspect it’s because I fell off the modifications around the beginning of February due to illness and am fighting myself to get back on them.