The Lance-Food Diet

As my long time readers know, I enjoy a good Francesinha as much as the next guy, but around the time of FCRC last June I realized I was simply getting too fat and had to do something about it. I would never last eating only so-called "healthy" food so I tried a different approach still eating the foods I love and I dropped forty pounds reaching my goal weight in November.

I should write a little pamphlet and sell it for $39.99 but for you readers I reveal my secrets for free.

• I went cold turkey on sweets. No brownies, no cakes, not even any non-fat frozen yogurt. Seminars and conferences offer us too many opportunities to partake of empty calories so best to have a hard and fast rule.
• Smaller portion sizes: One slice of pizza instead of two. A single hamburger instead of a double. Also fewer side dishes like fries.
• I cut out between meal snacks even if they don't seem too bad like pretzels. Do not eat when you aren't hungry.
• Avoid at all costs those evil green things commonly known as "vegetables." You'll never survive if you force yourself to eat stuff you don't like.
• I have been running three times a week, but this is no more than I did before the diet began.

Once I reached goal weight, I had another challenge—How to avoid losing too much weight without bouncing back up. I use the scale like a thermostat, eat less when I weigh more, and eat more when I weigh less, including the occasional ice cream.

Follow these simple rules and you too can lose weight the Lance way.