What? I've lost weight? I hadn't noticed.

When I was in highschool, Megan Dean and I frequently went to Country Fair and stocked up for the weekend with beef jerky, chex mix, Ben & Jerry’s, candy bars, cheese puffs, among other things, and sat in her dark basement and aimlessly ate it while we watched Lifetime movies all weekend. When I was in college, I was a fan of Long Island Iced Teas and late night pizza eating with the girls. It’s come to my attention that I’ve lost some weight over the past year or so. Hmmm… really? I didn’t realize. (Okay, I did).

So, I’ve lost like 12-15 pounds over the past year, a little less than 20 since I moved to Pittsburgh 2.5 years ago, and collectively about 40 since I was 16 (seriously, that’s just unnecessary to weight 160 at the age of 16). But when people take note of it (again I say, “really? I hadn’t noticed”) I just sort of say “uh huh” and try to get past the subject of it as quickly as possible. Going into my “diet strategy” would take too much time. However, I thought I’d take this opportunity to write about my (honestly) small and easy life changes that have resulted in the loss of poundage over the past year… and honestly, I’ve NEVER felt better. I feel healthy, confident, happy and strong… and yes, I eat, frequently.

…so now, I present to you, “Allison Potter’s Tips and Tricks to Feeling Good and Effortlessly Losing Weight”. Oh, and this doesn’t include the fact that I come from a family of natural skinny/healthy/active people. Enjoy!

Take your vitamins
Does it help at all? I dunno, but it can’t hurt, and I wanna make sure I’m getting everything I need in my body on a daily basis. That includes vitamins.

No Lifetime movie marathons
Well, if you want to, you can watch the Lifetime movies. Just don’t accompany it with the trip to Country Fair.

Lay off the booze
Please note: I DO still drink, just not to the extent I did when I was in college/working at a bar 3 nights a week. I drank this past Saturday, for the first time since ARVO (ophthalmic meetings always require white wine drinking on a nightly basis). That said, I drink much less infrequently, and much more responsibly than I had when in college. Many nights out entail only a couple drinks… and NO LONG ISLAND ICED TEAS (can you say 500+ EMPTY calories PER DRINK?) or Tony’s pizza at 2:00am

It’s just 30 minutes people. Really.
Exercise. It’s SO important. Not only does it greatly improve a crappy day, give you time for JUST YOU, etc, but it’s obviously a great way to burn off that rice pudding/beer/cheese steak hoagie. When the weather improved in Pennsylvania after the winter, I’d take Dori for a few walks daily, ranging from a quick 12 minute walk around the block to 30-45 minute strolls through Squirrel Hill. Since moving to Monroeville, I’ve taken up working out on a mostly daily basis. There is a treadmill downstairs that I get on for AT LEAST half an hour each day (although I shoot for 45 minutes). I also try to take the stairs a couple times daily up the eight flights to my apartment. I will admit I’m a bit obsessive about working out, because I do it on a mostly daily basis. But that’s only because I KNOW I won’t keep it up if I don’t do it on a daily basis. I’d totally ‘fall off the horse’. If I’m REALLY not in the mood to work out, I let myself stop at 30 minutes, and call it a day. But I ALWAYS feel better after a workout. ALWAYS. Bottom line: just be active… and if you REALLY don’t have the time to workout one day, make it up tomorrow, or at LEAST work out the next day. Just keep moving.

I also do 50-100 sit ups a day (almost always) and occasionally do some love handle and arm stuff with a light weight. Depends on my schedule/how spunky I’m feeling.

Portion control. Holy bageesus!!!
Need I really elaborate here? I try to eat one serving, and then judge whether or not I REALLY need that second serving. Usually, the answer is no. Also, I TRY to steer clear from excessive snacking and dessert eating. When I do, I either make it healthy (huge fan of apples, carrots, and 100-calorie snacks) or limit myself to ONE brownie, or ONE Reeses Peanut butter cup. That’s all. Pretty simple.

You are what you eat.
I try to be mindful of what I put in my body. This brings us back to the ONE brownie thing. If I eat that jar of peanut butter, I’m going to feel like crap. If I feel like crap, I’m probably not going to want to work out, and I’m probably going to want to continue eating crappy food. My coffee is mixed with Splenda or Truvia and Skim Milk. Things on my regular menu include: oatmeal, cereal, granola bars, fruit and yogurt for breakfast. Lean pockets, canned veggies, sandwiches (wheat bread, no mayo, fat-free cheese), and fruit for lunch. As for dinner, it’s constantly changing—my only rules for dinner is that I keep in mind the portion control thing. Whitmer likes crappy food, therefore, I commonly eat crappy food for dinner, but with a healthy twist for me. Last week, for example, Justin (Whitmer) did two breasts of fried chicken tenders, slathered in cheese and sauce over whole wheat pasta. He also did two pieces of cheesy garlic bread. I did the whole wheat pasta and the sauce, sprinkled it with parmesan, and sliced up some olives… and skipped the garlic bread all together. I also like putting sautéed peppers and onions in my pasta, too, but we were out of at the time.

I eat a lot of things that say “Light” on the package. Is that the pearl to shedding pounds? Absolutely not. But it’s a small change that can’t hurt, either. Skim milk, or 2% in my coffee instead of coffee creamer. Baked Lays or Rice Cakes instead of Ruffles. Stupid things like wheat bread over white, go light on the cheese, add more veggies…

Another quick tip: if you are not a 175 pound male, you should not eat like a 175 pound male. They require a LOT more calories on a daily basis than a 120 pound female does. End of story.

Calorie count—but not obsessively: I don’t really count calories, but hear ALL THE TIME that it’s important. Therefore, I do take note of the calories in foods, and try to avoid those snacks that are 500 calories (holy movie theater buttered popcorn!!!) That’s about it, though.

Eat when hungry—not bored, upset, stressed, or because it sounds tasty.
Of course I’d kill for a mid afternoon ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins… but do I REALLY need it? Not frequently, at least. Everyone needs the occasional mid afternoon ice cream coneage (I eat small ice cream cone 2-3 times a week at night) but overdoing it isn’t wise.

If I’m not hungry the second I wake up, I don’t eat. I always get at least three meals in, daily, but they sometimes occur at 10am, 2pm, and 6pm. Not 7:00am (when I wake up), 12noon, and 7pm. It’s just how I roll.

Listen to that angel on your shoulder, ignore the devil: I commonly have to tell myself that I DO NOT NEED to eat peanut butter by the spoonful, and I do NOT need that late night snack. When I listen to myself, I wake up MUCH HAPPIER that I didn’t eat, that had I gorged on that 1/3 of a calzone in the fridge at 10:00pm.

Something else that’s been helpful for me… I work from home
No break room filled with bagels/donuts/birthday cake. No vending machines. No lunches at Wendy’s or McDonald’s. No snack drawer filled with candy. Honestly, it’s SO MUCH EASIER to make smart choices when you work from home, because you have better options. (You can also squeeze in lunchtime workouts and sit-ups from your home office during work… you’d look silly doing that from an actual office).

Pay some attention to all the stupid diet tricks/tips you hear out there.
No, you will not lose 150 pounds by putting cayenne pepper in your water. That’s not what I mean. But, I try to obey rules like “don’t eat after 9:00pm” and “don’t pour the ranch dressing on your salad”. I still take ranch on my salad, put will either put a little, and then add more if I need to, or do the dipping method (either individual bites or my fork and then get the salad). Whateva 

AND FINALLY… if you falter, don’t fall off completely.
There are definitely days I eat too much, or eat nothing but junk. Justin and I ate most of a big chocolate rabbit one night. But the next day, I try to jump right back on—work out a little extra, eat a smaller dinner the next day… nothing serious, just stick with it. It’s really tough to feel good about yourself after you had that third piece of cake, but our bodies are resilient and can handle us overeating from TIME TO TIME (or so I hear/convince myself of).


I think that’s really all there is to it. Hopefully I don’t sound completely crazy/obsessive here. Honestly, these are gradual, small changes that have been made over the course of the past couple years. Would I suggest you go out tomorrow and start working out, passing on the birthday cake in the break room, and giving up all food you love? No. Never. Am I an expert on this topic? No. Not technically, at least. But I really feel like I’ve figured out what works for ME.

The most important thing you have to do is make sure what whatever changes you make are ones that you can stick to in the long run. There is absolutely no sense in running six miles a day for a month, cutting out carbs, starving yourself, etc. None of that is going to be something you can keep up with. If you don’t like running, don’t run. I don’t run. I am a “speed walker” and do it on an incline. A colleague of mine likes water aerobics, and my parents are currently yoga heads/bike riders/whatever else they do on a daily basis. It’s really just a matter of finding something that you don’t hate, and stick with it. The end.