I have to add one extra piece to this – you absolutely cannot lose weight effectively if you tell yourself you don’t want to program where you can’t “have a snack” if you want it. I’m serious. It’s not how it works. I sped my metabolism up by not cheating on the program. By not making minor concessions. At the end of month 4, I’m much more aware of what little nibbles of cheating can do to throw off an entire week. Imagine how much I would have lost if I hadn’t bowed to the simplicity of convenient food?

And now, 4 1/2 months later, I’m down more than 50, and have successfully trimmed down 16″ off my waist. In fact, I did something today I haven’t since being a teenager – I tucked my shirt into the waist of my jeans. Find success in the smallest details. Because it’s a cultivation of all the little happy times that define the big moments.