I am writing this hub to let people know what worked for me, when I lost 40 pounds. I am not a weight loss expert, nor am I claiming to be. Always consult with your doctor before beginning any diet or exercise program.

First off, a little background. When I hurt my back, because of the pain, I found it hard to do anything. Let alone exercise. Even though my doctors urged me to be active, it was so painful that I did not even try. I went from being 220 pounds to 257 pounds within a year. I was on the verge of having to buy size 42 pants. So after 2 1/2 years of being sedentary, I decided to do something about it. I did not try a fad diet. To me it says it all when FAD is in the title of something. These may work for a quick weight loss for an event or season change, but are not good if you want to keep off the pounds. I ended up doing it my way, with a little advice from the doctor as well. I set a goal of losing a pound a week, which is easily attainable. When you set the goal too high, you only get disappointed when you do not meet that goal.

1) I stopped eating fast food and drinking soda. For the first 3 months, I completely cut these 2 things out. Now I enjoy these things only every once and awhile. 2 times a month at most with fast food and no more than 2 times a week for soda. Moderation is key after the first 3 months. I now only really drink water, tea, Crystal Light, G2 Gatorade, and Powerade Zero. When I drink soda, I try to keep it to diet sodas. Diet 7-Up, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Diet Pepsi being my favorites. I do drink a Coca-Cola every so often.

2) I switched all my grains to whole grains. No more semolina pastas, only whole grains. No more white bread, only wheat and 7 or 9-grain breads. I continue to do this everyday, and will do so for the rest of my life. I actually find the taste even better.

3) I cut out all sweets for the first 3 months. Again, I enjoy these things in moderation now. But only things like frozen yogurt, Snackwells Devils Foodcake cookies, and Kashi cookies. I will also have cake on special occasions. If you crave it, it is OK to have, just don't over do it. Plus, when it comes to cravings, I have found that they really only last 10 minutes at most. So keep yourself busy, and they will pass.

4) I started to become more active. This was hard at first, because I was stationary for so long. But once you get moving, it gets easier every day. Inertia is a powerful thing. I started off by walking 10 minutes a day, and built it up 5 minutes every week until I was walking for 45 minutes on some days. I continue to walk/light jog at least 30 mins every other day, and try to walk at least 15 minutes on the other days. Also, when I go anywhere, I park as far away as I can from the entrance. Just to get that much more walking in. I also do some light weight lifting and added a little yoga to my repertoire. To burn fat, do a high amount of reps with light weight. When I was a gym rat, in my earlier years, I read somewhere that the more muscle you add, the faster your metabolism works. Also, I stretch every morning when I get up and every evening before I go to bed.

5) No more beer! When I do have a drink, which is not that often, I have a glass of wine or something with liquor.

6) No food after 8-9 p.m. I will only drink water or Crystal Light 3 hours before I go to bed. NO FOOD, PERIOD. It is not good to eat before you go to bed, especially carbs. I had a bad habit of eating something while watching a movie, or TV, before I went to bed. This is not a problem anymore.

These are the 6 things that I really concentrated on when I decided I was going to lose weight. Now I am back down to a size 36 pants and 212 pounds. Figure out what works for you and stick with it. It is only hard in the beginning. You do not have to eat only rabbit food to drop pounds. Just eat sensible and add in some exercise. After the first 3 months, then enjoy the things you like, that are bad for you, in extreme moderation. Some people wonder why they always gain the weight back that they lost. Well, if they really looked at it, they followed a diet and exercise plan, then reverted back to their old form after the weight loss. If you really wanted to keep the weight off, you can. Again, just stick with what you were doing and keep other things to a minimum. It is that simple. But start it now, because the older you get, the harder it is to lose that weight. Save the splurging for when you are old. Now get going!!!!