We’re Alike, You and Me

If you’re reading this book, we probably have something in common. Maybe it’s one (or more) of these thoughts: Losing weight is so hard! With everything going on in my life right now, I don’t have time to do this! I’ll start tomorrow. I don’t think I’m really up to doing this right now.

Believe me, I know. I’ve had every one of those thoughts.

You may also have thought from time to time that you’ll never be at your ideal weight. Or that people who are thin have a super-fast metabolism and you don’t. Wrong! Or that skinny girls don’t eat, and you love food. Wrong again!

I love food too—always have. I remember as a kid asking my mother what we were having for dinner and being either excited when it was something I loved or disappointed when it wasn’t. There is no denying that food evokes emotions and memories for all of us, and I’m not trying to change that. I’m actually a culinary school graduate, and food has always been an important part of my life. I still love and look forward to all my meals—and so should you.

Do you beat yourself up because you’ve tried to lose weight many times and failed? Been there. Do you think you’re weak because you can’t control your cravings?

I know all about it.

Whatever that negative voice in your head is telling you about your inability to lose weight, I’ve heard it: You’ll never get there. You’re a loser. You’re not good enough.

If those are the things you’ve been telling yourself, I’m here to say, “Stop! That’s ridiculous. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

I got sick of that destructive voice, the negative mentality, and I bet you’re sick of it too. So let’s shut it off for good.

I did!

You can, once and for all, dump the negativity, the loser mentality, the guilt. And if you’ve been comparing yourself with others—especially celebrities—and thinking you’ll never measure up, it’s time to stop that too. It’s okay to admire them, so long as you understand that each one of us is unique and you don’t know what they did to look the way they do. It probably took (and continues to take) hard work. They don’t have a magic formula any more than you and I do.

Do you get up in the morning, look in your closet, and wonder what you’re going to wear because half the stuff in there doesn’t fit? If so, imagine a life where you look in your closet and say, “I can wear anything I want today, because I look great in everything!”

Wouldn’t it be fun to feel completely comfortable and confident wearing something crazy-sexy to a party on Saturday night? And why shouldn’t you? No matter where you are in your life right now, your butt doesn’t have to be that big. Your thighs don’t have to be that thick, and your tummy doesn’t have to look like you’re wearing a tire under that T-shirt.

It can be different—and it will. I promise.

And who am I to make that promise? Well, I’m certainly not your weight loss fairy godmother. I can’t wave one of my daughter’s magic wands and make you instantly svelte. Although I would if I could! In reality, however, I’m a journalist and a mother—in other words, a busy working woman, just like many of you.

Some of you may know me from my work at local TV stations across America, in West Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, Dallas, or New York. Or you may know me as an anchor at the Fox News Channel. My job as a journalist and reporter is to research a topic and then deliver the information to other people in a way that is interesting, entertaining, and easy to understand.

Among the many topics I’ve researched and reported is the diet industry. And believe me, it is an industry. In fact, it’s really big business. Millions and millions of Americans are always on a diet. We spend billions on diet books, magazines, diet programs, websites, and gyms. I’ve researched and reported on just about every fad diet out there. And I’ve probably tried every one too. But each time, like the rest of you, I’ve wound up right back where I started, only feeling a bit more disillusioned and defeated.

I got sick of that destructive voice, the negative mentality, and I bet you’re sick of it too. So let’s shut it off for good.

I did!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that fad diets are just short-term fixes. They may help you lose weight initially, but they’re not sustainable, because nobody can live on cabbage soup, protein shakes, or spicy lemonade for very long.

It’s as a mother, however, that my real weight issues began. Having children is the best thing I’ve ever done, and I adore them, but I gained nearly sixty pounds while pregnant with my two children. I had fun getting pregnant and fun gaining the weight. I loved eating all those tasty, high-calorie foods. Who wouldn’t? So I did. I ate anytime, day or night. If I wanted Frosted Flakes at midnight, I ate them. Buffalo wings for breakfast, no problem! Chicken parm, barbecued ribs, guacamole, quesadillas—if I wanted it, I ate it. And I never looked back, or forward for that matter. After all, I was growing a baby.

Can you say consequences? I’m not looking for sympathy, but there I was, week thirty-eight, at the doctor’s office, soon to have a son. I was on cloud nine until the nurse put me on the scale. Whoa. I had gained fifty-seven pounds, and she had my pre-pregnancy weight in her chart to prove it. I told myself I couldn’t deal with this now. I had to focus on the baby.

During my last few weeks anchoring on the Fox News Channel, I was experiencing such intense lower-back pain that I could barely walk the halls or sit at the anchor desk. I remember doing news updates during The O’Reilly Factor while leaning forward and practically gritting my teeth. Then my doctor put me on bed rest for six weeks. It was a difficult time, but Tate’s Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies got me through.

On April 25, 2005, I had a fabulous eight-and-a-half-pound baby boy. Despite some complications all was right with the world. I was blissful.

It was the same when my baby girl was born on August 5, 2007. But each time, after focusing on my newborns for a few weeks, reality set in. I was a television anchor who had a lot of weight to lose before returning to work. With my son, I had four months to do it. With my daughter, just six weeks! It didn’t happen either time. I tried. I really tried, but I failed miserably.

The pressure was enormous; viewers can be extremely critical, particularly on the Internet. Some plainly asked on Facebook, “When are you going to lose the baby gut?” In a chat room, somebody wrote, “It’s a shame what happened to Dari. I guess sexy is now a fatty.” I tried not to look at that stuff, but when it’s on your Facebook wall, it’s almost impossible to ignore. I felt sorry for myself, even as I frantically tried new diets. I’d have a good week or two, followed by three rebellious ones during which I ate anything I wanted.

It was disastrous for my metabolism, and even worse mentally, because I was quickly developing a defeatist attitude. I thought I’d never figure this out.

I wish I could say there was one defining moment when everything changed, but it didn’t happen that way. I didn’t climb a mountain and suddenly see the light. Instead I started watching the HBO series True Blood. I remember seeing lead actress Anna Paquin prancing around the local bar, Merlotte’s, in short shorts, and thinking I used to look like that—when I was twenty-five! Why can’t I look like that again, or at least close to it? In that moment I resolved to do whatever I could to look and feel young and healthy again.

The first thing I did was Google Anna Paquin. Confirmed. She does have a great body. Then, while I working out one day, I told my trainer about my Paquin moment and, to my surprise, she told me that she actually knew all about Anna’s regime because she and her husband trained her when she was in New York. What my trainer told me was that Anna Paquin, like many actresses, follows a strict diet of clean eating. That’s how she stays so lean and toned.

I was intrigued—clean eating? It sounded good to me, so I immediately put on my journalist hat and began to read everything I could about clean eating. Most of what I found was in bodybuilding-oriented websites and publications. Clean eating, I discovered, is simply about eating whole, unprocessed foods, including lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and good fats. (I’ll explain exactly what those terms mean in chapter 1.) I also learned that if I wanted to shell out hundreds of dollars for home-delivered meals I could easily eat clean. Or I could hire a personal chef. But those weren’t realistic options for me.

I do, however, know how to cook. As I’ve said, I actually went to culinary school. Still, between two small children and a demanding job, I don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. I needed to come up with recipes that were both quick and clean—and that also tasted good. And that’s what I did.

I developed my own Quick & Clean Diet. It’s helped me meet my weight loss and maintenance needs, and the recipes are delicious. It’s worked so well for me that I decided I had to share it, which is why I’m writing this book.

The Quick & Clean Diet is about more than just losing weight. Yes, this back-to-basics, no-nonsense weight loss and maintenance program will make you skinny, but it will also increase your energy, and, most important, it will ensure that you enjoy lifelong good health.

It’s also simple to understand and easy to remember. If I could do it, so can you. All you have to do is follow the plan. I’m sure you’ve followed diets before, but mine is different. Most conventional diets give you a strict program to follow for a certain period of time during which you will lose weight, and then you’re on your own. If you talk to many people who have successfully shed pounds, they will tell you that losing weight is the easy part. The real battle comes when you’re trying to keep it off. That’s because most diets sell you the hype of a brand-new, revolutionary program that will whip the weight off you, and many of us, because we’re so anxious to get skinny, say “Sign me up!” without considering an exit plan. Well, fear not, the Quick & Clean Diet has an exit plan, along with a beginning and a middle. You won’t be abandoned here.

Truthfully, I’m not crazy about the word diet. It’s a tricky word because it can produce strange emotions. For one, it can make you feel anxious and restricted. Or it can give you an unrealistic sense of excitement by offering what appears to be a quick fix for a longstanding problem. So do me a favor: Try not to focus too much on the word diet in this book’s title. Try to think of it as a structured lifestyle plan with certain guidelines that will help you achieve your weight loss and maintenance goals. Structure is important when you’re trying to make a big change. I just know from experience that if you focus too much on dieting, you may sabotage yourself. Instead think of it as a process of retraining your mind and body about food. See it as the beginning of your new life—one that will have good days and days when you will have to work harder. But above all, think of it as a commitment to being the best you can be.

No one can make you
feel inferior without

your consent.

—Eleanor Roosevelt