‘I got rid of it all’: Software engineer sheds 100 pounds with Diet-to-Go

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A Diet-to-Go Success Story

Sometimes the first step to losing weight and getting healthy starts with removing all temptation.

That’s how it started for Alexis Gardner, a software engineer who lives in New York and in 1.5 years lost 100 pounds* with the help of Diet-to-Go and fitness.
 

Alexis, at 5 feet, 11 inches, in 2007 weighed 297 pounds. She was addicted to soda, had prediabetes, was unable to do strenuous activity and was very unhappy in her own skin.

She also was a stress eater, and she knew that if she was going to commit to changing her life, she needed to get rid of everything in her house that caused her to gain weight. So she emptied her cupboards and stocked her fridge with one thing — her healthy, portion-controlled Diet-to-Go meals.

“If the food is there, I’m a stress eater. If it’s not there … I wouldn’t physically go out and get food,” Alexis said. “Removing the food from my house worked out.”

Alexis stuck with it. She ate her Diet-to-Go meals, drank lots of water to kick her soda addiction and, slowly but surely, the weight started falling off.

“I was very rigid for a long time. I wouldn’t go out to eat,” she said.

In 2009, Alexis moved to New York City to pursue a new career. There she started walking a lot, and she had already lost so much weight, that she was able to find some balance in her diet as well.

“I had that portion control down. That’s part of what DTG gave me,” Alexis said. “I translated that year and a half into cooking my own meals and knowing visually how much to eat.”

Learning portion control was key for Alexis because she always struggled with not knowing when she was full.

“I just don’t think the signals in my brain to tell me to stop eating work,” she said. “I know if you put a bunch of burgers in front of me, I could get them down because my brain doesn’t send me any signals that full. But DTG helped me understand portion control and what the right amount of food is to be eating.”

Diet-to-Go also helped show her how much food was too little, something she struggled with as a kid. Weight had always been an issue for Alexis — every summer during her childhood her mom put her on Weight Watchers where she’d consume fewer than 1,000 calories per day.

“Now in retrospect that was really unhealthy,” Alexis said. “I had a really unhealthy relationship with food and dieting in general from my childhood.”

Diet-to-Go, she said, helped her get to a point where she understood that diet and healthy living is about balance.

“Finally I could find a balance; I could eat a meal at a restaurant and it didn’t spiral,” Alexis said. “I could go out with my friends, eat dinner, and be reasonable and social and not have it affect my balance."

"I have fun and enjoy myself. I eat bread. And then I get back on track. At the end of the day, I enjoy food. I enjoy wine. I kind of carve it out. I don’t go out all the time.”

Now, 10 years after initially losing the weight, Alexis has managed to keep the weight off by focusing on portion control and finding balance between eating out and cooking at home. And when life gets busy, Alexis often will order Diet-to-Go meals.

“The big thing about DTG meals is that they’re filling. They’re very tasty,” she said. “I find them to be things I wouldn’t make for myself, like having omelets in the morning or eggplant parmesan.”  

 

* Weight loss results may vary. Results not guaranteed.

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Author: Caitlin H
Diet-to-Go Community Manager

Caitlin is the Diet-to-Go community manager and an avid runner. She is passionate about engaging with others online and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. She believes moderation is key, and people will have the most weight loss success if they engage in common-sense healthy eating and fitness.

 

Diet-to-Go Success Stories

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