When people ask Nancy White, 53, of Longwood, Fla., how she lost 21 pounds in just a few months, she tells them: "three words: mayo, butter and cheese."
She has cut way back on those and made other changes to drop from 169 to 148. She's 5-foot-7.
"Making the decision to lose weight was easy, and following the plan wasn't difficult," she says. "It's the temptations and challenges of social situations that are hard."
White is one of the readers who volunteered to try out the USA TODAY program at the end of September. This year's seventh annual challenge is designed to help people lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Stories about readers who have trimmed down are featured every Monday through March 1 in the newspaper and at dietchallenge.usatoday.com.
White says she was motivated to lose weight because her size-12 pants were too tight, and she didn't want to buy the next size up: "I hate the idea of having to go up a size every year."
When she started in September, she quickly figured out that if she kept her calories between 1,100 and 1,300 a day, she could lose a pound a week. Her hunger was often situational: "When I get hungry, it's usually because I've walked into the kitchen."
She keeps a bowl of cherry tomatoes on the kitchen counter to pop in her mouth when hungry. She also snacks on celery and peanut butter. Some of the other keys to her success:
*Lowering the calories in beverages. Instead of having a glass of wine or another high-calorie drink, she now has a wine spritzer or a vodka with club soda and a splash of cranberry juice.
*Cutting portions. "It used to be I'd sit down and have a great big steak. Now, I realize that a serving is only supposed to be the size of the palm of your hand."
*Making small changes. She has been using more herbs and spices and preparing more Indian and Thai food. She also is using olive oil instead of butter in cooking and mustard instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches.
*Allowing indulgences. "My palate is satisfied with smaller amounts of top-shelf cheese or chocolate. I'll buy a truffle or a small wedge of the top-of-the-line cheese and treat it like gold."
*Coping with parties. "When you are served less-healthy food, you have to eat less, but it doesn't mean you can't eat it. I went to a Super Bowl party, and I had a couple of wings and a slice of pizza. You don't want to sit down and tuck into a heap of that stuff or you'll pay for it later."
*Keeping close track of calories. "I have set up an account on caloriecount.com and faithfully use it every day."
She is now down to a size 8, and her size-12 pants "are falling off me when a few months ago I could barely button them."
To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to http://www.usatoday.com
Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.