During our careers as 911 dispatchers Andrew and I did several diet detoxes. We would commit to 3 weeks without dairy, red meat, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, and refined grains. We took a bunch of supplements, drank a lot of water, spent a fair amount of time in the restroom, and somehow made it through half a week of horrible headaches from caffeine withdrawal. The suffering was real, but we felt amazing by the end. The positives must have outweighed the negatives, because we did this routine more than a handful of times.

Last year Andrew’s brother Rob (Hi Rob) was committing to Dry July. We were a bit late to the party since we waited until July 1st (my birthday) to decide to “start tomorrow”. We had a fancy dinner in Porto planned, but compromised with a single glass of champagne before dinner and a non-alcoholic beverage pairing with our meal. I’m not sure if it was the kombucha laced drinks or the volume of food, but we felt uncomfortably overfull. I could barely walk out of the restaurant and wondered if alcohol made it easier to overeat.

Shortly after my birthday, I got around to watching Beyond Weight Loss, a movie that my mom had recommended months before. The film’s production value isn’t the best, but the documentary discusses sustainable weight loss, the diet industry, and food labelling. It was insightful in some unexpected ways and I felt inspired to change our diet right alongside our alcohol intake.

In general we are pretty healthy eaters. We eat veggies and a large variety of food. We cook a lot at home and have done this since I can remember. Even during our crazy hectic career years, we always made time to cook and rarely ordered food at work. We also love eating out, but the majority of our meals take place at home. I had successfully lost weight in the past, and this time around I didn’t want to count macronutrients, log everything I eat into a tracking system, or limit any food groups. I wanted to focus on the part I enjoy most, finding recipes, cooking, and enjoying food.

My proposal to Andrew was to change HOW we were eating rather than WHAT we were eating. What about a 5 per day mini meal plan? We could still eat a huge variety of foods that we liked, but would limit portions (aka calories) and try to spread our calories out evenly during the day. Andrew agreed and our experiment began in July of 2025.

The first and most obvious negative to our new plan was that we used an insane amount of dishes every day. We hadn’t purchased a dishwasher since moving to Portugal in June of 2022 and I felt like Cinderella in the scullery. If I wasn’t cooking and planning meals, I was handwashing dishes. The kitchen was piled high with dishes. Fortunately we purchased a dishwasher shortly thereafter and haven’t looked back since. What a relief and reduction in workload!

The very beginning of our new regimen was challenging. Although we ate every 3 hours, we still had hunger pains and cravings as our stomachs and bodies adjusted. After a few weeks this problem decreased significantly. One of the first things I noticed was that I woke up hungry. It felt like my metabolism was finally working properly (I suffer from a low thyroid which is managed with medication, but always feel like I have a slowpoke metabolism).

Over time another challenge emerged. If we delay eating much more than 3 hours our bodies are extremely unhappy. Andrew has had dizzy spells and I have experienced nausea. We mitigate this by bringing snacks along on long days out, or by eating right before we leave the house.

Our Dry July started last year on the 2nd and other than a toast with our dear friend Jorge to celebrate his retirement, we didn’t drink alcohol the rest of the month. Our long term goal was moderation, not converting to teetotalers. Andrew enjoys the occasional beer, and prosecco will always have a soft spot in my heart. Drinking less has been a real eye opener, my aging body doesn’t process even small amounts of alcohol as efficiently as it did in my youth.

We continued our diet experiment for a full year and the results have been undeniable. I have lost 25.4 pounds and almost everything in my wardrobe fits! Andrew has lost 17.6 pounds. Neither of us has reached our goal, but we are well on the way, feel great, and are thrilled so far.

Our compliance is not 100%, but it is pretty darn close. On average of once a week, we have a meal or part of a day where we don’t worry about portions or calories. During previous weight loss endeavors I would schedule an entire “cheat day” which turned into a food binge festival. I would always feel sick and somewhat guilty after my day of overeating.

I don’t have much food guilt now and nothing is off limits. We still eat out, just not frequently. Sometimes we give in to junk food cravings and eat a bunch of chips, chocolate, and sour candies. Every now and again we eat a cookie with coffee for breakfast. We eat small portions of dessert every day.

Ultimately success is about finding something sustainable that works for you over the long term. There are definitely reasons our plan wouldn’t work for everyone. Primarily, weight loss progress is slow and steady and this might not appeal to someone looking for quick results. I also spend a ton of time planning, cooking, and measuring meals. I calculate calories for every meal and the amount of calories I need differs from what Andrew needs, so there is always food portioning work to be done.

Tip: Instead of just one tip I decided on a list (below) of things that work well for us.

Counting Calories: I started converting all of the recipes we make into calories per weight instead of per serving. Since Andrew and I need varying amounts of calories, I can just weigh out the appropriate portion for each of us.

Eating Out: Sometimes I want to eat out but also want to follow my goals. When this happens, I use the free version of SnapCalorie which helps me estimate calories when I’m at a restaurant. It is super easy, just take a photo of your food and the app will provide a calorie estimate. The only drawback is the free version limits the number of photos you can take per day, but is great for the occasional outing!

Food Scale: We have owned a food scale for decades. Andrew uses it for baking and I have used it to portion food intermittently throughout the years. On this diet, I use a food scale for almost every meal. This ensures I am portioning food accurately instead of guessing based on a recipe’s serving suggestion.

Go-To Easy Meal: We eat some form of wraps almost every day. Usually we use lettuce and our prepped veggies (see below). Sometimes we add a protein like hummus, chicken, salami, or cheese. They are fast, easy to make and the fillings are totally customizable to what you like or what you are craving. These are also a great option to take on the road.

Prepped Vegetables: We almost always have bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers cut up and readily available in the refrigerator. Sometimes when the potato chip craving hits, a handful of vegetables suffices. If not, then at least I have eaten some veggies along with my potato chips.

Since diet was our big main change in the past year, I didn’t cover anything fitness related (we didn’t drastically increase or decrease our activity levels). Since we intend to continue eating this way, maybe we’ll have other tips or an updated progress report in another year.

Do you have any favorite food or diet tips that work for you?