I was a gestational diabetic during my pregnancy, so I have structured a diet for myself that follows some of the same principles as the diet I was on before. I limit the carbohydrates I have at any one meal and eat more frequently during the day.

I have three main meals a day plus three snacks. It is not a difficult diet to follow, but it has required that I really think about what I eat. One of the biggest things is portion size, especially around breakfast time.

When I have cereal, I use a small bowl and if I have to, I measure the cereal to make sure I am eating the right portion size. I only allow myself to have 30 grams of carbohydrate at breakfast and 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrate at lunch and dinner. For snacks I can have 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrate.

I was amazed to learn that a 4 ounce glass of skim milk has 15 grams of carbohydrate. That is why I measure things if I have too!

For exercise, I am up and down the stairs with my daughter several times a day. But, I also meet another Mom and walk two times a week.

At home, I try to be as active as possible during the day because everything adds up. I also make a point to do push up and abdominal exercises at least once a day.

I usually do those while my daughter is in the floor playing because I can just lay down with her. Yard work is also a way that I build more exercise into my day.

I tried to go to the fitness centre regularly to lose weight. But as I already suspected right from the start there was always something going on that prevented me to go to the fitness centre.

One day I did not feel so good and the next day I worked over time and so on. I tried to follow a diet that allows you to eat as much as you want. The only thing you have to be careful about is when you eat it.

You are allowed to eat carbohydrates in the morning. So that was my loved chocolate cream on toast. I was really glad I did not have to abandon that habit.

At lunchtime, you can still eat carbohydrates but you should eat more proteins. That was great for me because I could still eat at our canteen without having to take care of what I took.

The absolutely important part came with dinner and everything you may eat after dinner. There, absolutely no carbohydrates are allowed. That means no sugar, no potatoes, no bread, no rice, no noodles …

The carbohydrates are the short term energy of the body. As long as that is in the blood (and that is in the blood for up to 12 hours after you ate them), the body uses those and not the fat you want to lose.

Therefore, as long as you do not eat carbohydrates before bed, the body starts to lose fat during the night when you sleep and you start to lose weight.

Of course, you cannot gorge yourself during the day or it will not work because the body builds up more fat than it uses up.

However, if you just want to lose some kg and easy lose weight it works. At least it did for me.