This has been a really interesting year for me. I’ve lost my job and I’ve had some great weight fluctuations. What started out on a bad note has ended on a positive one.

Unfortunately, the company I work for went out of business last year. I was left in a situation where I couldn’t find a job, so I spent most of my time online, pursuing some hobbies and looking for jobs. Unfortunately, I gained a lot of weight during this time.

Not knowing what to do, I realized that it had subtly happened as I snuck in some extra snacks and soft drinks each day. I decided to go cold turkey on a few things, combined with a disciplined fitness regime, and I’ve already lost half of that weight in about 60 days’ time.

This has been great, as I’ve done it the right way without starving myself either. Here are three quick tips that I’ll give you, all of which I’ve been following.

The biggest thing that I did was the fact that I eliminated any and all sodas from my every day drinking habits. I don’t care if it’s a diet cola that has no calories, I still think it’s bad.

I think that sugar is what led to my weight gain more than anything else, so I decided to nip that in the bud. It was hard to do at first, but finding replacements for sugar like fruit makes the job a lot easier. After a few weeks, you simply won’t crave sugar like you used to.

Furthermore, I’m running at the gym, very regularly. It’s cold where I live now so I can’t run outside, but I take full advantage of my gym’s treadmill and run nearly every day.

Third, I simply don’t eat fried foods anymore. Hard to give up, but it feels great after a few weeks.

While I still haven’t found a job, I’ve been writing about copper mailboxes and the best brass mailboxes.