By Mari Kinney, 15, Los Angeles High School

“My old eating habits
Breakfast: Hash browns,
eggs, toast and butter.

Lunch: Nothing
or chips and a soda

Dinner: Fried chicken,
mashed potatoes with gravy,
dinner roll with butter

My old eating habits
Breakfast: Hash browns,
eggs, toast and butter.

Lunch: Nothing
or chips and a soda

Dinner: Fried chicken,
mashed potatoes with gravy,
dinner roll with butter

How I did it using substitutions

The way I lost weight was to substitute fatty, high-calorie foods with less fattening ones. For example, I substituted baked or broiled chicken for fried chicken. I put salsa or veggies on my baked potato instead of butter or sour cream. I’d eat a turkey sandwich instead of a salami or bologna sandwich.”