I wanted to lose weight.
I refused to live on lettuce.

Keto. The orange diet. An impressive collection of things I wasn’t allowed to eat.

For a long time, I tried all kinds of diets.

Keto. The orange diet. Apparently, my next personality was going to be a citrus fruit.

And usually, about a week later, I’d given up. Again.

I wanted to lose weight. I really did. But every plan arrived with another set of rules.

Don’t eat this. Don’t eat that. Have another salad.

By the end, the amount of salad in my life was less “balanced eating” and more elaborate lettuce ceremony. I was one bowl away from giving the cucumber a ceremonial title.

The weight wasn’t really shifting. I wasn’t happy. I felt unmotivated, increasingly low and uncomfortable in myself.

And somehow, the answer was always supposed to be more discipline. Or more salad. Neither suggestion was improving the mood.

I wanted a change. I also wanted a normal dinner.

Eventually I told myself: I am going to lose weight. But I am not willing to live on salad anymore.

So I started testing things for myself.

Which normal, everyday meals could help me stay in a calorie deficit? Which ones did I actually enjoy? Could I have something sweet and still follow a structure that worked for me?

Because I wasn’t looking for a new hobby called “Being Sad Near the Fridge.” I wanted food I could eat, enjoy and keep eating after the first week.

I worked with familiar food and simple meals. I kept testing, adjusting and noticing what felt doable in my own life.

In my first two weeks, I lost 4 kg.

That was my own experience. For once, the scale had news I actually wanted to hear.

Seeing it move gave me motivation to keep going. And I did keep going — because I was enjoying the food instead of counting down the days until I could abandon the plan.

Over a few months, I passed the 20 kg milestone. In total, I went from 85 kg to 60 kg: a personal loss of 25 kg.

The things I was testing and learning along the way became the Reset System.

My old jeans made a comeback. So did I.

I could wear my old jeans again. My old skirts. I felt comfortable wearing a skirt because I felt good in myself.

My confidence came back. I started laughing again. I felt feminine again.

For me, those feelings meant so much more than a number on a scale.

I wasn’t forcing myself through another diet I hated. I was eating ordinary food, following a structure I could live with — and enjoying the process.

The food was normal.
The plan felt doable.
And I wanted to keep going.

That is why Simply Happy Guide exists.

I created Simply Happy Guide to help other people who feel the way I used to feel: stuck, discouraged and worn out by food rules.

If you’ve ever given up after a week and wondered why you couldn’t just “be more disciplined,” I recognise that feeling.

I wanted to turn my own experience into something useful: simple ideas, normal food and practical support for real life. With room for dessert. We’ve suffered enough over the lettuce.

The Reset System is where that experience became a 30-day guide: everyday meals, short recipes, calories, grocery guidance and support for the days that get messy.

If you want a clearer answer to “What do I eat next?”, take a look inside. You can see the meals, sample pages and three included bonus guides before deciding.

— Creator of Simply Happy Guide

This is my own personal experience. Results vary; no specific amount or pace of weight loss is guaranteed. The photos are from my own journey.