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What Diets Have You Tried?
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 2004-05-03 2:51 PM |
Extreme Veteran  465   Epworth. Iowa |  Subject: What Diets Have You Tried?What diets have you tried over the course of your weight loss attempts? Did it (they) work? If so for how long? What got you off the thing? For instance, I tried a version of Atkins called Stillman's water diet (high protein) about 30 years ago. Lost about 50 punds. Kept that weight off for about four months and began a creeping "boomerang effect" that led to regaining it all plus some. It was the original "carb loading" |
| 2004-05-03 2:54 PM in reply to: #22624 |
Resident Matriarch N 43° 32.927 W 071° 24.431 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? hmmm, it would be easier to tell you what diets I have NOT done. Dieted my way up to 225 pounds at one point in my life. I've since sworn off diets and the weight is coming off. |
| 2004-05-03 2:56 PM in reply to: #22624 |
Master 1927  Chicago | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Let's see: I haven't really tried diets because I just couldn't stick with them. But I did by the Zone book and try to eat along those lines but I'm not really "following," the diet. I just love to eat! |
 2004-05-03 3:07 PM in reply to: #22624 |
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| 2004-05-03 4:32 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Master 1902 Berkeley, CA | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I'm sort of with other folks. Diets aren't that helpful--I become hyper-militant and then hyper-rebellious. Stupid way to swing! So, now I try to portion control, try to eat a spread of 55% carb, 30% protein, and 15%--with carbs being vegetable, fruit or high fiber. Eat frequently but less substance. And I eat what's put before me. For instance--I live in a household of several women and we all have a cooking night. I never think to myself, 'oh, I can't eat this thing that she's serving me--why don't i grab a... whatever... instead.' I try to learn how to make good choices with what's in front of me. And I never question what I need to eat to train (Gel, Drinks, Bars, whatever) I don't like to do it, but it's very very very helpful to write down what I eat--even when it's very bad and I want to forget. Two things happen, I'm more aware and also I'm able to actual eat the balance of things that want. I don't like taking a multi-vitamin either, so I can also make sure I'm getting the various vitamins and minerals I need. Not the most helpful entry, but basically DIETS JUST BITE!! Dana |
| 2004-05-03 4:53 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Extreme Veteran 434 Orangeville, Ontario | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I used to diet but found that I was just putting myself through hell, I love to eat. My solution, eat when I am hungry as long as it is natural (no white products, processed) and I eat as much as I want. I just train harder. The result is that I am now a better athlete and I have gone from 263lbs to 195lbs. I believe that diets just deprive you and eventually you will want to go back to your comfort food. Just eat smart and train train train and don't expect to much to fast. Geoff |
| 2004-05-03 6:02 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| New user 49 Iowa | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Tried Atkins, went on a long hard bike ride, almost passed out from low blood sugar, went off it immediately. South beach, pretty much same thing - thumbs down! Body for Life - I pretty much follow that now, lost 25 lbs initially, went down 4 dress sizes and have maintained that level for 1 year now. I eat 5 -6 x's day, balanced meals and use balance bars as filler snacks. So far so good. My .02$. |
| 2004-05-03 10:43 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Elite Veteran 617 Roscoe, IL. | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I learned how to eat balanced low calorie from a book by Dr. Ellington Darden "Living Longer Stronger". What I didn't like was his negative view on cardio vascular workouts. I like to run and ride. A friend turned me on to "Body for Life". It's become a routine over the last 2 years or so. I like Bill Phillips new cookbook "Eating for Life". Malvey, give me a call when you get into town and don't forget your bike. Don |
| 2004-05-03 11:31 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Extreme Veteran 465 Epworth. Iowa | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Will call Don - my son does "Body for Life" and loves it. I will have to check out the cookbook you mentioned. |
| 2004-05-04 4:54 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| Extreme Veteran 310 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? We tried Montignac metod first (not sure how to spell) with very good results - my boyfriend lost 25 kg alltogether. But, when he quit he gain most of it back. And he likes bread so it was very difficult to follow to him. Now we are on the Zone, but it is not diet; and it is not high-protein/low carbo at all! It has nothing in common with Atkins! The main advantage is - when my boyfrend quit occasionally he gain nothing back! He lost about 8 kg few months ago. Nothing come back! Now we started again. I can tell you the first results at the end of the week. Best of all: during Xmas hollidays I made tons of cakes a la Zone and we were eating and eating whole days and nights lying on the couch watching TV and gained NOTHING! For me the main advantage is - it is hard NOT to follow, once you try! With the Zone I have so much more energy, not sleepy any more, not hungry (in fact - can't eat all the food prescribed), feel much better. Disadvantage is that I have to prepare meals at home and bring it with myself to work (becouse here I don't have opportunity to order Zone meals&snacks like you, folks), and that we must take care to have supply of fresh vegetables all the time. Other disadvantage for me was when I wanted to loose some weght I had to force myself to eat all these stuff - it was too much food for me although it was delicious - and when I eat less I stop loosing weight. One other female on the Zone site reported the same. My boyfriend actually never managed to eat all food prescribed but he lost weight on the couch very easy (about 8 kg) doing nothing else and he already looks much better. In the Zone you loose weight even during the night, while sleeping! (not to mention that secretion of growth hormone is improved... and there is more...) The Zone is so hard not to follow and results are very good. I will follow it for life because it makes me feel great. (And because that way I am sure I am taking right amount of proteins.) I just hope the same will happen to my running. PS. Very important, nobody mentioned: important is to measure progress with tape not scale! BFC is the key, not some stupid number on the scale. ;-) |
| 2004-05-04 6:20 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| Expert 774 England | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Can truely recommend the South Beach - my wife and I have lost 20-25lbs each in 4 months and totally kept it off, and made lasting changes to my diet. Firstly, it is NOT low carb, and is low GI (low glycemic index). It essentially focuses on removing those foods that cause spikes in your blood sugar levels eg white pasta, white rice, white bread, potato and focus on foods that cause less of a spike and your body can deal with effectively eg vegetables, wholemeal/wholegrain pasta, rice etc, beans, pulses, nuts etc. You eat a lot of carbs if you like but make sure you eat the 'right' carbs. It's low in saturated fat (it was created by a heart specialist!), recommends the 'healthy' fats eg fish oils etc and you maintain a standard protein intake. Essentially you ditch the high GI foods and replace with lower GI equivalents. I now eat easily as much or more food as I ever did and have lost weight and now maintain my target weight without any effort. As it is NOT low carb, it works well with training programmes and I haven't noticed any side effects or symptoms. My wife is a doctor and this is the only diet she would ever touch! It sounds a little cliche'd but is a really simple lifestyle change that sticks and is cheap and easy to live with. Gets off the soap box now......... |
| 2004-05-04 10:00 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| New user 49 Iowa | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I forgot about the Bill Phillips, Body for Life cookbook Eating For Life - thanks for the reminder rookie44 - I've tried a dozen or so recipes and some are the best I've ever had! My kids even liked most of them and that is a small miracle in itself! They are easy to prepare and taste great! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for nutritious meals that fit into a training plan. By far on of the best cookbooks I have! (and I have alot) ;-) Edited by bikegal 2004-05-04 10:01 AM |
| 2004-05-05 5:27 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| Member 7 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? hey, well through out my life ive been at times very thin and althletic and sometimes really not. heh. ive tryed alot of diffrent things with eating and loosing weight etc. but I was brought in a very alternative house hold, - with everything including what we eat ( my father learnt this he used to be on the australian in marathons back in the 70's early 80's). but basically we eat a variety of things ever heard of the blood group diet? where you learn to eat specific things that is good for your particular blood group. also we take into account chinese practices and there recomended food and food groups for your particular body type. Im also vegitarian and alergic to milk, - so i drink goats milk or soy products instead and I have very minimal sugar in my diet - ( I decided to cut out sugar about a year ago and the effect is amazing you woudlent think it would effect you to much but it does) and instead of using artifical white sugar ( ie in tea or coffee) I use a natural alternatice - natrual sugar such as malt or honey. also as far as eating goes raw foods instead of cooked - ie raw veggies, brown foods instead of white an example would be brown bread instead of white bread ( I dont eat bread at all i find it drains me if i ever do have anything bready I eat Rye, or pumkinickle bread). and lots of diffrent sorts of herbs, plants etc. The main idea from this sort of eating is trying to cut down of artifical, and preservatives and added fake vitamins they put in food these days and get back to what humans are ment to eat. food from the earth not from the packet. Also i find when you eat - you chew your food right down so its in almost liquid form and you also have the idea in your mind " i eat to live" and not " i live to eat" . that pluss plenty of exersize. Im of a thick body frame - and very strong. but personally If i follow that and train once a day - in any form I stay at a ideal size/weight etc. Im not to sure if this helps.... but believe me i have a wealth of knowledge about this sort of things as well as diffrent natural medicines and foods and throeies on when you should eat, train etc. because of my parents influnece. if anyones intrested you can contact me with any questions and ill try to help you or at least refer you to a good book that would tell you all about your question - or a website  cheers kas |
| 2004-05-05 10:09 AM in reply to: #22624 |
Master 2346 Dayton, Minnesota Bronze member | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Let's see, the summer between my junior and senior years in high school, I decided I was going to lose weight before my senior pictures were taken, so I went on my own "salad" diet. I basically ate toast for breakfast (often totally plain) and then had a salad for lunch and dinner. This might not be too bad, except that my salads were iceberg lettuce, pickles, and Italian dressing. That's it. Real high in nutritional value--NOT. I did lose about 30 pounds in two months, but I also started losing hair by the fistfull. (And honestly it has never really recovered; my hair is much thinner now (at 31) than it was when I was a teen.) I now refer to this as the "young and stupid" diet. The only "name brand" diet program I have tried is Weight Watchers. It did work and I did lose about 25 pounds on it, but I ended up with almost no muscle tone and remember being tired a lot. (Note: I totally understand that this is because I did not eat enough protein; I didn't want to use the points on those relatively points-costly food items, so I didn't do myself any favors there.) When I had a fitness profile done at the health club around that time (1999), the trainer frowned mightily when I reported my great weight loss. He just said something like "We're not big fans of that plan around here" or something similar, and left it at that. I also eventually got tired of counting points and gained almost all of it back. Now I'm basically trying the tried and true "eat less and exercise more" approach. It's slow going though! Kelly |
| 2004-05-05 12:13 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Member 118 spokane, WA | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Hi I do Wieght Watchers. I have lost 20 lbs in six months. It is hard to keep on track, but I keep telling myself I don't even want to be able to register as an Athena. So my goal is by july to get to 149. I don't deprive myself anything, but when I get to the end of my points I stop eating. I don't count my activity points they are just a bonus for me. And I don't count my energy gels, I work those off easy. Kim |
| 2004-05-05 1:18 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Champion 4902 Ottawa, Ontario | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I tried the "I'm not eating anymore because I'm depressed" Diet years ago when my first wife and I broke up. I went from 230 pounds to 145 pounds in no time at all...I did not eat, I just drank lots of coffee and did hundreds of sit-ups and push-ups!!!!!! Duh! What was I thinking of????? |
| 2004-05-05 3:27 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Member 176 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I refuse to diet as I couldn't take the failure. I have been trying to follow the principles of the Zone plan. Basically trying to pay attention to the carbs and only eat good carbs. In 3 1/2 months I have lost 25 lbs and am back down to my college playing weight of 180. |
| 2004-05-06 10:09 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| Elite Veteran 970 Smyrna, Georgia | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? My first diet was at age 10 and administered by my mother at my request. Basically, she fed me healthy things but in smaller portions. As the years progressed, I did the following: 1. Quit eating meat -- didn't work 2. Cultivated bulimia -- I got the gorging part down but was a miserable failure with the purging 3. Prayed for anorexia -- I just couldn't maintain the discipline 4. Exercised excessively -- Worked out 4 hrs a day and lost a few pounds but it came back on 5. Extreme low calorie diets -- I would have anywhere between 800 - 1200 calories per day. At times I'd combine it with exercise. A typical daily menu would be a bowl of bran cereal and a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. 6. Smoking 7. Extreme low fat 8. Dexatrim 9. Slimfast Most of the time, I was doing most of the above at the same time. I didn't start getting better about eating until I got to college and just developed a better self-image. Since graduating, I've tried the Slimfast and South Beach diet. Both left me too tired to go with whole-heartedly. I also used the wisdom tooth extraction and tonsilectomy methods but those provided only temporary results and were one-shot deals. ;-) I now focus on eating more often, with more protein and sticking with whole-grain carbs. That seems to be working very well. My weight is very slowly going down without sacrificing energy. Right now, I'm just a little concerned about being dehydrated. According to my fat percentage scale, my weight went down but fat percentage went up. That means I've lost water so I'm working on re-hydrating. In general, exercising towards a goal has encouraged me to view food as fuel, which is by far the healthiest attitude I've ever had! Edited by Whit 2004-05-06 10:10 AM |
| 2004-05-07 4:03 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Member 8 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? For me, the "no alcohol, no cigarettes" diet is pretty much all I need - for some reason, I like healthy food. However, the best dieting guidelines that I've come across are in MY FAVORITE FITNESS BOOK EVER: QUANTUM FITNESS - Breakthrough to Excellence. By Irving Dardik and Denis Waitley It's out of print, but you can get a copy on half.com for about $6.00 counting shipping. I'm just getting my willpower/ fitness/ life back. I read your motivation articles last night, and they really, really helped me. I dragged myself out of bed this morning and ran. It was great!!!! I mean, after only 20 steps, I was lovin' it! Thanks for tri'n, Malvey Wes |
| 2004-05-10 1:45 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| Extreme Veteran 410 The Great Pacific Northwest | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I have successfully lost over 100 pounds on Weight Watchers and even though I am at goal, I still do the program every single day. I am the type of person who if I am not 100% organized with something, I am a mess. That goes for my home life, personal life, nutrition, and work. Weight Watchers allows me to organize the way I eat and monitor closely the relationship among satisfaction, calories, nutrition, and exercise. I journal my food every day (still) using both the Weight Watchers online program to keep track of points and the program from www.fitday.com. The Fitday program allows me to take a look at the nutritional makeup of my day, while I find counting points (as opposed to calories) a lot easier. Weight Watchers isn't so much a diet as it is a way to manage the nutrition and exercise area of your life. I can't for the LIFE of me figure out why a personal trainer would suggest that it is a "bad" plan since truly all it is is counting your caloric intake and burning more calories than you eat. Yes, people can be silly on the program and load on tons of low fat, low nutrition, high yield foods, but that's a personal choice and not one condoned by the program. For people who can be extremely self disciplined but need something to provide guidelines, it is a great program. Not a diet...not at all. Just a food management program. Edited by teechur 2004-05-10 1:55 AM |
| 2004-05-10 8:41 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| Elite Veteran 748 northern Illinois | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I've never been on a diet. Which is not the same thing as saying that I've never needed to lose weight. I have and I do. I'd be more comfortable if I weighed 20 pounds less than I do. All I'm doing is exchanging some bad habits for good ones -slowly, I'll admit. Whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, fewer baked treats (even though I love to bake), more vegetables, WAY more fish... I've always exercised a lot, and I haven't lost a pound in literally years, so clearly it's the eating that's the culprit. Of course, there WAS the ice cream cake yesterday, but I only had one piece and we left the remainder of the cake at DS's apartment. Two college-aged boys can probably polish that off PDQ! Andrea |
| 2004-05-16 7:19 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| 15 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I had to do double days for Crew. Rowed and ran from 7-10 and then from 2-5...too tired to eat...that was interesting. I lost 7 lbs. Now, I write down every little thing that enters my mouth (this helps me maintain weight ) |
| 2004-05-16 7:20 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| 15 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? Oh yeah- I'm a vegetarian! Don't eat much dairy and lots of veggies! |
| 2004-05-20 10:44 AM in reply to: #22624 |
| 13 | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I've been a raw-vegan for the past 4 months. I've lost 35lbs and gained lots of muscle. The muscle is from the tri training. I feel amazing. Compared to all the other diets I've tried in my life, which is about everyone you could name, I feel the healthiest with this style of eating. FYI- Raw-vegan means nothing cooked or heated over 105 degrees. Plus, no animal products. Basically that leaves you with fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It sounds a little boring but there is actually an amazing amount of recipes to choose from with only these ingredients. |
| 2004-05-23 2:22 PM in reply to: #22624 |
| Extreme Veteran 617 Covington (New Orleans), La | Subject: RE: What Diets Have You Tried? I think I have tried almost everything. The two things that have "stuck" and provided long-term benefits are Sugar Busters (the book is very informative!) and Weight Watchers. After cutting sugar from my diet and switching to whole grain products, I was amazed at how much weight I lost (as well as my husband) and how much sugar will affect me now if I do consume it. Weight Watchers taught me how to eat what I wanted in moderation as well as have more of a balanced diet. I lost 35 pounds and have kept it off for 2 years. Easiest and best thing I have ever done for myself and my health. I still track my daily "points" and it is a small price to pay for long-term weight management and maintaining healty eating habits. My husband also started tracking his points and dropped from 280 pounds to 205. He has also maintained his weight loss. |
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