What Diets Have You Tried? (Page 2)

Hey Joann - great to have you here and great story. Hope to see you around Bt regularly. Keep us posted on how it goes.

I have tried them all. The shakes (one word...YUCK!), the pills (I have never been so nervous in all of my life), the starvation (while doing my student teaching I think I ate one meal a day if that...it worked, but I felt like crap). Finally, after ballooning up to my heaviest weight ever I joined Weight Watchers. I have lost about 40 lbs and have managed to keep most of it off. As a previous poster mentioned, it's not a diet as much as it is a program to change certain bad eating habits. For anyone looking to lose weight I highly recommend it.

I've been on Jenny Craig since August of last year, lost 50 lbs in about 5 months, then couldn't drop past 51 pounds. ARgh. Good food, very balanced eating....even had
cake almost everyday! It did get expensive, espeically when I would gain sticking religously to the program.

Thinking about doing Weight Watchers now that I know eating balanced (that silly food pyramid thing is for real I found out) works for me and that'll give me some more
freedom in my food choices.

The whole tri thing is one big fitness challenge to myself to make going to the gym worthwhile.

I tried the beginning phase of the Atkins diet when I first got serious about fitness almost two years ago. At that time I was just walking around my neighborhood 40 minutes to an hour four days a week. I lost twenty five pounds in no time. I kept it off until the weather turned cold and my walking decreased to only once or twice a week. Then came the holidays and I blew the diet and gained it all back and more.

The next spring I joined a gym and in March of 2004 I started the couch to sprint plan on BT, and added weight training. Now I am just trying to eat a balanced diet and avoid sweets and bad carbs and I've lost 18 pounds since March. If I could completely stay away from wine and beer I would probably lose weight faster.

The only "diet" I've ever tried is The Hacker's Diet.
I can't recommend it highly enough, particularly if you prefer an empirical approach. It's a system for weight loss and weight maintenance based on principles of engineering and management created by the founder of AutoDesk Inc. He's published a book on the web that includes tools in Excel spreadsheets for evaluating your diet, weight, goals etc. The book is really well written and incredibly informative and the excel spreadsheets alone are great. I'll be using them for some time to come.

This is really about a reawakening of my desire to be physically fit and to do so with a goal in mind. What has made this most enjoyable is that I'm not just training to lose weight, but rather to accomplish something I've never done. I've made that my focus, the loose fitting slacks have just been an added benefit. Its got to be something you do for yourself out of an inner desire to improve or accomplish.

I don't know how you could seriously have a tri in mind, with all the training involved, and not lose weight. Its a great source of motivation and keeps me away from the Krispy Kreams.

I've been thinking about this a lot this week.

Body for Life - This was good, but a little high on protein for my needs I think. I found that the high levels of protein just did not feel good. Also, I did not really lose any weight on the program although I felt better. As far as the actual excercise program I believe it works the best for someone who is not very fit to start with. This person will see the biggest changes in their body composition over the 12 weeks.

South Beach - The 1st two weeks, where you pretty much cut all foods with high carbs would not be a good plan during heavy endurance workouts, but I found it definitely re-oriented me towards eating more healthy foods. Basically, after the 1st two weeks, you are just supposed to avoid heavily refined foods. i.e. choose whole wheat bread, made with whole wheat flour as opposed to white or wheat bread made with enriched non-bleached flour. I think it's mostly focusing on eating foods that are as close to their "natural" state as possible. I lost 6 lbs during the first two weeks, which was a great jump start.

Mostly, over the past ?? years I've been doing "eat less and you'll weigh less." The problem is that your body will eventually accomodate to the lower calorie thing and you won't lose weight (or you'll binge eat.) I think this is what is/was happening to me. I decided to use Fitday.com to track calories and see what was happening with my diet etc, because since the first two weeks of South Beach I haven't really lost any weight, even though I really should have based on fitness indicators and my workouts. What I've realized over the past week is that part of my weight loss issue might be the fact that I am not eating enough food. I had the impression (and this is probably from too many years of the "eat less, weigh less" mentality) that I was eating a LOT. I mean, I fully expected to see the calories eaten a day easily come in over 2000. In fact, I was expecting somewhere around 2500. I could not be farther from the truth. In fact, the calories per day are averaging out to about 1500 per day. And, this is with me trying to pull up those numbers a bit, because I know that 1500 is not enough energy to have really successful workouts.

As I've been increasing my calories this week I have also noticed an interesting phenomenon. My cravings have disappeared and I am feeling more hunger. So, now I'm wondering if I have ignored my energy needs for so long that my body has sublimated hunger into intense food cravings. I have been unhappy with myself for sometimes not being able to control my eating, but now I think that my body was saying "Hey, I need energy and I don't care if it's good or not! FEED ME!" I also felt like I was consuming a LOT of food/calories which was obviously not the case at all.

We'll see if this has any effect at all on the scale over the next couple of weeks.
Shellee in CA

i did weight watches ages ago with good results. after my first daughter was born, i got back to my pre-pregnancy weight in 3 months...but that weight was still high for my size. so, when she was 18 months old, i did the kashi diet. it worked really well for me, but not because of the shakes or cereal. what it taught me was that when i control my portions, i will drop pounds. so, my most successful diet is a pretty cheap one - just a scale and a measuring cup.

I have tried Atkins, Scarsdale, Cabbage, Sommers, Pritikin etcetera.

Everything worked - temporarily.

I have dropped 1/3rd of my body weight in the last 2 years as a result of exercise and http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/food_guide_rainbow_e.ht... - not very sexy but it worked.

Denis.

I'm a Weight Watcher lifetimer. 51 yrs old /5'3" /weight 118 pounds
Have lost 50 and maintained it for 2+ yrs.
I continue to go to weekly meetings, weigh in at meetings, utilize food portion control, Journal my food entries, and enjoy a variety of fitness choices.
I eat a balanced diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits/veg and lean protein.
I enjoy snacks and treats on occasion.

It works if you work it.

I have lost 105 pounds over the last 2 years. I have done it by watching my calorie intake and eating from the food pyramid. No fancy anything. I keep a daily notebook with my food intake and exercise. I give myself 1 meal a week where I splurge. So, sometimes I have a big dessert and fried food. Whatever I want 1 time a week. Seems to be working for me. I eat 6 meals a day (all small) and make sure that I eat my fruits and veggies!

I've lost 115 pounds since June 2002 using a modified version of the Body For Life plan. I eat 5-6 small meals a day, consisting of lean protein and complex carbs. I also allow myself pretty much any veggies that I want (that's why it's modified) and I do have the free day once weekly when I eat absolutely anything that I want. And I do mean ANYTHING!

Paired with 5-6 workouts each week, it's working. Of course, it's not working as quickly as it did at first. I'm lucky to lose a pound each week now, but it's still coming off...slowly. I can live with that.

Nogills, you lost more than 200 pounds in six months? (Your post says Jan 2004).

Thanks for clarifying! I was thinking, man, what diet is he on??? Amazing story, btw!!

d

Inspirational stories!!

I lost 20 lbs. last fall by following the recommendations in Dr. John McDougall's book. This worked well for me because I was a vegetarian for many years (it's a vegan diet) and didn't have any trouble eliminating meat. My weight loss stall out last October because I had reached my goal (wanted to lose 20 lbs. before a show). I started working out pretty seriously over the winter and have continued through the summer until August when I had surgery. I gained 5-7 lbs back (depending on the day). I'm doing another show and this time I need to expose my midriff. I wanted to drop another 20 lbs. by show date (Oct. 1) but that surgery really foiled my plans and I feel discouraged. I recently read a book called Eat to Live, another vegan diet, but even more strict than Dr. McDougall's. I'm following it about 75% of the time, but that isn't enough. Started back into tri-training yesterday and want to see if the combination of vegan eating and increased exercise will do the trick. I'll feel good if I can lose just 10 lbs. by Oct. 1. but that's only a month away now! Ack!!

Anyway, recap...I do best with weightloss if I follow a vegan diet. I figure that when I need to increase my calories (if that will ever happen) I should do so by eating more nuts and soy.

Nogills, I just read your post and I have to say you are one tough person. Amazing change in your lifestyle and an inspiration to all. On the days when I want to bag the training I may just read your post again. Keep it up.

I've had very good success with Weight Watchers, as long as I look at it as a life style change, not simply a diet. I also find attending meetings is helpful. The last time I did WW I lost 44 pounds. I gained about 8 to 10 pounds back in 3 years, but what I down to was maybe a little low considering my muscle. BF around 17%.

WTG, NYtrigal and Teechur!!! I've never tried Weight Watchers, but it sounds like a really successful method.

Teechur, I tried rock climbing for the first time last February and it was life changing. I never believed I could do that kind of thing. My new motto, that we should never limit ourselves. We can do anything. Life is short and we have to make the most of every moment by removing all of our self-limiting thoughts and fears. It's why I started training for triathlon. Rock climing ROCKS!



Edited by CherylAnn 2004-10-11 1:12 PM

Wow Nogills your doing so well keep up the good work makes my needing to loose a stone and half sound simple!!!

Amen!

I started "training" (mentally) for my first triathlon when I was in the hospital. AT the time I could walk about 25 feet without needing to sit down. Yeah, sure I can do a tri. Haha! Who was I kidding? But I needed to challenge myself. Losing weight has taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to. I am a "never say never" kinda gal.

Next big thing...skydiving on my 40th birthday. I'll be the one screaming "Wahoooooooooooooo....ohdearlordjesuspleasedon'tletmedie....wahooooOOOOoooooooOOOOoooo" all the way down.

This is a GREAT thread. I also lost weight using Weight Watchers. 75 pounds total and have kept it off for almost a year. I looked linto the other diets (fads?) and they just didn't make sense. Pork Rinds as a primary food source? I liked Fit for Life and used part of it for my training plan. The key for me is moderation as I hate to journal or count calories. NO DEPRIVATION! Nothing wrong with a burger and fries now and then as long as I know I will need to work a little harder one day to work it off. :-)

Thanks for the post.

A lost 35 last year the New Fashioned way...I trained for an IronMan!!!!!

Congrats to all you hard-chargers who made positive changes in your lives! People like yourselves are the ones who inspire me in Triathlon, not the stick-twigs wearing the tri-suits