Can anyone recommend a good diet?

I've tried the low carb diet, but the minute I eat carbs again...I balloon back up.

I've tried low calorie, but I find myslef tired and sometimes light headed.

I don't think of myself as a HUGELY overweight person, but apparently the CDC classifies my Body Mass Index in the obese category, and I'd need to lose about 60 pounds just to be considered on the high end of being "overweight".

Any suggestions?

I used this website to help me get everything under control and I didn't use a specific diet, just changed the eating habits. I lost about 12 lbs and have kept it off since the beginning of February, now to start on the rest of the weight I need to lose. My hubby is down almost 50 lbs. He is able to get more excercise time in than I can. I liked how you could plan your meals and stay within the calorie/fat, etc limits. I think it costs $9/month and was well worth it.

My son is trying to lose some weight, he has lost about 15 lbs, I know he drinks tons of water no carbonated drinks (he says they make him sluggish and slows him down), he really just tries to eat a little healthier and not so much, he also has cut out sweets. He never had a weight problem until he got in college, and he ate what ever and packed on about 40 lbs, which just drives him crazy.

Eat less....move more. Pretty simple really.

It is a very smart idea to just log everything you put in your mouth for a couple of weeks, do not make any changes to your diet, just log and record what you eat and drink. Do that and determine just how many calories you are taking in with each meal, treat and snack. Then you can better understand why you weigh what you do. You must log EVERYTHING though...you are only screwing yourself if you cheat on what you record.

From there, simply practice portion control and move more. Old rule of thumb, and I do not know how true it is, 3500 calories is a pound, give or take.

So either eat 500 calories a day less, or move 500 calories a day more, or some combination of the two, and you should begin to see a gradual, safe weight loss.

And the biggie, Water is you new best friend....huge weight loss aid. And drop the regular soda...bad, if you MUST drink soda, drink diet.

The website is a great idea, but you can do it for free too by reading the food lables of what you eat, or go online to the websites of what you eat....most nutritional info can be found there free of charge too, restaurants included.

Also, online WeightWatchers is $17 a month. Their points plan is good, easy to use, and very helpful.....I have used it successfully and kept the weight off.

The nice things about logging what you eat, and WW and what Kiwi recommened...you are eating all the same things you eat now, but learning how much of it to eat. This way, once you lose the weight you want to, you can keep eating those great things, but now you know how much of it you can eat and maintain your new weight! Plans that restrict what you eat, or provide your meals for you never teach you how to eat or cook after the plan, and thus you balloon up, as you mentioned.

I too did the carbs thing, and it worked great!!! It was tough, but I actually felt better and stable through the day (no sugar highs/lows) and lost 20lbs!! But once I weaned off of it, I gained nearly 35!!

Now I know you might not have read this since I know you have resigned as president of my fan club, so be it. Weight loss is tough though...not everyone is naturally at a healthy weight. It is a long and tough process to do it safely and doing so makes it last, so I wish you the best of luck in whatever plan you try.

I have known that I needed to lose weight for a year or two. I'm still fairly small, but much bigger than I was. My husband made a comment to me a couple of weeks ago that really sunk in and I got motivated. I am eating less and eating better choices (went to Backyard Burger and at a grilled chicken sandwich and a baked potato) and exercising more. I'm only down about 6 pounds in the last 3 weeks (and I want it all off NOW), but have about 12-14 more to go.

Logging down everything you eat is a GREAT idea. Kind of like writing down everything you spend when you want to budget your funds. Then you can actually see what you're putting in your mouth.

Best of luck to you, Frank, and this is the place to go to remain motivated and help with issues.

I lost 105 pounds last year and have had no trouble keeping it off. I completely changed the way that I eat and have never felt better. I went from 247 down to 140-142 - 38" waist down to a 30" size 46-48 jacket down to a 37-38. I loosely followed the Weight Watchers Core Program and then added an exercise program after about 4 months. I eat lean cuts of meat (grilled, never deep fried), whole grains, fruits and vegetables. I don't deny myself carbs, just chose the right carbs - low fat whole grains. I also stay away from soda - even diet soda. After I started eating healthy, I had to also start looking at portion sizes. I am can now ride my bike 30 miles with no problems and have been running 4 miles a day weather permitting.

The weight watchers thread here in the couch kept me on track.

Skittles illustrates a great point.

The equation eat less, move more is simple. It is putting it practice that is hard. Small changes like switching for a grilled chicken sandwich vs a burger often helps in making the transition into changing portion sizes and starting exercise. Consider these small starter changes:

- If you drink coffee daily, switch to a half decaf or just decaf. The lack of caffeen (sp) helps your body make better use of the water.

- Replace each can of soda with water or diet soda.

- Drink a glass of water before each meal. Water helps to fill your stomach a bit, and thus feel full quicker.

- Put your fork down between each bite. Our stomach fills with food faster than it lets your brain know you are full.

- If you eat out, before they bring the food to you, have them put half in a togo bag, and only bring you half the meal. Now you have also paid one price for two meals!

- When you make that bowl of ice cream for the night, put half the ice cream back in the carton after you scoop it, or limit yourself to one scoop less than you normally would give yourself.

- If you bag your own lunch, start to include a handful of celery or carrot sticks. Better for you, and helps keep you a bit more regular too, if you know what I mean.

- Keep gum or sugar free hard candy at your desk....if you get hungry, pop a piece.

- If you get hungry between meals, have a glass of water first. Then if you are hungry 10-15 mintues later, then have a treat. Often times you are not that hungry, but actually thirsty.

- Use a smaller plate at dinner. We tend to fill our plates when we eat...you can't eat what is not in front of you. And take only one plate!

- Skip mayo, use mustard.

- Did I mention drink more water?

- When eating a salad, do not pour dressing on the salad...dressing on the side, dip your fork first, then into the salad.

- Eat an apple or orange a day as a treat or part of a meal/dessert.

- Replace burgers or fried chicken sandwiches with grilled chicken, or if available ostrich or buffalo....very lean meats and taste just like a burger, just a tad drier.

- Skip the dessert, or ask for a fruit plate or sherbert instead. Offer to split the dessert.

- More fish. Grilled or baked, not fried

- For lunch, replace your main item with a frozen lunch 2-3 days a week. Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones, have really improved their tastes and are quite good...plus very cheap when on sale! Most are between 250-350 calories...add some carrots and sugar free Jello pudding up (60 calories) and you have a fairly filling lunch!

Just a couple of ideas that have helped me lose and maintain my weight loss.

I can't say enough good things about the Weight Watcher Core plan. I lost nearly 60 pounds and have had no problems maintaining my weight loss for the last 5 months. Core never did feel like a diet either, just a healthy lifestyle.

My weightloss was slow, over a year, but it gave me time to acquire the healthy habits I would need to maintain a healthy weight.

The only regret I have is that I did not join WW years ago, that
I spent many years "fat" when I could have been a normal size.

Although weight loss is not easy the rewards are off the charts. Good luck --

Oh, by the way, I went to weekly meetings and found the group support beneficial. I still attend meetings once each month to maintain my lifetime status.

I'm losing and feeling great right now. I'm following something very simple (simple to remember... more challenging to implement!): no flour, no sugar. That's no flour of any kind - no whole wheat, no enriched refined white, none of it, and nothing that says "sugar" or "high fructose corn syrup" on the ingredients list. I'm also aiming for at least 20 minutes every day of brisk walking, plus light weights/high repetitions. I feel terrific, and I'm losing steadily and slowly.

It's difficult, but the rewards are amazing. My doctor is fully on board with this, and I have 2 friends (a married couple) who've lost a total of 65 pounds in 4 months simply doing the no flour-no sugar part, with no exercise at all. They've now added exercise and are continuing eliminating flour and sugar and they're doing great with it so far.

From everything I've read from reputable doctors, this is a healthy way to go, and I'm loving it.

I logged everything I put into my mouth for 2 months and was startled by how MUCH sugar and how MUCH of the bread products I was putting in my mouth unaware. Processed foods you wouldn't even think of have added sugar - weird stuff you wouldn't expect, believe me, read labels!

I've done a zillion fad diets over my lifetime, and this "diet" really eliminates what I believe to be causing the problem in my life. Can I completely eliminate flour and sugar forever? Probably not. But I can do so to lose what I need and then be extremely conscious about limiting these items when I add them back to my diet. Wish me luck!

Good luck to everyone struggling with issues of weight - it's tough but a challenge that CAN be surmounted. Congrats to everyone who's doing/done it!

I have been meeting with a personal trainer and he recommends eating six small meals a day, making sure to never skip breakfast.

This is a really good website if you want to keep track of your food intake, exercise, and weight goals. And best of all, it is free.

http://www.fitday.com/

Great ideas, everyone (re-reading through the thread)! I'm doing that, too, Roxy - eating 6 mini-meals spread through the day instead of 3 big ones, and always eating breakfast. It helps me feel less deprived and I'm rarely actually feeling hunger. I nibble all day on carrot sticks and celery too, and chew a little sugarless gum in between. Psychologically, I feel like I'm continuously eating and shouldn't be LOL. That's the years of starve-myself bad fad diets speaking.

First you have to ask yourself - what is my lifestyle? What is my belief about food? What is my goal?

There are so many theories out there, and plenty of them work. But unless you can believe in it and commit to it, there's no point in trying it.

Here are some things you need to first evaluate:
-Do I view food as fuel, as reward, as cultural... all of the above?
-Do I agree with the notion of 'forbidden foods'?
-Do I need a program to tell me what to do, or can I attain modification with a general theory?
-Do I feel better when I eat 3 square a day, or when I eat every two hours, or something in between?
-Do I have the time/desire to prepare food?
-How much time/what time of day do I have available for exercise?
-Is my goal to fit into that little black dress by Saturday? by next year? to drop 50 cholesterol points? to get healthy? to look buff?
-...

Answer these kinds of questions, and you'll be better informed in choosing a strategy, and more likely to succeed.

...and now I want a snack!

Drink a glass of water first!

I used that website too!

...sorry, can't - water is a forbidden food on my plan!

Don't go on a diet, starting eating organic. I started using everything organic, mayo, ketchup, mustard and if I felt like eating meat it was organic.I lost 20lbs by eating only organic. You do have to do little exercise, I use a rebounder for about 10 mintues every morning. Don't eat at fast food places and don't drink soda, you will lose weight. Good luck!

????

You've piqued my curiosity....do tell!

You should read (Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About) by Kevin Trudeau. That will give you alot of insight about losing weight.

bbs - of course I wasn't serious! It was a lame joke. My plan, in fact, calls for a plethora of water. It especially helps to drink a glass when I'm feeling logy. Har har!

LOL...My gosh, has it gotten to the point that I am senile and I cannot recognize a joke?!?!?!

I try to drink at least two glasses of water before each meal. I am so sick of water!! I wish they made no calorie Dr Pepper flavor to add. That would make my life a lot easier.

I think the most important factor in losing weight and keeping it off, is adopting methods to lose the weight that you are willing to continue for the rest of your life. If it is giving up sugar, so be it, but to be successful down the road you are going to have to stay off sugar.

When I have dieted in the past I attempted to do so without making any real changes other than cutting back on the amounts I consumed. You know, instead of eating a big bag of chips I'd consume a 100 calorie pack of lower fat treats. In the short run I would succeed but that success was always short lived.

Permanent weight loss requires change, not only in what we consume (fresh fruit instead of chips) but our activity level. One of the things I had to give up was alcohol. I continue to have a drink on special occasions but it is not something I can partake of on a regular basis. Well I could but I'd soon start gaining. As for fast food, it is nearly 2 years since I have had any of that but I don't miss it like my wine and vodka!!

Do you realize you used two "words of the day" in this sentence. DQ would be so proud.

Actually KC, she used all 3! Nice job, Bailey!!!