What diet worked for you?

[motely36]

I need to lose about 20 lbs.

There are so many different ones. I need one that is simple to follow or else I am not going to follow through.

Thanks

[mcctatas]

1. having my life become a swirling vortex of suck...

and giving up fast food

[motely36]

2. yea...i'm trying to cut down on stress!

:hi:

[AlCzervik]

3. The South beach diet worked me.

but it might not work for everyone and you don't have to be as hard core during the first 2 weeks, i wasn't and i still lost a lot of weight and i've kept it off.

Not endorsing it, just telling you about it.

[Tikki]

4. South Beach...

It is the easiest, hard core, diet I have been on ...
Also, not endorsing it, just telling.


Tikki

[AlCzervik]

5. i kept and emergency box of Mike and Ike's around the first 2 weeks and ate them

when i felt the urge, it might have slowed me down by a little bit in terms of weight loss but i knew denying all verboten foods would not work for me so i changed things when i felt the need. The first 4 days sucked big time though, i had a migraine and i was almost about to give up but on day 5 i woke up and it was gone.

[motely36]

6. I will look into this one

Thanks

[Shakespeare]

7. Second that.

And once you get to the maintenance phase, it's pretty easy to stick to.

[Richardo]

8. I concur with this assessment

:thumbsup:

After the two-week startup, I actually lost the desire for sweets and other carbs. No interest at all.

[graywarrior]

9. Spinning classes

Diets don't work for me. I need intense workouts. Spinning classes burns up to 700 calories per class. I lost 15 lbs in one month and still ate what I wanted (not over eating, just balanced meals)

[underpants]

15. Those people scare me

Not that I have SEEN inside that room but I have HEARD them in there

:scared:

I have found swimming to be a great workout. But I just got cleared to run again so I think the loooong winter months will see a mix of the two.

[graywarrior]

22. They scared me too.

I took someone with me the first class.

[Connonym]

27. A spinning class put my ex in the hospital with kidney failure

Series! Since he ended up being okay it's a funny story. He was trying to impress some woman so even though he is massively overweight (100+ lbs) and out of shape he pushed his way through the spinning class until the end. My understanding of it is that the acid produced by the muscle exertion overwhelmed his kidneys and shut them down. I think he was in the hospital for 4 or 5 days and there was talk of needing dialysis. So the moral we took away from this story is that exercise can kill ya.

[RebelOne]

10. Stay away from all meat and and starches. Limit sweets and exercise.

Worked for me. Have lost 20 pounds within the last 6 months.

[motely36]

11. I wont have a problem limiting exercise!

:D

[pink-o]

34. I got bad news 4 you! Exercise is the ONLY thing that works!

I'm almost 54 and I spent YEARS on fad diets in my 20s and 30s. There were really stupid ones back then: the Stilton Diet, the Scarsdale Diet, and my personal favourite: The starve-yourself-until-you're-brain-chemistry-goes-nutso-and-you're-ready-to-eat-the-window-treatments-but-you're-too-weak-to-get-out-of-bed Diet.

Yeah. That's a REAL good way to lose weight and keep it off for the rest of your life.:sarcasm:

Anyway, I started off not even fat: I'm 6'1" and weighed 150, but since I thought I should be a size 0 like a supermodel, I did everything stupid and ended up sabotaging myself. By the time I was 36 I weighed 190. I couldn't even imagine exercising because I sucked at aerobics and hated the gym. But I discovered cycling, started running again, and even though initially I was slow and breathless, the body adapts.

I made it thru a bad divorce in my 40s and gained 15 pounds last year at the tail end of menopause, but I'm back to 155 lbs and loving the gym and biking around San Francisco.

I only share this story because I am the LAST person who would ever consider myself in good shape or athletic just a few years ago. But if you find something you love to do, it doesn't feel like exercise--and I could never have gotten back into shape at my age by diet alone!

Get a walking group together, or a street hockey team, or else if you're a loner like me, an IPod and a treadmill work just fine! You're not competing with anyone, just out to have fun!

The rest falls into place. You automatically start eating better and feeling great!

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I used the Atkins diet to lose 40+ lbs. and have kept the weight off for over 4 years.

The first two weeks were a challenge, but the weight fell away so fast that it made it easier to stick with it. The only modifications I make to my diet now is using Splenda in my coffee, rarely eat bread and try to see that I put more vegetables on my plate than I do high-carb foods.

No recommendation here, just my experience. I have met people who lost weight on it and I've met people who weren't able to stick with it. There has been a lot of negative press about the Atkins diet.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. My dear motely36!

I just ate less, and exercised more...

The pounds came off, and stayed off...

You have to do what you can live with, or else the pounds return...

I still eat desserts, just less...

I am not deprived or unhappy...

And I lose the weight.

Simple...

Not easy, though.

[motely36]

17. I know...

I just have problems with commitment (in all areas of my life). ;)

I never seem to have time to cook, so i am always eating fast food.

Now over 40, it's catching up with me!

Oh yeah, and I just quit smoking

[LeftyMom]

14. I lost 40 lbs in a year with very loose adherence to this one:

http://www.amazon.com/McDougall-Plan-John/dp/0832903922

[underpants]

16. Moderation and workout

I have lost 50 pounds since last February and ran two marathons (one with a broken leg)

Cut down on the bread. Eat fresh (outer ring of the grocery store). organic/local/grassfed beef if you can afford it.

and


sweat

[BOSSHOG]

18. Running 100 miles a month, drinking 100 ounces of water a day

Eating lots of vegetables. I never considered it "dieting" cause I ate just about anything I wanted but I lost the weight and kept it off until I retired and stopped running.

[BarenakedLady]

19. Unfortunately

The only thing that worked reeeeally well for me was depression and anxiety.

I guess I should be thankful I'm no longer skinny.

:shrug:

[MrScorpio]

20. Poverty

Not being able to afford food helped a lot

[Bertha Venation]

21. counting carbs

When I learned I have diabetes (type II), I started watching the amount of carbs I consume. My doctor's guideline was 30-45 carbs per meal, and 15-30 per snack. I lost 35 pounds in about 4 months.

[LaraMN]

23. 1200 calories/ day, running 6days/wk, pilates 3-4 X/ wk.

I did that (in two increments) for about 6-8 months and dropped about 75 pounds. It was probably a little over-ambitious; it's hard to eat a balanced diet on 1200 calories/day. I'd suggest something closer to 1500. It worked, though, and it stayed off. I think it actually inadvertently hosed up my metabolism. I now can't gain weight unless I eat a ton and don't move. It's weird. Maybe it's bad advice, actually. :crazy:

[martymar64]

24. Start smoking crack

and lots of it.

[DarkTirade]

25. The 'too broke to buy food' diet lost me about 15 pounds in a month once.

Although part of that was exercise. 'Cause I spent just about every day that month walking around, filling out job applications.

[Guava Jelly]

26. Heartbreak diet worked pretty good

I wouldn't recommend it though.
:D

[redqueen]

28. Eat healthy snacks between meals..

Eat small meals at mealtimes. Eat only low-fat foods, lots of veggies fruits and only lean meats.

And work out at least four times a week.

The fat just melts away.

[ember dawn]

29. High stress

My life recently became very stressful and in turn I had to change my whole life style. I cut out all sodas and absolutely all candy. I ate nutritionally but very small portions. And most of all I went out and cleaned yards(for exercise) so that I could sweat out all the impurities that were built up in my body. And I drank water all day long as much as I could handle. About 20 days went by and everybody started griping at me for how much weight I was losing. I had lost over 20 pounds and didn't even realize it because of how stressed out I was.

So maybe if you are the active type all you need to do is cut back on sodas and sweets and drinks lots of water and eat smaller portions for a couple of weeks. It worked for me. But it could have been mainly due to the high stress level so I'm not sure it will work for anyone else, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Good luck.

[trof]

30. 1500 cal/day. Walk 3 miles a day. Lost 45 lbs. over 2 years.

http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/dietportions.htm

The weight didn't go on all at once and it doesn't come off all at once.
Slow and steady wins the race.

What's good about this 'diet' is that you can eat ANYTHING.
You just manage portions.
And some head games.

Once you get used to smaller portions it's no big deal.
I am 'full' now with less than half of what I used to eat.

We use smaller plates, so you still see a full plate and still clean your plate.
Sounds silly, but it works.

No longer a 'diet' now.
Just the way I eat.

[applegrove]

31. I did the vogue diet about twenty years ago. It started with two huge glasses of milk and a few

oranges on day one. Don't know if it is still known or if you can find it on the internet.

[old mark]

32. I have lost nearly 50 pounds since spring.

I recommend the "eat less crap and more fruit and veg's" diet. Costs nothing, eat till you are full if it's fruit and fresh veg's. Stop eating crap like snacks, sodas, etc.
Easiest diet to maintain, add just a little exercise, and you will lose big time with little strain. I had been trying to lose weight for years, finally got the right combination.
FWIW, I HATE diet food, and don't eat it - just eat more good stuff.
Works great.
Most "special food" diets are bullshit.
mark

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