Counting calories here too....tracking them daily on a site I can't mention. I track EVERYTHING--the good, the bad and the ugly! And believe me, some days are UG-LEE!!
Christmas 2004 when I decided I couldn't go on like this any more, I bought a book called Fat Girl Slim about an English food writer and restauranter who lost 60lbs. What she wrote resonated with me "it's not my diet it's yours" A lot of her tips and suggestions don't work for me. She is not a breakfast person, I am eating small furry animals by 10 am if I don't eat breakfast, and she doesn't believe in exercise, which I wholeheartedly do.
So I make good choices, keep it low GI when possible, and exercise regularly.
I toss up joining a formal plan, because I do miss the face to face support, the gold stars, the claps etc, but I kinda get that in other ways, from my friends and from here of course.
I know myself well enough to know that I can't just try to count calories on my own - that becomes a never-ending "I'll do it tomorrow" thing for me and tomorrow never comes. I follow WW and it works for me because it is with normal food that I eat every day and you can customize it to fit your eating style - it's very simple for me and that's what I need. I didn't want to join something where I had to eat "their pre-made meals" that you purchase each week, because I didn't feel that teaches me to eat normally for the rest of my life. I track my points every day and that's kind of a pain sometimes but if it works, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I also enjoy going to the meetings (I'm on a WW at Work program) as it makes me feel like I'm doing something special for me.
I know that everyone is different and has to do different things. I think it's just a matter of trial and error sometimes.
One thing I do on weight watchers that is definetly modified is that any breads and stuff I eat are whole grain. The weeks that I do this I can see a huge difference on the scale. For example the fam likes pizza night on thurs and I buy a south beach pizza. On spaghetti night I like to get whole wheat pasta and whole wheat garlic bread. I like to add a salad to the 'bad' days' like above.
I just do this because I know there is something to low carb/high fiber. I have lost that way before but I want to be able to have fruits and stuff.
I sort of made my own plan up. I focus on exercise rather than eating anyway which gives me a bit more leeway to slip up from time to time. A lot of the commercial diets do have common themes - fruit and veg, lean meat, complex carbs rather than simple ones etc, so I basically looked at what foods I liked, which were healthy to eat more of and which ones to cut down on, just re-balancing what I already ate. So whereas I might have had chocolate as a snack four days and fruit one, I switched to four days of fruit and one of chocolate.
Then I started introducing other foods that seemed similar to food I already liked. So trying different sorts of berries, or vegetables. Buying meals that were 90% things I liked with one new ingredient. Almost every time the extra ingredient wasn't bad at all, and moved onto the list of things I eat regularly over time.
It's been trial and error more than anything, I'd have lost through exercising anyway, but changing my eating has definitely increased the speed I lost.
Doing it for myself means it's definitely more sustainable. Also, I can rewrite the rules if I really want to squeeze something like chocolate or wine in!
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful answers. I am not sure what I will do, but you have given me a lot to think about!
And for those whom I already knew from this forum, thanks for piping in! Elijah (and I'm impressed some of you remembered his name!) is a big 2 1/2 year old now, and couldn't be more delightful. We would love to adopt again, but can't figure out how to swing it financially at this point. There's a clock ticking too (thought I was done with that when we chose adoption!) because the Korea program has an age limit. We're not sweating it just now - God's got it all figured out!
My health is declining - I've been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis among other things - and I am back here specifically because of this. I'm having a lot of pain in my feet and knees and know that losing weight would take away a lot of the stress on those joints.
DH has just started Atkins again: it's always a good thing when we're both in control of our eating at the same time!
I am trying to figure this out as well. In the mean time I have been trying to count calories. I have also been doing a lot of reading on nutrition and overeating. I see some of the plans and know I can not do them. I am trying to just eat healthy and incorporate good wholesome foods in my diet. You will find something that works for you and you will be successful it just takes a little time.
I think Atkins is helpful for Rheumatoid Arthritis. I believe I have it too, though I haven't been diagnosed (other than being told years ago that there were "some signs" of it). I know I feel much better, my joints hurt less, my wrists don't make my hands go to sleep at night as much, and I ache less in my joints since doing this diet and getting rid of the excess carbs.
Carbs cause more water to be retained by the body and that tends to cause some pain. Plus you tend to get plenty of calcium on Atkins. You might try it.
Welcome back!! I remember you, too. It's good to see old faces/names.
I've been doing my own program. This time around, I found I needed to build in more flexibility, and slow down my expectations, and really focus on the successes to stave off discouragement.
So I primarily count calories. We eat out a lot, and this allows me the flexibility I need. I aim for 1500-1800 a day, with one (optional) day a week where I count them but don't limit them. I average around 1700 a day, over a month.
Within that calorie framework, I have a couple of guidelines to follow:
Aim for 5 servings of fruit/veg
Drink more water
Make protein the centerpiece of any snack/meal, then build from there
Eat whole grains
Cut back on sugar and refined flours
Watch the portions and eat more mindfully (stop when I start feeling full, etc.)
Move my body more often (lifestyle exercise) like taking stairs, walking from a farther Metro stop
Exercise three times a week ("formal" exercise), like a 20+ minute walk, a bike ride, an exercise video tape (I have all sorts, ranging from Tae Bo to PIlates to stretch to Latin Rhythm Cardio to Sweating to the Oldies)
My loss is slow, about a pound a week. But it's fairly steady, and it's something I can do forever.
