With so many diets out there like to here what is working for you and do you work out?
I have just restarted and I have joined a fitness club... I tend to do well on low carb when I have a good menu to follow which I am trying to put together...
bigjoe, I did low carb for a few weeks but transitioned to calorie counting using myfitnesspal. I have seen a similar loss on both plans. I'm still more carb conscious than I probably have to be, but it works.
I look at it this way, find a HEALTHY, food plan, that allows for good nutrition, and allows for life, because it does happen.
As far as workouts, to me, I do that for the health benefits. You can't out exercise bad nutrition.
What it boils down to, if finding balance in a healthy food plan, for nutrition, feeling good, and being healthy, and an exercise plan that you like, and is also beneficial, to long term, health.
As much as I would like to, I can't tell you what that is, because what I do, might make you nuts.
bigjoe, I don't drink a lot of coffee anymore but I did years ago. I can drink it black but prefer it with cream and sugar, which really adds up quick. We had a nutritionist come to a company I worked for a few years back and the first rule he gave everyone is don't drink your calories. I haven't always adhered to that but it makes a difference when I do. From a caffeine standpoint, I use some flavor packs with caffeine for my water in the mornings, but switch to plain water after that. I also make decaf tea to have at home.
I cut out dairy. That was absolutely huge in making me feel better. And I eat more fat - I stopped saying no to the chicken skin and found myself much more satisfied after meals.
I don't eat a tons of bread, but when I do I don't eat modern wheat (usually stick with kamut and spelt). And a green smoothie with two cups of spinach a day.
It was more about giving my body the foods it wanted to be happy and then being able to cut my calories from a place of higher satisfaction and feeling better.
But of course, that's only one aspect. Emotional work, long and time consuming, had to be done too.
I am struck by how what I do is not an "approved" plan (I eat eggs! Regularly!!). But once my body was working properly, the weight has pretty much fallen off.
Right now I am focusing on staying in a calorie deficit and working out (cardio). I am looking into expanding into lifting weights once I get into a routine.
It is a calorie deficit, Keto diet. There are nutritional supplements you take with each meal. It has been working amazingingly well for me. Mild exercise. Walking 10,000 steps a day. Because it is a low calorie diet they do not recommend anything more strenuous than that. Once you are at your goal weight you begin the maintenance portion of the program where your portions are increased as well as the amount of physical activity.
No processed foods, no atrificial sweeteners, no caffiene. One day a week I do what they call "Lipid Loading" I eat just lean meat and nuts or avocados or olives.
What I am amazed with is that I am not hungry between meals and I don't have cravings.
The plan is designed to provide results similar to bariatric surgery, without having bariatric surgery. They claim .5 to 1 pound a day weight loss. I began on July 7 and as of today Sept 4 I have lost 42.6 pounds. That averages to .72 pounds a day. However I will say that two weeks ago I had a week from **** and was away from home and did not do any of my own cooking and had to estimate portions. Plus I indulged in adult beverages. (Which is not allowed on the program.) During that week I gained 2.2 pounds (which I have since lost). If I would have stayed completely on plan I feel I would have lost more weight, but I am still happy with my results.
My husband was put on a low carb/keto diet by his doctor, we chose Atkins Induction, and I do all the cooking, so it was either join him or cook extra. I'm sorta lazy so...... LOL
It's going well. I love the diet personally. That being said, just straight up CICO worked well too. I'm just less hungry on low carb which helps me stay in a deficit and stay full longer. Somedays I miss sweets as I wasn't really much of a starch person, but the longer I stay on it the less those days are.
I also have a fitbit and walk 2-4 miles every day. I try for the 10k steps but I don't beat myself up if I don't get em.
I've done lots of things over the years, calorie counting, keto, paleo, ideal protein, weight watchers, meal replacements. Usually I lost weight as much as 40lbs before I got fed up with whatever method I was using and then I would slowly return to old habits and regain all and usually a little more.
18 months ago I watched forks over knives, read Prevent and Reverse Heart disease, and the China study. Since then I switched my whole family to a whole food plant based diet and I've been losing weight pretty steadily ever since. I'm down 70 lbs now and I am just about to get under 200lbs for the first time in 15 years. I am so happy, not only have I lost weight but I have regained so much of my health, lower blood pressure, heart rate, I can breath more easily. I started walking and at first I could barely walk 2 mph and now I'm easily walking 3.5 mph. My friends tell my I glow, and I have never felt so well and in fact been so well I never get sick anymore.
After years of struggling I feel like I have found the fountain of youth and well being which is just wonderful, and as far as what I eat I get very creative and enjoy all sorts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, in whatever way I put them together. So for me eating plants works, it was a little hard to give up meat and dairy, and refined sugars, I didn't like greasy stuff so that was no problem. I know I will never go back to the standard American diet and because of that I will never again regain the weight I've lost and even though it's been a slow loss of 70lbs I expect to keep losing over time and eventually I'll get to my goal.
I've done so many diets and none of them have given me lasting results. This time around, my diet of choice is MODERATION and HEALTHY CHOICES. There are no forbidden foods. If I really crave something, I have it. The difference is I choose to enjoy a smaller portion. I am also having success with adding probiotics to my daily life. My digestive tract has improved in function and I feel better than I have for a long time. I also track my portions, food groups, and weigh in everyday. Making a few small changes and creating healthier habits has helped my lose 40 pounds in 2015. I want to lose 60 more, but I feel like I am on my way to that goal using moderation.
What is working for you?
