Does it Work? - what HAS NOT worked for you

we have seen where everyone has tried different things so to help us out what HAS NOT worked for you:?:

Oh wow. Let me see, I have 20 years of failed dieting to draw from.

1. At the most basic, starting any diet with the idea it would be "short term" and I would eventually stop and eat normally again.

2. Dexatrim.

3. Low fat diets - did an extremely low fat diet in college (it was all the rage). My goal was 10-15 grams of fat a day. I skipped a period for the ONLY time in my life (thanks happy fun pregnancy scare!) and I lost hair by the handfuls in the shower, literal - handfuls. Not fun.

4. Restrict/binge cycles. Eat too little, body revolts - eats a ton of food. Feel guilty, restrict, binge, restrict, binge. It really made me feel like an out of control, no willpower freak. I hated myself for eating, hated myself for NOT eating, very difficult to pull out of.

Lets see this is what I have tried

Dexatrim
********
Green tea tablets
Fasting ( i would lose but by the first time i ate I gained it plus some)
Hydroxy cut
Extreme Trim

thats all that I tried that didnt work for me!

What has not worked for me: Just trying to eat healthier...no plan, no confining rules and restrictions....just me, being free and trying to make healthier choices.
The problem with this.....it is very very easy to eat too many healthy calories and still not lose weight. As a matter of fact, you can gain on healthy foods, too! Who would have imagined.:)

I've learned that I have to be accountable for the number of calories I consume each day....whether I track WW points, use an exchange program, or actually tally the number each day, I have to be accountable for how much I consume. I fought it in the beginning, but I finally saw the light.

Well . . . Hi there, MARIE . . . I'd say you've definitely proven that there are no magic pills and potions out there. My bottom line is to always remember that it was the tortoise that finally won that famous race. You just hve to keep putting one foot in front of the other and heading in the great downward direction just as much as you possible can. Good Luck on the journey. :hug:

South Beach Diet did not work for me even though I followed it to a tee. In fact, anything that doesn't focus on calorie restriction/portion restriction doesn't work for me. My appetite is too big for those types of plans.

To put it in a nutshell, nothing with a trademark! If it costs money and/or comes in a package, I'm suspicious. A balanced diet managed with calorie counting is what worked for me, along with finding exercise routines that I enjoy.

regular slim fast
slim quick
hoodia
metabalife
Alli... I actually gained weight on this plan.. Low fat is not for me.

What has NOT worked:

1) Keeping Low-cal junkfood in the house (100 calorie packs, skinny cows) they don't help if you eat the whole box.

2) Diet without exercise or exercise without diet. Too hard to keep up long-term I need the balance to create a deficit without feel like I'm starving.

4) Not tracking calories ("points" are ok too but I prefer to use calories)

5) Zone - OMG WAY too much work to follow good concept though

6) Shakes. Hello? I need food damnit.

7) VLC low-fat diets. Gallstones. Ow.

It seems like the only thing that has been consistent (especially on my part) is good old calorie counting (while using caloriecount.about.com) and exercise.

Not for me, but tried:
medifast - which works if you're strict (which I couldn't do)
south beach (haven't really given it a good try)
atkins (boggled my mind and put the weight right back on)
weight watchers (god forbid that I try to understand the thinking behind food and how they equal points)

Restrictive diets... I tried to be vegan and even eat raw foods and ended up with epic binges. In fact, I can't restrict anything. It always sets me up for a binge when something is off-limits. When I finally decided to diet with no restrictions, I actually lost. Knowing I could have something made me desire it less.

This is a good one....

Let's see:
-Vegan (good moral eating, but not for me).
-Low carb
-low sugar
-eating about 1,000 calories a day and walking 6 miles. (I DID lose weight, but this was during the summer when I had loads of time to do so. School came and I gained it all back and then lots more.
-Any type of restrictive eating
-Not eating at all, all day. Mega binge in the evening.
-The flushes....apple vinegar and water. Veggie juice fast. Fruit juice fast. Water Fast. Etc. :)

I was put on the Atkins diet when I was a teen, and just ended up with really high cholesterol. Also, alli didn't seem to have any effects.

Most of the things I've tried were really restrictive dieting - 1000 cals per day or less. I'd also binge then feel guilty, not eat, but then binge again.

I tried slim fast when I was younger with my mom, but it didn't work out too well. I also tried a simple 'fruitarian' diet. And I also tried being a vegeterian.

What HAS worked? Simple calorie counting. It's not a diet. I can still eat the things I love, I just have to work them in to my daily totals for the day, and eat them in moderation. I learned that I cannot tell myself I will never eat a food again, but I can, however, control how much of this food I put in my mouth.

Also, alli didn't seem to have any effects.

Hee, based on what I've heard of the "effects" of Alli, maybe no effect at all is a positive? ;)

I personally love a vegan diet but I don't think its a diet plan, especially with the availability of such good vegan food :)

Only thing that has worked for me is watching what I eat and exercising.

Atkins has worked beautifully for me...for almost 5 years now:carrot::carrot:

Atkins ...... I gained 5 pounds in the intro period.
Slim Fast
Dexatrim
VLC diet .... I lost the weight, but totally bottomed out my metabolism, so when I started eating again, I gained it all back in a couple of months

This is a great thread!
I have not tried a lot of the things mentioned here, but I've thought about doing them. I always try simple calorie counting / portion control, but I always fall off the wagon. I did try the grapefruit diet with my mom as a teenager, but of course you can't stick with that for long. Nothing works until you have the right motivation (from within) and realize that it has to be your life, not a "diet". I just had to change my mentality - instead of thinking of the diet as a punishment, I've started thinking of it as doing something good for myself. I still have bad days, but no all-out binges anymore (so far).

Let's see, I've tried:

Atkins
LA Weight Loss
Vegetarian
Cabbage Soup
Fasting
Lemonade

I agree with everyone who says that watching the total calories consumed is the key. The correct mentality doesn't hurt either. :D

What has not worked for me?

Just "watching myself" and being "careful", cutting back on my portions. "Everything in moderation". Back when I was a teenager - low calorie.

The only thing that HAS worked for me is calorie counting with an emphasis on healthy, nutritious foods.

But honestly, that probably wouldn't have "worked" either if I wasn't WILLING to MAKE IT WORK. You really can only get out of it what you put into it.

lean cuisine. I didn't get that you needed to count your calories :)

I haven't really tried many commercial products.

I gained most of my weight eating primarily healthy foods. Even if I am trying to lose weight, I gain or at best maintain if I don't count calories.

Stress. ;)

I gain weight under stress. Not a good diet.

Wow so many

1. Phentermine - I thought it worked, I lost 98lbs. However once I got off all the weight came back on because I was so hungry.
2. Atkins - I hated every minute of this. I lost 10 and gained 18.
3. Alli - it worked no side effects but I learned to cheat. With a healthy lifestyle and exercise I could see this working.
4. anything with a name - it is just a gimick

Right now it has been 16 weeks and I am losing slowly, very slowly. I have lost 26lbs. I am happy with that and I have never wanted for anything. I love exercising and I love trying new healthy foods. It is life not a diet.

Every "diet" I have tried has failed.

It wasn't until I learned that I had to change my lifestyle that I became successful.

All things in moderation works for me - but only because I count the calories in "all things". I quickly learned that whole foods are more satisfying, and that if I actually slow down and TASTE my food - they are delicious!

what didn't work:

slim fast
trimspa

what did work:

somersize (except that it was expensive and very restrictive and food combining as well so when I got back into college and didn't have the cash flow and had a crazy schedule, I gained it all back plus 100lbs)

Somersize did teach me the importance of good complex carbs over the crap, it got me to eat many veggies i didn't think i'd ever try (LOVE my brussel sprouts!) and many other things. I also learned a lot about keeping my blood sugar level especially since I have hypoglycemia and bi polar.

what I'm doin now:

calorie counting with emphasis on cutting out added sugars, eating complex carbs, lots of veggies, choosing lower GI fruits like berries and more lean meats.

it allows me to eat what i probably shouldnt have.. if a special occasion arises like a bday party or such.. as long as i've kept it in calorie range.

The Zone.

Not because it's a bad diet, per se, but because it's a bit too complicated for me. I get brain freeze trying to figure it all out.

Oh -- the Atkins diet worked for me prior to my pregnancy, but after I had my son, I just CANNOT do low carb. It makes me very ill. I am still nursing so that could be the "culprit", but I just can't do it.

Anything (except for "Making The Cut") that promised results too soon. Anything but counting calories and exercising.

1) Hydroxycut
2) The Zone
3) South Beach
4) The low to no carb diet

~choirgirl~

Slim fast!

What didn't work for me...this list is going to get loooong ;)

- calorie counting
- apple cider vinegar
- iodase patches
- gift diet
- elimination diet
- dissociate diet
- food intolerances diet
- kousmine diet
- linfo massages
- electrostimulator
- various creams and pills...
- vegetarian diet
- ww diet

Medifast and Atkins are the recent 2 that come to mind. Medifast tasted like crap and Atkins was too restrictive.

Okay, I've been on many supplements and some would work for awhile but as soon as I went off I gained the weight back. When my husband and I were on South Beach I loved it I ate all the food he cooked and still lost weight, it did work but again it is a LOT of work and I'm not willing to make the time for the recipes and my husband went and got the lapband and lost over a hundred pounds.

I don't want to have surgery to lose weight I just want to eat better I think my biggest problem is making the time to eat better, if I had a chef to cook for me I would be skinny.. LOL.

Simply they need to make good food more easily accessible, If they had a South Beach or Weight Watchers fast food place or something along this line most of us probably wouldn't have a weight problem. Just my 2 cents

EMW - I personally don't think it takes a lot of time to eat better. I don't eat fast food (unless you count Chipotle) but there are some decent options out there.

I cook a couple hours per week, if that. I make batches of food and eat leftovers. I microwave frozen veggies. It honestly doesn't take a lot of time to eat better, but if you aren't used to it, it might be something you have to learn to do.

Also, I know people are busy but is it worth it to your health to figure out how to make easy, quick healthy meals?

I was just saying I would like better food to be available like fast food is so I would not have to prepare it on my own, that's what I think would help all of us.

What DIDN'T work for me:
- Doctor's Quick Weight loss program, lost weight all right but gained it right back
- Slim fast
- Dexatrim
- any "diet" that was too low calorie or banned any particular food group
- failure to exercise along with the diet
- failure to see the "diet" as a long term lifestyle change

What has worked: Calorie counting with moderate healthy eating that doesn't outlaw any particular food - I just need to stay within my calorie "budget". That, and daily exercise.

I buy bagged salads, nuke fresh or frozen veggies and cook lean proteins in bulk on the weekend to re-heat and make into various meal combinations during the week. I pack my lunch every day. If you plan for it, it doesn't take any more time to make the healthy food than the crap. I can have something ready in less time than take-out. You DO have to plan, though.

WW
WW
WW
WW
Weight Loss Clinic
WW
WW
Phentermine
WW
WW
LA Weight Loss
WW
WW
WW
WW
South Beach
WW
WW
WW
WW

Ok, I have finally figured out that WW does not work for me! I am so slow! I had some success with SB but eventually put the weight back on. I have not been able to lose more than 10 lbs for 13 years (I need to lose at least 50--I am 5'3 & weigh 188) I think the flexibility gave me too much freedom/permission to eat what I want. I am now following Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump Start. I am eating the foods they suggest (and finding some new and interesting foods I enjoy) and following the exercise program too. I like it because it is very easy & manageable and builds more time for cardio and more difficult weight training.

*Dexatrim
*Slim Fast
*100 calorie packs of junk food (sugar/refined carbs don't agree with me)
*Sugar free chocolates (if I'm having a bad day, they trigger cravings)
*Fat Smash Diet (I didn't want to see another bean or grain of brown rice by day three)

*Apple Cider Vinegar (I didn't know I was supposed to drink it with water! I had serious cramping and other effects ;) while I was drinking it STRAIGHT)

* Metabolife (I lost weight, but as soon as I stopped taking it I gained it all back! Plus, I would be weak and woozy because I didn't have an appetite and would not eat all day).

I am currently doing South Beach, and it's working - plus I feel like I can stick with this way of eating for life, because I love to cook, love to eat, and found foods that I can eat that taste good and still stay on plan.

I was successful with weight watchers in the past, but I felt like the flexibility that weight watchers allows was going to get me in trouble this go round.

Atkins didn't work at all for me. I hated the food and didn't lose at all. Awful diet.
Any diet that is too restrictive, like cabbage soup or fasting. I can keep it up for a couple of days, but end up bingeing!

This is a great thread. what didn't work for me:

VLC diets - did lose the weight but it slowed my metabolism and I gained the weight back.

Atkins - did lose the weight but too restrictive and as soon as I started back eating carbs I gained the weight back.

Hydrocut - I've never taken drugs but this had me so wired and my heart beating so fast I stopped. I did lose a few pounds but the side effects were too much for me..

What is working for me is calorie counting and exercising. I write everything down and it's non restrictive and it's a matter of math, calories in vs. calories burned and it works for me the best and most of all it's a lifestyle change not a diet.

For me the issue is whether I can really commit to something or not. I really believe that when I'm committed, I can make something work. So I will not go into detail on all the diets I've tried half-heartedly. :)

But I've learned that the Intuitive Eating approach does not work for me. I need structure, I need a real plan. I LOVE this whole idea and it SHOULD work in theory. Eat what you want, when you want it. Stop when you are satisfied. Well. I ate what I wanted when I wanted, I just had trouble stopping when I was satisfied. I guess I was never satisfied. Now, 25 pounds heavier than I was a year ago when I first tried that out, I am extremely dissatisfied. It just doesn't work for me as a diet plan.

I love Atkins. It is the only diet that has ever worked for me. I gained slowly but steadily on Weight Watchers. I either gain or maintain on counting calories. I am a carb addict, my body cannot process carbs, so Atkins is the only thing that works for me. I'm glad there are people that can eat carbs and still lose weight; I'm not one of them.

What has NOT worked:

1) Keeping Low-cal junkfood in the house (100 calorie packs, skinny cows) they don't help if you eat the whole box.

2) Diet without exercise or exercise without diet. Too hard to keep up long-term I need the balance to create a deficit without feel like I'm starving.

4) Not tracking calories ("points" are ok too but I prefer to use calories)

5) Zone - OMG WAY too much work to follow good concept though

6) Shakes. Hello? I need food damnit.

7) VLC low-fat diets. Gallstones. Ow.

Replace number 5 with diet pills and number 7 with "cleanses"/ fasts and this is me. (this is why I'm struggling at the moment to find/make time for exercise - I have done this before and the way *I* lost weight was with diet and exercise together)

1. Weight Watchers-too much freedom, not enough discipline from me. Got sick of paying, thought I could do it on my own...never did!
2. Fat Smash/South Beach-way too restrictive! I really felt deprived and gave up!
3. Alli-seemed to work, but not like they said...got frustrated and quit
4. Nutrisystem-had it mailed, should have gone into clinic...with no accountability and food not being real good, I quit
5. Most diet pills...

I am going to try the tried and true method of counting calories and exercising and I hope that since it's free, it might work the best. I have got to do something!

I am also one that if I don't see results quick, I quit. That is definitely a downfall of mine. I also seem to have diet ADD, i lose focus very quickly.

nutrisystem, the food was real bad and did not work. I am currently trying medifast and its not too badhttp://saveyoubigmoney.com/money/img/3190/i09u0220ihba/sbiggrin.gif

what didnt work for me?

It would have to be:

-stacker 2 (i took them when I was like 16 and didnt even need to lose a pound)
-VLC diets...i could stick to them, but as soon as I dropped the 30lbs i wanted to lose, i would eat "normally" again and gain all the weight back
-hollywood 48 hours diets...u lose through poop and gain it back within 2 weeks (sorry if that was too graphic)
-hydroxycut...ok, well, this actually DID work for me but was too expensive to keep up with
-the lemonade diet...i was DONE with it after 2 days
-water diet/flush (can we say starving?!!)
-herbalife i did lose weight but gained it right back after i stopped the program and it was VERY expensive
-any other flush/3day diet/lose weight quick scheme

What does work for me:
diet and exercise...plain and simple...i wish i wouldve known this before i wasted all that money on those other programs

wu-long slimming tea "as seen on Oprah!" ....Riiiiight.

Frequent trips to the bathroom and STILL gained weight while using it!

let's see what didn't work

1)6 week body makeover
2)hydroxycut, t-lite, stacker 2
3)gym membership alone- this was the worst for some reason, I gained 26 lbs working out alone and my membership was like $100 a month. ouch.
4)slim fast!
5)alli- did not work at all for me, I experienced no side effects including no weight loss!
6)weight loss teas

I'm currently on WW and it is the only thing that has worked for me (other than diet pills with ephedra- that worked!) My problem with WW in the past though (I've done weight watchers at least 5x before) was I would start losing weight and stop paying for meetings assuming I could do it on my own. Now I know I can't. I will need the support until and beyond hitting my goal weight. I am ready for this time to be different!

1. SlimQuick
2. Relora (supposed to help with Cortisol & stress)
3. Dieting
4. Starving self
5. Drinking ONLY water or green tea
6. Exercise (so far)( gets me toner but doesn't get me thinner)

:tantrum:

What hasn't worked that I have tried?

Diet pills & the cabbage soup diet crap lol

WW has worked very well for me :) It's just calorie counting (I tend to get more obsessed with bigger numbers & don't get that way with the points system...weird :lol:) I did start out with their old Core plan though first to help me with healthier eating habits though!

South Beach!! I really, really want it to work, but I am always in the WORST mood on Phase 1 - I never make it past day 5. I am so mean and nasty and miserable - it just isn't worth it.

OK, so I'm dating myself right now, but I started YOUNG:
Dr. Stillman Quick Weight Loss (quick loss, quick regain, I was 12 yrs old...)
Dr. Stillman Quick Inches Off (loved the fruit, hated the regime)
Fasting (1 week, passed out, never again)
High protein, low carb (quick loss, quick regain)
Susan Powter High Carb Low Fat (all you can eat pasta? Gained 30 lbs...)
Calorie counting (got bored)
Cabbage soup diet (windy and smelly...)
One food diet (eat only one food for one week...blech)
Some diet where you get to binge for 1 hour a day (don't remember the name of it, got me used to super-eating...)
Fiber supplement programs (made me barf)
Phen-fen (fortunately, didn't do more than 2 days on that combo of meds...)
Hydroxycut (borrowing energy from tomorrow for today? makes no sense...)
Nutrisystem (lost 1 gall bladder and not much else)
Slimfast (couldn't sustain it)
30-30-30 aka Zone Diet (too obsessive)
Pritikin Diet (too restrictive)
Atkins (I love bacon, but not that much)
The Russian diet (also known under other names, had beets as a main food -- blech)
Medifast (quick loss, equally fast re-gain, couldn't do this again)
Dr. Bernstein (needles hurt, way too restrictive, quick loss, equally fast regain, my wallet got lots lighter though)
Master Cleanse (what the @@$# was I THINKING)
Seriously, this is MOST of what I remember...
Kira

Hummm....let's see.

1. Diet Pills - I've tried so many, I can't keep up anymore. They always make me feel very jittery and nervous (like I was always forgetting something) and I couldn't sleep. I had to quit them just to function like a normal person again.

2. Low-Carb - I've done this twice. The first time I lost 15 lbs very fast but then stalled out. I eventually had to quit because I felt so sluggish all the time...I had zero energy. I then gained all the weight back. The second time the second time I lost about 10 lbs and had the same results as the first time.

3. Starving - First of all...I'm horrible at this because I get very cranky and get terrible headaches when I try to starve myself. So, I was miserable and when I finally did eat, I binged....big time.

4. Very low calorie diets (1,000 cals or less) - These never worked in the long term because I would go into starvation mode and my metabolism would slow waayyyyy down. When I upped the calories I gained very fast.



The ONLY thing that has worked for me is calorie cycling. I go to this website and update my stats every week to see how many calories I should be eating each day. It even gives you the "zig zag" figures if you click the link provided.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I also exercise 4-5 days a week. My main exercise is walking on the treadmill for an hour. I do a 5 min. warm up, then walk for 5 mins. at 3.5 speed, then up the incline to the highest level of 15 and set the speed to 2.7 for 7 mins. I alternate between those two for 50 mins. Then do I 5 min. cool down.


This plan has worked like a charm for me. I'm losing weight at a steady rate and I'm toning up my lower body. But, I realize that it's only working because I finally kicked myself in the butt and realized I had to change my life for good. Will power and motivation really is the KEY...at least for me.

What doesn't work (for me):
1) Any diet that involves an "energy pill".
2) Even the new Irvingia - which was incredibly successful in the country where it was developed, and if your diet is generally carb-heavy with simple starches. No side effects, but no benefits either.
3) Atkins and South Beach - lack of discipline. I like balance and I am a total omnivore. But had I survived the first 3 weeks, I think there are a lot of great points to it and I'm not ruling out another try at one of them.
4) Exercise without modifying eating - got bigger and stronger, but the fat never came off, not even with swimming hard 6 days a week. And let's not blame the swimming - weightlifting and intervals were all part of that mess too.
5) The Fast Food Diet. I guess I had to check.
6) And never, ever again - I will NEVER go low-fat. I've discovered that if I go less than 30% fat and cut my SATURATED fat too much, my nails split, my hair breaks off, and my skin becomes scaly. I must be part Eskimo. :)

omg! let's see:

Dextrim
Weight Watchers
Atkins
Mega Green Tea pills
Alli
LA weight loss
Hydroxycut
***I heard that Fucothin (type it in google, they have a website) a co-worker of mine has been using it for a month and lost quite a few pounds, no jitters etc*** you can purchase it at a local health food store.

Oh wow, how long do you have?

Weight Watchers
(it worked ok when I was 11 (thanks "mother"), but now; not so much)
SlimFast
(mmm shake...wait, no; that's actually chalk mixed with flavorings...lovely!)
Atkins
(I pretty much could only eat eggs and bacon for breakfast as I'm allergic to dairy and most of his breakfast recpies include cheese, cream, etc..and the alternatives are NASTY!)
Most diet pills
(we promise that you WILL lose 14lbs in a MONTH!! Mhmm...but only if you consume less than 1000 calories and exercise for 4 hours daily...okay slight exaggeration, but you get the point)
Slimming World
(mainly because I really couldn't get my head around the whole "syns" thing...It gave me a pretty negative outlook on food)
Any of the cabbage soup type diets
(the results just are not pleasant)
Orlistat/Xenical
(I was given these by my Dr...I gained weight...about 20lbs that I now cannot get rid of)

Fun thread....

The worst I tried was some body chemistry diet where you were on the diet for 3 days then off 4. When on you ate restricted amounts of green beans, beets, vanilla ice cream, and other things I don't remember anymore. Eating the beets was like being on an episode of fear factor. I couldn't keep them down at all. So that lasted one meal.

I tried Weight Watchers online but was not disciplined enough to really keep track of things and trying to eat all the points in a day was hard for me.

Thought about LA Weight Loss but the woman made me so mad that I never went back after the consultation. This was several years ago, and I knew I needed to lose weight and why I wanted to do it. The woman was trying so hard to make a sale that she tried to play off of all the things women are insecure about when it comes to weight that I was offended.

What hasn't worked:

Slim Fast

ANY diet pill, and I think I've tried most of them

Anything advertised on an infomercial at 4am

Weight Watchers

Pre-packaged foods

Herbalife - ok it worked, very well actually, but when I stopped I didn't have any idea how to maintain

6 Week Makeover - also worked, very very well, but since DH and I had different plans, it was a huge pain to plan 12 different meals/snacks every day so we didn't stick with it long.

Atkins - why I agreed to this is beyond me, I don't like meat.


What works best for me is taking portions of several plans and combining them. I currently eat vegetarian, count calories, follow plate size recommendations from the Sonoma Diet, don't eat much dairy, and have cut out refined flours and sugars like Sonoma/South Beach recommends. I never ever feel deprived and I'm slowly losing weight - which is how I want it, so I don't gain it back this time!

For me, what has not worked is being under pressure to only eat a certain amount of calories a day. The problem is when i eat out i have not much of an idea as to how many calories are in the meal i choose. So at the moment i am simply being very careful with what i eat and portion sizes. Have cut out cheese, butter and cut down on milk and bread. When I eat pasta i tend to eat a lot of it! so at the moment i am enjoying delicious small baked potato for lunch with huge salad and only lemon/vinegar dressing - no oil! Am also finding that adding Encona hot chili sauce to most of my meals causes me to eat more slowly and therefore I am full by the time I have finished and am not craving more..... oh, finally I am finding coming on this website everyday an absolute god send!

Oh man, what haven't I tried?

Super Super low calorie diets. I'd lose but gain it all back in epic binge fashion, plus some.

Slim Fast. Same as above.

Starving. Same as above.

The only thing that works is knowing how much I'm putting into my body and how much energy I'm expending to burn those foods.

Hydroxcut- I was sick for hours every time I took the pill
Lemonade diet/fasting- The most I could ever do was three days and I just felt horrible.
Fat Smash- I do think it is a very good diet and that it would work really well for a person who has lots of motivation but really needs to start from scratch with their diet. It also slowly brings in new foods and teaches people how to eat in moderation. I just can't do nine days of fruit and veggies with nothing else, so since I couldn't get past phase 1 I could never really finish the diet.

What does seem to be working so far is calorie counting with some exercise added in.

Everything BUT South Beach. It's the only thing that has ever worked and taught me the right way to eat for life. I could write a novel about everything else I have tried in the past. Some of them so goofy that I can't believe I fell for it.

I haven't really tried many commercial products.

I gained most of my weight eating primarily healthy foods. Even if I am trying to lose weight, I gain or at best maintain if I don't count calories.

Wow! How stupid am I? I was perusing this thread, not realizing it was so old, and came across this post of mine.

I've just spent about a year eating healthy trying to lose weight without counting calories. And the result? I've maintained. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's not getting me where I want to go.

So, welcome me back to the land of logging my calories every day!

Oh my gosh, I am so happy to see Weight Watchers on so many lists.

I don't think I was giving WW my 110%, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I tried for A YEAR, yes A YEAR. And I lost maybe 2 pounds in total? I even tried 6 months with meetings, epic fail. The only thing I lost was A LOT of money. Actually, I got a 5 pounds star once... gained most it back, and never got a second. LOL

Sometimes, I honestly felt - the points were too low. I think maybe that's why I would end up stuffing my face as soon as the weekend hit. I had 25 points a day, using the 50 calories a point idea, thats only 1250 calories a day! That's not enough for me!

I will admit, I still pay $15 a month or whatever it is for the online weight watchers, simply because I like their recipes.

Something else I tried, was PGX Daily, it helped with feeling full and cravings, but after one bottle I never really lost any weight - and it was expensive so I gave up.

I also tried Fitness Essence, it obviously didn't work or was too expensive otherwise I would still be on it - I don't remember, lol.

Calorie counting works. I lost 50 pounds with it, got bored and thought - hey lets mess around and try other stuff, it's been 3 years and I have nothing to show for it. Calorie counting and exercise, that's it. Simple and free.

well lets see i tried...
1. hydroxicut hardcore
2. lipo 6
3. green tea pillz
4. ww
5.slim quick
6.ferenhight

well thats just to name a few.. some of these made me really hyper and i wouldnt be able to sleep at night ..

Weight Watchers: I lost 50 pounds on Core once and I have no idea why it stopped working. Probably I stopped.
Atkins
Starving - VLC
Fasting w/help of diet coke & cigggies (Yes, I did quit - 1993)
Fit or Fat
Carbohydrate Addict's Diet
South Beach
Sonoma Diet
6 week makeover
Counting Calories
Vegetarian
GI Index Diet
Potatoes Not Prozac

Right now I am combining South Beach with a bit of Weight Watchers Core. Basically it is following SB but giving myself a little wiggle room for healthy off plan food (mostly fruits). Maybe I'll call it South Core.