[lazeemom]

I have been trying to lose weight since August. I got a boost (actually a kick-start) with an infected tooth where I lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks on a liquid only diet. Not realistic as I do like a good crunch while eating.
My husband and I would like to lose weight.
I can't decide which diet will help us both as I really don't have time or inclination to create 2 separate meals, neither does he. We are both good cooks.

[fitbyforty]

I am a Weight Watcher.That program has worked great for me.It fits into any lifestyle.

[chunkydunkin]

Hi there...I am new on this site, so my advice may not be the most valuable, but I've tried a whole host of other plans with a family, and definitely the hardest part was having something the whole family could and would eat. Currently I am counting calories with the tools at fitday.com. I am still learning about the website but it's been great for the month. At first (through December), I just put in what I was eating without making changes. Currently, I just track calories and try to stay between 1100 and 1900 per day. I eat whatever I want, but I stop within the range - which has meant eating an apple for supper sometimes...but that works pretty well for me. I've lost 11 pounds since the first of the year. Right now it's working, and I haven't fallen into a binge yet- which is usually my issue! Good luck on finding what is right for you!

[murphmitch]

Weight Watchers always worked well for me in the past, but since going through menopause, it seems I can't handle the carbs so well & quit losing on the flex plan. Just started South Beach diet & I've lost 8# in 2 weeks so I'm sticking with it. I think it's a great plan. Whatever you choose to do, you'll get lots of support here.

[ladyinweighting]

This is probably more information than you want, but it's pretty good.
Lynn

4 Popular Diets Heart Healthy
Whether it's Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers or Zone, it's the pounds that matter
By Peggy Peck
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Medical News
Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD
Nov. 10, 2003 (Orlando, Fla.) -- Pound for pound, four very popular weight loss diets are all good for shedding weight and lowering the risk of heart disease, say researchers, with one important caveat: You have to stick with the diets, not just start them.
The diet scene has heated up in the past year with low-carb and low-fat diets battling it out. But until now no one actually compared four of the most popular diets -- Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers and the Zone -- to find out which was really better for weight loss and lowering the risk of a heart disease.
It turns out, says Michael L. Dansinger, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University, New England Medical Center in Boston, Mass. that as long as the pounds are shed, heart health improves.
"Losing 20 pounds corresponded to about a 30% reduction in heart risk score," he says. Although he explains that at this point "it isn't clear if a 30% reduction in risk score is the same as a 30% reduction in heart attacks." Dansinger presented his results here at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2003.
The Contenders
· The Atkins diet -- a low-carb diet consisting primarily of protein and fat. In the first two weeks, carbohydrates are severely restricted but then are introduced back into the diet in the form of fiber-rich carbohydrates.
· The Ornish diet -- a high-carb, low-fat vegetarian diet of mostly beans, fruits, grains, and vegetables. Dairy products are eaten in moderation and meats are discouraged.
· Weight Watchers -- a low-fat, high-carb diet where each food is assigned a point value and participants are allowed a certain number of points per day.
· The Zone -- a diet based on a 40-30-30 system where participants eat 40% of their calories from "favorable" carbohydrates such as vegetables and beans, 30% from low-fat proteins, and 30% from unsaturated fats, such as olive and canola oils, nuts, and avocados.
Low-Carb vs. Low-Fat
Dansinger studied 160 overweight men and women who volunteered to participate in a yearlong diet study. Forty volunteers were assigned to each diet, he says. Dansinger says he was "just testing the diets, not any exercise or other lifestyle modifications that are part of the entire diet program." The researchers also calculated a score to estimate a person's heart disease risk -- based on common heart disease risk factors, such as cholesterol and blood pressure.
The benefits from the diets were limited to those who carefully followed them -- and following the diets was no easy task since the drop out rate for each diet was 22% at two months. By one year half of the volunteers assigned to Atkins or Ornish had dropped out as had 35% of those assigned to Weight Watchers or Zone diets.
Participants following the Atkins, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets achieved significant reductions in the heart risk score. Those following the Ornish diet did not show any significant improvement in the heart disease risk score.
Dansinger tells WebMD that this does not mean that the "Ornish diet doesn't reduce heart disease risk. I have great faith in the Ornish diet, but it did not meet the statistical test in this study."
Ornish Responds
Dean Ornish, MD, founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., was immediately critical of the results.
Ornish tells WebMD that the people assigned to his diet "lost more weight, had greater reductions in LDL (the 'bad' cholesterol), and were the only dieters to significantly lower insulin -- even though the Atkins and Zone diets claim to be specifically designed to lower insulin." Lower insulin levels indicate a lower risk of developing diabetes, another powerful heart disease risk factor.
Dansinger, who joined Ornish in fielding questions from reporters, agrees that the Ornish diet posted impressive results for those who stayed the course for a year: a nearly 20% reduction in insulin levels while the Atkins diet dropped insulin by about 8% and the Zone was associated with a 17% drop in insulin.
Likewise, the Ornish diet reduced LDL cholesterol by 17%, while the Atkins dieters reduced LDL by 9%, followed by Weight Watchers dieters at 8% and Zone dieters at 7%.
Good Cholesterol: How Important Is It?
But the heart disease risk score is based on the ratio between LDL cholesterol and HDL "good" cholesterol.
"The Ornish diet does not increase HDL, while the other diets do achieve significant increases in HDL," says Dansinger. The Atkins and Zone diets increased HDL by 15%, while Weight Watchers posted an 18.5% gain. But the Ornish diet increased HDL by just 2.2%.
Ornish says HDL is not really a factor because "HDL is really like a garbage truck that goes around picking up the garbage, which is bad cholesterol. When you don't have as much bad cholesterol -- garbage -- you don't need as many garbage trucks." He adds, "raising HDL is easy: eat a stick of butter. That will drive up your HDL, but it's not good for you."
Good Cholesterol: How Important Is It? continued...
Dansinger says HDL is a little more complicated. For example, "exercise increases HDL and we do think that low HDL is a risk factor for heart disease," he says.
"The good news about this study is that we have demonstrated that all these diets work. That means that physicians can work with patients to select the diet that is best suited to the patient. For example, if you have a patient who likes meat, it is unlikely that he or she will comply with the Ornish diet," says Dansinger.
"In the short run, I think weight loss trumps everything. If you lose weight, it doesn't matter how you lose it. But in the long run we don't know the effect of the macronutrients [carbohydrates, fats, and proteins] that you are eating," says Robert H. Eckel, MD, chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism Council and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Eckel was not involved in the study.

[femmecreole]

Lazee, if you like to cook, you really might want to try South Beach Diet. I also LOVE to cook and experiment and it has been a perfect fit for me. Try reading the book to see if it "fits" your lifestyle. I did a LOT of research before finding SB...
There are also tons and tons of recipes online and it's easy to adapt your "regular" recipes to make them SB friendly.

[sweet fang]

Hi, Lazee. I found diettv.com before 3FC and it was helpful. I filled out a questionnaire about my food likes and dislikes, and an assortment of diets arranged from closest fit to least closest came up. There are also support groups to join. You can track your weight and keep a food and exercise journal. So it has a lot of the same features as 3FC. It's great that you and your husband like to cook! You should be more likely to stick with a diet by doing it together. Good luck!

[the slim me]

Hi, I count calories and that works for me. I tried a few other diets but found that as soon as something was restricted, that was what I wanted. So I just decided to eat healthy, eat between 1200-1500 calories a day. I can have those caories any way I want, when ever I want. Save them or blow them on a big meal. Works for me.

Take into consideration how you eat now, and find a diet that you can stick with. All diets work. You just have to choose one that suits you and your life style

[CountingDown]

Another calorie counter here. I travel quite a bit. I am a vegetarian. DH does half of our cooking. Our schedules are hectic and erratic.

Consequently, eating normal foods in restricted quantities seems to work best for me. We try to eat "clean" by eating a lot of veggies, whole grains, beans, few processed foods. I also eat 6 small meals each day. This really helps me by keeping my hunger in check and my blood sugar stable.

[blkftind]

I read about this site and decided to give it a try. I have been trying to lose weight for so long and getting nowhere. I would appreciate any help you could send my way. Thank you.

[JayEll]

Hey! blkftind,

Feel free to browse around the forums and the rest of the site! Post wherever you'd like--ask questions--reply to what others say. Glad to see you here!

Jay