I am brand new to this site.
I am a WW failure.
I have no ovaries from surgery and have gained 40 lbs in 6 years since the surgery.
I need advice as to what diet has worked for you ladies?

Also, ALCOHOL....I love my wine.
Do you find when you drink alcohol you don't lose.

I think I know the answer......but I need to hear it.

Love,
THE LADY

Hi Lady and welcome!
I'm sure if you asked 10 different people, you'd get 10 different suggestions of what diet to try, but you need to incorporate a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet.

I have also failed at WW - twice. The plan that is working for me is the Belly Fat Cure (i know, dumb name) but it works. The idea is to severely limit sugars and artificial sugars as well as limiting carbs to 6 complex carb servings per day. It's simple enough to do without tracking, although some like to track. It's easy to google and get more information, but simply put, the sugars and simple carbs like bread products actually cause cravings to eat more, and one's diet "fails". I like the fact that proteins and fats are encouraged, and proteins are very filling and satisfying.

Once you've been doing this for a few days, the cravings disappear - really.

As far as alcohol goes...alcohol is permitted, but in moderation. I like white wine in the evening, so I've modified it to make a spritzer...I mix wine half and half with Lemon/lime soda sweetened with Stevia (brands are Zevia or Blue Sky, found in the organic section of grocery store). You can have a small glass or two that way and it should be ok. Generally speaking, any alcohol has empty calories and gives people the munchies.

I hope you give this a try and let us know how it goes...you can see a speedy loss (5-11 pounds) if you stick to plan, and that's a great motivator!

Hello Lady!

Welcome. Come on over to the Golden Girls September chat. We are all on different plans but it is a really tight and supportive group. We would love to have you. Good luck

Rie

I counted calories and find I can maintain well doing that. No cravings, nothing "forbidden".

And yes, alcohol is on the menu.

I'm 64 and was of similar weight to you when I started. Had a total hysterectomy for cancer about 8 years ago and gained weight not from that but from inactivity and overeating. Realized I had to smarten up and get that weight off or I'd become sidelined and sick.

It took 6 months (but looked and felt better with every few pounds that I lost) and I now realize I can and must watch my calories for the rest of my life. But it's so worth it!

Good luck to you in your journey to feeling and looking great!

I had to remove week day alcohol from my list of activities too. I only permit myself one glass of wine on Friday night. For me alcohol consumption is the gate way to over eating, chronic munching. i have been successful these past 3 weeks. this forum lets me blow off steam.

I think that a lot of programs can work. Some people seem to lose more by eating fewer carbs or, at least, fewer refined carbs. Personally, WW does work for me but I've combined with lower carb eating. For a few months I've been doing a modified Atkins/South Beach diet plan (Taking a little from each one). I also count calories as well as WW points. I find that for me, eating lower carb makes it much easier to stay on program. I do lose slowly but I always have, even when I was younger (57 now). I don't drink so can't help much on that end.

I am the vegan who let her self get fat. I am still a vegan but I count calories and I am adhering to what my dr. told me ...900 calories max per day.
I also swore off bread, crackers , chips and I am avoiding my trigger foods, like vegan ice cream which is too high in sugar. I like to eat till my stomach hurts so I've been filling up on salads sans dressing.
I also fix my self a protoein shake, spirutien, w/ almond milk but only 1/2 a cup, a frozen banana, ice and a splash of coffee. YUM.....

I have had success (went from 145 to 130) on the Mediterranean (or Sonoma) Diet. Whole grains, lots of fresh veggies, and they have wine. I also like it because I love my peanut butter!

Annie in Texas

Hey Miz LadyB and welcome! I've been listening to a lot of weightloss podcasts lately, and it's become clear that each person has their ideal plan -- and even if you do WW or South Beach or Belly Fat you will probably personalize it to make it your own. I think each of us knows our own bodies and you probably have a good idea of what works.

I too love wine, I'm single, 51, and live in the epicenter of middleaged happy hours! I had stalled my progress by not only drinking at happy hours, but also eating all the stuff they offer up (hey, it's a bargain...) So I was backsliding from the first 25 I'd lost.

This is the third time I've lost weight in my life. The first two were 25-30 lbs. This time I really let it go and when I finally stepped on the scale...60 lbs. Yikes. The first time, I did a "crash diet" (circa 1979) in Glamour Magazine. As it turned out, it wasn't a crash diet at all but taught me to eat healthfully. Thank goodness, as I had NO idea as a college sophmore what was in Kraft mac n cheese. The second time, a trainer had me eat only lean chicken, egg whites, all the veg I wanted, a little fruit in the morning, and no added fat. That also worked great.

This time, I'm doing a variation of that with very little animal protein (many veg get almost 1/2 their cals from protein). With the mostly-veg plan, I'm eating a shockingly low number of cals -- my profile is like one of these teenage anorexics though I don't look like one -- and although I choose to do it as I'm at the end of my rope, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But no matter what plan you're on, more veg probably will benefit anyone.

Alas, no booze, and when I do it really slows me down. I notice that some of my weight loss walking pals in the neighborhood who continue with 2-3 glasses of wine a day are not losing. Also my WW meeting (I'm going for the accountability and the little star stickers haha) is filled with ladies I know from happy hour and only a couple seem to be making much progress. I had two wines last night and was not happy when weighing in this morning.

Some of the comments here may help you figure out a plan, like having Xdrinks weekly. You might pick up Chelsea Handler's funny book, "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea!" One hilarious chapter is about her weight loss plan and the horror she felt when finding out she had to restrict her tequila to two shots a week. But she lost like crazy as she stuck to her whole plan. So that's my two cents -- get some guidance, figure a plan, and trust your instincts.

I don't think it made a difference when I was younger (or maybe I just didn't notice), but I now lose much better on 1800 calories of low-carb than on 1800 calories of high-carb eating.

My doctor recommended low-carb for my insulin resistance (I hadn't at that time yet had a blood sugar test in the diabetic range. My numbers are still usually under the diabetic range, but my doctor said that I should consider
myself diabetic "for all practical purposes.")

I'm not sure though that everyone does best on lower-carb, but it's worth a shot.

A detailed food journal can help you determine which diet you find easiest, most comfortable, and which works best for you.

I was really shocked when I saw from my food journals (and experiments that went on for almost a year, as I tried to "disprove" it), that I actually lose better on 1800 calories of low-carb as on 1800 calories of higher-carb.

Even if I had lost the same weight, I probably would still stick with low-carb, because I'm hungrier on 3000 calories of high-carb as I am on 1000 calories of low-carb. The more carbs I eat, the hungrier I am.

Not everyone has this reaction to carbs though, so you may have to experiment to find out what works best for you.

I would highly recommend TOPS though (taking off pounds sensibly) the weekly support is awesome, and it's quite affordable (about 1/10 the cost of Weight Watchers, and usually even cheaper because there are ways to earn small amounts of cash and other prizes such as free monthly dues with weight loss).

The support is wonderful, and you can follow any food plan you wish.

A lot of people do great here without an in-person support group, but I need the accountable of a weekly weigh-in with witnesses.

Welcome and good luck ! You should pick a plan that you will follow. I believe I have tried them all and have settled on counting calories as being best for me. Experiment a little and see what fits best for you.

I was going to chime in and then realized the OP has not been back for six weeks - Sept. 15.

I hope she has found what she was looking for.