*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.

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)

What didn't work
 

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...a/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!

Did NOT work:
 

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.

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.

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.

SlimFast. Tends not to work if you eat the whole box ;-)
Hydroxycut. Didn't lose a pound.
South Beach. Now don't get me wrong, phase one worked great. But when I had to plan on phase two, I just regained everything.

Our bodies are so unique...what is perfect for one person is a disaster for someone else.

My list is very short:

1. Stupidity. ;) Three different times (in my teens, mid-twenties, early thirties) I just tried what "sounded" like a diet. Cereal for breakfast. Salad for lunch. No dinner. My blood sugar plummeted, I was starving, and I felt utterly miserable.

2. The GI Diet. My blood sugar skyrocketed and I had migraines. I also had major gastro issues. (I know now that was because the GI Diet encourages a lot of “good carb” whole grains, and I’m wheat intolerant.) Despite how horrible I felt, I stuck to that diet for 3 months. And gained 25 pounds! :mad:

I considered, but never actually tried, both South Beach and Atkins. But no fruits or cheese? You have got to kidding me. Not gonna happen.

What HAS worked (and is working again) is a personally modified low carb plan. Almost no grains, and fruits & veggies in moderation. And I try to eat "whole foods" as much as possible...nothing refined or processed. This works great for me, but I have a horrible problem with patience. That's why I fell off the wagon the last time (after losing 80#).

I've lost weight on every diet I've tried with the exception of Weight Watchers (gained weight on that one, oddly enough) but none of them were sustainable and the weight didn't stay off.

Diets that didn't work for me in the long term include

Low carb diets. Lost weight fast but felt nauseated all the time.
Fasting. Made me feel weak and spacey.
Any diet plan that has a set menu.
Slim Fast ( a chalky ersatz milkshake is not my idea of a meal)
Skipping meals.
Diet pills.

What has worked is moderately low calories and no forbidden foods (if I know I can have something I don't crave it). Oh, and lots of walking.

What has not:
Any low carb diet. I just love carbs too much.
Any diet where there is a definitive list of 'good' and 'bad' foods.
Any pill or fast (too good to be true type diets)
Intuitive Eating- wanted this to work so badly, but apparently I can tell when I'm really hungry versus not, I gained 20 lbs with it.

Weight watchers worked for me initially ( lost 80 lbs) but for some reason, every new attempt failed, I think it's because I was tired adn bored of it. I also thought I had too few points per day.

Although I'm new to calorie counting I enjoy it and it does seem something I can stick with. It's free and easy, and as far as what foods I eat, it's up to me. I do use some Intuitive eating principles iwth it, which is probably one reason I chose to do it. If I want something I work it in. I also refuse to eat foods I find repulsive ( beets ).

Lately I've also been trying a little 'game' with myself. I had an English Muffin with my breakfast, so I'm going to see if I Can go with out one for the rest of the day. If I eat a 100 cal package of craisins, no more craisins for the day. I have my 'go to' foods, and this may be a way of getting more variety and probably more balance to my diet

Green Tea and Acai suppliements - Did nothing, didn't even give me an energy boost lol.

Thermobol - I took the maxim dose which some people have bad side effects from, I had no bad side effects but it didn't do anything to improve my weight loss or give me more energy.

This has been a really fun thread to read! Here's what I've tried.

Slim Fast/any similar "meal replacement" plan - there are tastier ways to get those calories that don't make you so cranky you want to snap the neck of the next person that looks at you funny

Low-fat/No-fat - I've been creating a fat deficit for the past few days because I'm planning to go out for a steak tomorrow, and I'm so glad that today is the final day because there is no way I could eat like this for the rest of my life.

I've never actually tried Atkins, but I think I'd be ready to shoot someone after three days on Atkins. My boyfriend is on Atkins and loves it, and I know there are several people here at 3fc that feel the samy way. There's just no way it would work for me.

Daily weigh-ins. Weekly is better, for me.
Artificial sweeteners - I've found it so much easier to cut all added sugar and sweeteners out completely as it's killed my sweet tooth. Trying to find fake substitutes made me focus too much on the wrong things, I ended up thinking all day about fake junk instead of healthy food!
Meal replacements. "Meals" do not have to be replaced, lol. You just have to learn to make good ones! :)
Low-carb and low-fat - carbs and fat are fine in moderation for me and both help keep me happily going through the day on my calorie allowance.
Thinking "I'll just start Monday" or "if I have something bad now, I might as well forget the whole thing" - this is about my health for my whole life, not about reaching a number and then going back to eating rubbish.

Wii fit + the Wii Fit board did NOT work for me. I'm mad that I spent my money on it cause it collects dust.

1) Weight Watchers. I was nursing daughter at the time. The whole points thing made me crazy and the leader wasn't all that great for motivation and she was clueless about breastfeeding. I'd weigh in and leave, and then I thought it was lame to pay to weigh only and I quit going.

2) NOT calorie counting. This is my tried and true. When I think I've grown beyond it or try some other thing... so wrong. Best to stick to it and keep the food log alive.

3) Tae Bo. Ugh. Too much too soon for my fitness level at the time.

4) NOT checking in with an online community. I used to be here and at other boards at my peak fitness and then I faded thinking I'd learned maintaining. I came to realize I need to be present and participating to help keep this on the front burner. So I'm back.

A.

Well...
I tried the Green Tea pills and Alli in the past.
Green Tea didn't work
Alli seem to have worked a little, but I'm really bad at keeping up with the pills, I'm forgetful when it comes to remembering to take them.
Started doing Weight Watchers and that works for me so far...