Dottington, changing one habit at a time actually lead me to South Beach. I started out by counting calories and changing my portion size to normal sizes. Then I began by adding more exercise and drinking more water-- still working on the water, but I'm getting much better.
I've started doing South Beach because it changes my mindset for snacking. Now I'll eat healthy snacks or think of an alternate to a heavy grain, such as pasta. The odd thing is, I really like veggies, it just doesn't occur to me to snack on them all the time.
And I just polished off a plate of zucchini fries with lo-fat ranch dip. Yum!
Here’s my routine - I eat healthy 5.5 days of the week and pig out the other 1.5. I need to have that overly full feeling at least once a week. I exercise 3-5x a week - cardio, haven’t tried weights… maybe I will at some point.
I’ve lost 12 pounds in 18 months, LOL... so, not great for weight loss, but good for maintenance.
One diet I had success with in the past is called "Fit for Life," by Marilyn and Harvey Diamond. I don't remember the timetable exactly, but I lost seventy (70) pounds fairly easily over a period of about three months!
I didn't keep good track of my weight, so I'm not even sure of what my exact weight was before or after, just that I'd lost the equivalent of a small child. The fact that I didn't have a scale points up and to my having a weight problem in the first place.
The diet's main focus is digestion. They suggest that, because certain foods are digested by acid - protein - and others by alkaline - starch - that if you mix the two, you will have trouble losing weight.
I can't be sure of the exact mechanics of what happened - I just know I lost 70 pounds in a pretty short amount of time!
I tend to think it would work better if there was more weight to lose, rather than those last 20 pounds, but I could be wrong. For me, I definitely had more weight to lose, after having a baby, and also being a person who likes to feel full, up to several times a day.
Hi HungerWerks... I'm so glad to find out I'm not the only one Fit for Life worked well for... about 10 years ago I lost 16 lbs. in about a month doing FFL... it was so easy & quite pleasant for a diet... since I didn't need to lose more lbs. than that, I went back to "normal" eating... well, as most of us know, life has a funny way of throwing curve-balls at us & in the past 3 years I've found myself gradually putting on more lbs. than I'd like... so, I decided it was time to do something about it... at the first of February I started doing low-carb, wheat-free & managed to lose a total of 5 lbs. in 30 days... not what I was hoping for... so, feeling sorry for myself, I've been sorta floundering diet-wise for a week... then this morning I suddenly remembered Fit for Life... I searched for my book, but it's disappeared into a black hole somewhere, so I ordered a copy... it won't be here for a week or more, but I think I remember how the diet goes... I have to be out of town tomorrow, so I'll be starting FFL on Wednesday... I hope it works as well this time as it did before...
P.S. I just noticed I was posting in the Featherweights forum... sorry 'bout that, I just did a search for "Diamond" & this thread popped up... I obviously have more than a few lbs. to lose this time... however, when I did FFL 10 years ago, I had only about 15 lbs. to lose, so I guess I did sorta answer the original question...
hugs ...
Last edited by Aunt Sheshie; 03-09-2015 at 07:52 PM.
Reason: Adding P.S.
Hi HungerWerks... I'm so glad to find out I'm not the only one Fit for Life worked well for... about 10 years ago I lost 16 lbs. in about a month doing FFL... it was so easy & quite pleasant for a diet... since I didn't need to lose more lbs. than that, I went back to "normal" eating... well, as most of us know, life has a funny way of throwing curve-balls at us & in the past 3 years I've found myself gradually putting on more lbs. than I'd like... so, I decided it was time to do something about it... at the first of February I started doing low-carb, wheat-free & managed to lose a total of 5 lbs. in 30 days... not what I was hoping for... so, feeling sorry for myself, I've been sorta floundering diet-wise for a week... then this morning I suddenly remembered Fit for Life... I searched for my book, but it's disappeared into a black hole somewhere, so I ordered a copy... it won't be here for a week or more, but I think I remember how the diet goes... I have to be out of town tomorrow, so I'll be starting FFL on Wednesday... I hope it works as well this time as it did before...
P.S. I just noticed I was posting in the Featherweights forum... sorry 'bout that, I just did a search for "Diamond" & this thread popped up... I obviously have more than a few lbs. to lose this time... however, when I did FFL 10 years ago, I had only about 15 lbs. to lose, so I guess I did sorta answer the original question...
hugs ...
Glad you're here! And, if all goes as planned, it wil have taken me since May of 2012 to lose 40 pounds. A slow weight loss is not necessarily a bad thing. Hope you'll keep us updated on how FFL is working for you, if you feel like it!
Lower carb with most coming from veggies, beans and greek yogurt works best for me - I don't seem to be able to portion control myself around bread or pasta...
I calorie count (1400 cals a day) and try to get my calories from protein (eggs, chicken, steak, etc.), vegetables that grow about the ground (ie. not potatoes), fruit -- especially berries -- and natural fats (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and natural protein fats). I do alright about 5 days a week and then fall off on the weekend. I am sort of stuck in the 140's right now so I have added more exercise (running 3X a week and conditioning focused on using my own body weight, like push-ups, planks, squats, etc).
For me, high protein, high fat and moderate carb help me lose and maintain while staying satisfied and healthy, but exercise is what really makes me LOOK the way I want to look.
I admire your willpower, Jen. We see it in what you eat AND in your exercise regimen!
I have never reached my goal on a diet, I don't think. I did reach a wonderful low weight from being sick one time, but I couldn't maintain it, because of not solidly realizing that you always have to have a calorie deficit to lose weight.
Now I know, so once I reach my goal, I will just continue to weigh myself about five or six days a week. If I'm over my ultimate goal weight, I'll just eat fewer calories and/or exercise more to reach a calorie deficit. Easier said than done, but that's the scientific method - find out and do what works!
What I was doing before was "Maybe, if I eat less, I'll lose a lot of weight." That's too undefined and loose - at least it was for me.
Yeah my best adult weight loss was when I was super sick too. I got motivated to keep it off and made good food choices for quite a while. probably took 3-4 years to gain it all and plus some.
But Zone, South Beach, Dukan have all got me down consistently. I maintained on South Beach for a long time before I ended up on the slippery carb slope.
I like the current Dukan diet philosophy of 1 pure protein day a week on the maintenance phase. So we will see how that works out when I get there.
...
