3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/)

- General Diet Plans and Questions (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/general-diet-plans-questions-10/)

- - HELP! Which diet to do? (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/general-diet-plans-questions/299228-help-diet-do.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mars735 (Post 5069559)

Hi Student,
Sounds like you are looking for more rapid weight loss to keep you motivated. Are you by any chance on meds that might be interfering? Insulin and some other ones are known to interfere with weight loss.

Do you track what you eat? The reason I ask is that you mentioned gaining 30# upon menopause. If your hormones resulted in increased appetite & you ate more than before, that's one thing. But if you gained weight with more or less the same diet (and have lost so slowly on the diets you've mentioned--both of which are known for rapid weight loss), maybe it's worth checking in with doc or NP. Especially consider getting your thyroid checked. Others know more than I about which tests to have--I think the minimum is TSH, T3, T4, maybe antibodies too. NOT just TSH!

On the other hand, if you were tweakin' the diet, then tracking can really help. Myfitnesspal or some other free program are user friendly and can be fun. Or just writing everything and looking it over to see if little bites and tastes are sabotaging your effort.

Any of the diets you listed will usually get weight off pretty fast if followed. That's a big IF. The diet you pick has to be a good fit that you can stick to for the long haul after the initial surge of motivation wanes. You can either pick a weight loss diet and then a separate maintenance WOE, or one WOE for both. Eventually most of us learn that getting the right mindset is the determinant of both short term and long term success. I'm still working on this one almost 2 yrs since starting my most recent diet, the one that got me to goal. (btw, took the survey; my 'Other' was Ideal Protein, low carb, low fat, low cal)

Congrats on going back to school! It will seem less weird after a while.

Hi there and thank you!
I just had my TSH checked and I'm waiting to hear the results. I am on a couple of medications that sometimes cause weight gain, mostly because they increase appetite and not because they cause fluid retention. Neurontin is one of them.

Menopause is a b*tch for sure. I really need to get this weight off more than ever, and it is just going slowly. I can handle that as long as the scale keeps going down in umbers.

thanks for doing my survey! Next week we start playing with the numbers we got. It is already pretty interesting!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TamTam (Post 5069492)

Read the book The Overfed Head

thank you! I will check that out!

Quote:

Originally Posted by chmia14 (Post 5069567)

I agree with Ian, it's better to make lifestyle changes that work for you rather than following this or that diet, especially if you have trouble following diet plans.

I can offer general eating advice, such as avoiding sugary foods with empty calories, refined carbohydrates like white bread and pasta, and any packaged foods with weird ingredients. Focus on whole, homemade meals, and eat vegetables at every meal. Drink plenty of water. Avoid sugary drinks like fruit juice, soda pop, and even fake "healthy" energy/workout drinks.

It seems you're being pretty active, so I wouldn't change anything unless you feel you'd like to.

One eating plan you might consider trying is intermittent fasting—have you heard of it? All you have to do is alternate feast and famine days. On a feast day you eat normally, and the next day is famine day, where you eat 500 calories or less. A lot of people have had success with this method, and it's easily to implement and follow. It's still important to eat clean and stay active though.

Really, it's all about experimenting and seeing what works for you. Everyone is different and different diets will work for different people. That's another reason why brand diets don't work for some people. I trust this advice helped :)

I am actually thinking of combining Atkins with intermittent fasting. I know it wouldn't hurt the Atkins ketosis, so I am going to try that next. I won't be in such a hurry to take pounds off after I have about 20 or 30 pounds off. After that, I figure it will be a slower go to maintenance in any event.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurisitaru (Post 5069568)

I'm in the "other category" as well. Calorie counting is the only way I've ever been successful. I tried Atkins and it was a horrible mistake on my part. Works for some, but was not healthy for me and my Doctor advised me to not be on it.

1) I once did pills... bad idea.
2) Bulimia... Definitely a bad idea and no one should ever ever ever do this. It's more self hate than a weight loss model.
3) Richard Simmons Deal a Meal... LOL! OMG! That actually worked really well for me. Very similar to calorie counting. I can't find the deal a meal package anymore, so I just moved over to basic calorie counting.
4) I once tried This crazy fish and whole grain "diet." It was more a set meal plan for the rest of your life eating the same 1200 calories each day. Yeah... not sustainable, but I did lose a ton of weight at the time.

I'm kind of like Wannabeskinny now. I learned a lot about nutrition, about food, about my body and what it can and can not handle, about exercise, about life choices. I now do what works for me and try to remember weight loss is slow. But I'll get there one day.

SO funny you mentioned Richard Simmons. I actually thought his diet was pretty good, and I tried it too. I can't remember how the diet went. I just remember using some kind of a "diet checkbook" to know how many calories I had left to spend each day.

I am getting like those who learn a LOT about nutrition along the way, and the more I know, the more I realize the mistakes I have made.

I am very determined this time. I started working out at the first of the year, and I've kept it up. I wish increased exercise was enough, but clearly it is NOT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 63yearoldstudent (Post 5069583)

It was little cards. Depending on age, gender, weight, you put the cards in your start. You moved one over for each serving of that item to a meal. You were suppose to fill the breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner slots with EVERY card you had. I think you usually did the first 2 weeks on 1000 calories only, then moved up to where you were suppose to be at according to height and weight.

The cards were made for a balanced diet. You would get 2 fruit cards (or more depending on how many calories you had), 3 veggies, 3 carb, 2 - 3 meets, a "joker", 2 dairy, 1 or 2 fats, unlimited "freebies", and.... I think that was it. When you had breakfast, if you had a banana that was two fruit cards. But an apple would be 1 fruit card. A TBLS of sugar ate up a fruit card (I liked coffee, so I remember feeling bummed about that). I think this was the general 1,000 calorie start for everyone. You did only 1-2 weeks on the 1,000 then moved up. You could also just start at what you were targeted to be at if you needed. It was suppose to a jump start to "shrink your cravings" lose the water weight, and I think motivate you. You also weren't suppose to exercise the first 2 weeks... I think. It's been a long time. The Freebie cards were unlimited items. Things like water, celery, lettuce, some other items (I remember "little bit of ketchup" on the freebie).

I'm not sure how healthy or balanced that diet is considered these days. It's been a long time since I've been on it, and it was one of the first ones I tried. I was really successful and did really well, then I moved and got depressed and the cards were lost during the move. I dealt with a lot of emotional turmoil and gained it all back.

I wonder if they still sell it... or if it's even a "healthy" diet. It seems like it would be, especially if you started at your ideal calories vs the 1,000. Plenty of nutrients, balanced eating, low calories, not too restrictive. Hmmmm.....

Deal A Meal!!!!!

I remember now!