[heartspring]

I ordered the kit and am still trying to figure it out now that I have it. I like that it's less a diet and more a way to start grouping things together. Previously I'd been trying to figure out the glycemic load thing and this is a nice way to have it laid out and explained. I need more visuals as well as brand name info as my life gets crazy and I like that I can grab something without analyzing it yet knowing it fits the plan. So far so good!

[SistaDiva2001]

I have been on Foodlovers for 5 days. For some reason, this diet has clicked with me more than any other program. I am not into counting points via WWs or cutting out carbs or doing some home delivery system or eating cabbage soup ...all of which I have tried and I found them to be unsuccessful.

No, it is not rocket science and doctors will tell you over and over again that what 99% of all diets have in common is that they are less than 1800 calories per day and that is why people lose weight...

They KEY is finding a plan that works for you. People's likes, dislikes and preferences are individual. My co-worker loved WWs and lost 40 pounds 2 years ago and is back on it because she gained 50 back. My sister in law did Atkins and lost 75 pounds and is back to low carbing after a 40 pound weight gain..and another work-mate had surgery a year ago and is thin as a rail.

When people find their "joy" or way of eating ...we should celebrate them and their path. Not everything is for everybody.

For me, I hate sweets, always have. But, give me some butter and mayo and I am one happy camper! I love rich tasting food..I love FAT. When I looked at what I was eating before FLs..I realized that I was eating WAAAY to much mayo and skipping meals. I have given up on 99% of the diets I have tried because I never felt "satisfied"...I was always "wanting"...The first two days of FLs I had terrible headaches and getting used to eating every two to three hours was "strange". But, now that I am in day 5, the headaches are gone. This has been the LONGEST..yup..5 days that I have ever gone on a diet without cheating. It may not be a big thing for others, but for me this is a MAJOR accomplishment.

For the record, you can be on WWs and use the FLS system principles to assist with getting your metabolism up and make fat loss plates. The "Living Color" dude as someone referred to him, actually has a Masters in Nutrition. Susan Sommers doesn't have a degree in nutrition but people are successful on her program and I celebrate that. I spoke with the nutritionist at my health care provider's practice and showed her the program. She said it is nutritionally sound, not extreme and she thinks the 21 day program to start with makes sense because it takes 21 days for something to become a habit. She wasn't impressed with the OPTIONAL detox or the OPTIONAL supplements. But the diet plan she said is fine.

Now, it is that time of the month for me and I just could not resist getting on the scale after 5 days to see if ANY weightloss has occurred. I am down 5 pounds.

[MELODY525]

SISTA DIVA....I APPLAUD YOUR POST AND CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR LOSS!!! WAY TO GO.

NOT EVERYTHING IS FOR EVERYONE AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT, DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. I AM ALWAYS ROOTING FOR WHATEVER WORKS FOR PEOPLE IS A GOOD THING! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE TRYING THIS.

[mommyfat]

Way to Go SistaDiva! I hope things on this plan have continued to go so well for you. I saw the infomercial myseldf this morning and I have to admit, it made sense. I have struggled with increasing weight for 10 years (ever since I started having problems with hypoglycemia) and nothing I do seems to work. I, like you, could not stick to a diet for 2 days, let alone 5 so maybe this is for me.

Please, post again and let us know how your progress is coming. I would love to hear how you're doing.

[quezsmom]

Hey, to anyone interested i have been on the plan since 8/1/2009. I have lost 7bls, 12 inches, lost 5% of my body fat, and gain 1% lean muscle mass. The plan works very well. Its the first plan, thats not a diet. I can feed my son the same food that I eat which is a joy. I have had no cravings, no problems. The time just flew by, which is a first. I was skeptical at first as well.. another get rich skeem my someone. But i researched, and researched, and no one had anything bad to say about the plan. Neither do i at this point. I am stil going strong. Oh, and as a side bar, my sister is a diabetic who has really high sugar numbers. She was in the 300-400 in june/july. She was staying with me and forced to eat on the plan. As of Sep 1, she has lost 11lbs, her blood sugar was 124. So hope that helps anyone thinking about doing the plan. It is the best investment in yourself.

marva

[quezsmom]

Originally Posted by CamiToo

A friend of mine ordered it and since she wanted my sister and I to join her in this program, I was able to borrow it and read through the program.

Here's what I thought:

First of all, part of the sales pitch is to eat all of your favorite foods while losing weight. Go to your favorite restaurants and eat your favorite foods while shedding pounds! BUT if you read the program, they really say to eat MODIFIED recipes. And at restaurants, ask for no salt, no oils, etc. Eat plain food basically. And ask for whole wheat pasta which I don't think alot of restaurants actually have. You can't just hit the diner and say "I'll have your spaghetti and meatballs special." You can't eat a normal brownie. If that's ok by you, then it's not a deal breaker. But their sales pitch is misleading.

Some food modifications required items I'd never heard of. My friend said "maybe you get that in a health food store?" But I'm not rich and I'm not going to buy special ingredients that aren't normally in my kitchen. Nor will I pay health food store prices for stuff.

The portion sizing could be more definitive. I like portions stated as "3 ounces" or "1/2 cup", not as "my fist" or a portion thereof.

Many (not all) of the suggested snacks are brands I've never heard of and again, I'm sorry, I'm not rich. I don't buy special foods and brands nor do I shop at Trader Joe's. I buy meats, produce and staples that are on sale.

They mention chocolate and wine but ask you to NOT drink wine or alcohol during weight loss. The chocolate part is confusing because they say stay away from chocolate during weight loss because it contains sugar, then put dark chocolate as a savvy snack. Make up your mind?!

They include exercise, which is good, but it seems like it should be a bit more. The exercise seems geared towards beginners and doesn't start until day 11 or 12 I believe. Then you exercise every other day. So alot of the 21 days you're not exercising.

I wasn't impressed. I was LESS impressed since I knew she'd paid way too much for this program. I won't be joining my friend on this program. This is just my two cents.

Its always amazing to me that people will pull out the only the information they want and not whats completely listed or advised. There is a list of snacks in the book that robert suggest, many are things sold in stores, campbell soup, keebler crackers, synder pretzels, any brand nuts, fresh fruits and veggies, which is really the main goal. To get you to eat less processed and more fresh, natural when possible. I was already exercising when i started the plan and just continued to do so. But, the plan is to help you start to incorporate a habit into your everday life. Many people dont exercise. The plan has a 12min, 24min and 36min exercise dvd. It tells you to increase as you feel comfortable.
The portion sizes do give you exactly 3-4oz or 4-5oz and list each food, meats, veggies, breads, pastas, etc. It also says it doenst want you to be chained to a food scale, so gives you a way to eyeball those amounts. I am a single mother and do not have a lot of extras to put toward additional groceries. But, have found that i only had to tweak what i was eating to make it healthier for me and my son. The plan asked you to refrain for the first 21 days, and then you can add these things back into your meals if you need to. But, it also shows you how to add them if you just must have them even during the 21 days. Its a re learning process. If your gonna quote stuff from a plan do it right.

By your post, its obvious you dont want to do the plan, even if it was a great plan, since its not a diet. Just my two cents of course. But, hopefully the success your friends have will change your mind. Because success they will have, of this i am certain.

[nanj]

My family and I are loosely on the SBD and have done well on it. But.....I'm not concerned so much about the quantity of the food that we eat, but more about the quality. I've made so many changes in how I prepare my foods and the FLFLS gave me better ideas on grouping my food and more about how my food is being processed. It gives you sensible guidelines on quantities of proteins, slow carbs, and fast carbs. I liked the nutritional breakdown of a fat loss plate, I'm not sure that it is any different than say what WW, JC, etc. are asking you to do, but it is nicely put. Snacking is 100 to 200 cal for women per setting; not that much different. I'm a WLS person, my DH is a borderline diabetic and high cholesterol, and my DD is just...fluffy. So, I'm going to use the principles of this program for all three of our needs. I probably won't be using the brown rice syrup or the cane sugars, because sugar is sugar even if some of them are on the lower end of the glycemic scale. As for the snacking section: I was able to find enough stuff in it that I can buy locally without going to Whole Grains (Whole Pay Check), or Trader Joes. I made the Banana Oat Cookies that listed natural peanut butter and 1/2 c. honey and I added a scoop of protein powder. They were good and my family said that they would like me to make them again (made 20 cookies). I won't be eating them because I'm a NA sugar person. As for the amounts: Using your hand, fingers, knuckles and fist to judge your food quantities is a whole lot easier carrying around measuring cups or eyeballing something. Unfortunately, even after 58 years, my eyeballs measure a whole lot bigger than they should. Each meal for a women should be 300 to 500 calories; not too different than any other program really, but it was written down, my husband read it and since it didn't come from me, it made sense to him! His calorie limit is 400 to 600 per meal. LOL!!!! It also has a section on saturated fats and CHEESE; my DH thinks that the best snack in the world is CHEESE! Well, now he knows better. He kept his 48 pounds off for over a year on SBD, but I'm think long term here for all of us. Healthy snacking in encouraged to level out your insulin levels, so you are not starving and headed for whatever you can get your hands on and excessive insulin causes your body to store fats. Cost: Not any different the start up cost on JC and weekly food costs. Unless you getting some kind of price break on WW start up cost and weekly cost; about the same. There is a boat load of material to go through so if you get it don't get intimidated!

[ArkansasTOPS580]

I saw the infomercial today and it sounds a whole lot like a diet I've been following for over a year. I am a member of a NON-PROFIT weightloss support group called TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). We promote using the exchange system as it is sensible and doesn't promote any specific diet but we don't discourage diet usage as long as they are sensible.

I use THE ZONE by Dr. Sears. It's a diet very simular to this plan on the infomercial. I eat 3 meals and two snacks and eat every 4 hours. It's designed to have 40 % carbs 30% fat and 30% protein. This guy is just trying to change the terms on a diet that has been around for 20 years or more. He's calling them slow and fast carbs etc. and feeding you ranch dressing for the fat you're required. I can tell you THE ZONE was designed for athletes but you can lose weight too. I know, cause I've lost 100 lbs since last July 11, 2008 with my support group to help me and with an exercise plan, too.

Zone books are common now at used book stores, Goodwill, and at the library. There's one called the food block book that helps, there's a cookbook, and there's a few different Zone books. Just google Dr. Sears to see all of the titles. They also have a specific website but I won't promote it or the TOPS website. Just google either one of them if you're interested.

TOPS has been around since 1939 or 40 I think. Cost is about $26 a year which goes to the headquarters for maintaining weight chart records and includes a monthly magazine subscription with inspirational stories of members. You can google that and it will come up.

Good luck on any diet you try but make sure it is one that you can live with forever. I can live with the ZONE forever.

Lisa

[BeverlyRN]

I have been on the plan for 5 weeks and feel I have a firm understanding of how the process works: I have lost 11 pounds, (nothing astounding but I am still following the plan instead of falling off and gaining back more than I lost as I have on other programs.) In a nut shell; FLFL is slow, steady weight loss on a program that -if you plan and cook-will consistently drop weight and not leave you hungry or deprived. Yes, you CAN eat your favorite foods however they are MODIFIED: whole wheat instead of white breads/pastas, organics and raw sugars, reduced sodium etc. Now if you are like me and aren't used to organics and that ilk, it is not a problem; I have found there are so many natural products that are great substitutes to the fully loaded butters breads and sugars I had been accustomed to that I was pleasantly surprised. I feel SO much healthier eliminating some of the 'junk' and I have LOST WEIGHT!

The plan asks that you eat often; b'fast, lunch & dinner with snacks in between; snacks are whatever u want 200 cal or less; I eat pretzels, popcorn, brownies, fiber bars; whatever is convenient to grab. An I am NOT hungry-you are supposed to eat every 2-3 hours so if you THINK you are getting hungry; your next snack or meal is just around the corner.

You are to work out, gradually increasing to 5 x weekly. I have NOT been good at this, though I plan to start this week(...AGAIN...) I'm certain if I would do the DVD's that came with the plan, my weight loss would accelerate but...baby steps at this point.

Bottom line, it is a sound program that has been the ONLY one I know I can stay on for the long haul. I feel confident I'll acheive my weight loss goals modifying my eating habits following this plan.

Glancing through the forum on 3fatchicks, I have noticed many people that have had alot of great success on several different plans. Obviously, when you find your niche, it's the right one for you. FLFL (foodloversforlife) is mine. Time will tell; I'll keep any one that is interested on my progress updated through weekly entries. In the meantime, best of luck to all that are struggling with weight loss like me! I'm proud of us just for being here, getting started and getting support!!

Beverly

[Nspired2lose]

Hey this guy knows his stuff,don't be so quick to sail him out to sea!Go watch the videos from his clinic here online and listen close.This way of eating is alot like the GI diet,plus delicious recipes and a cheat here and there with options for healthier versions of the sweets and junk type foods!This is a good way of eating especially because its better to give yourself a cheat here and there rather than not at all and then givng up and gorging on it and feeling sick and guilty afterward.Unless your one of the top 10% that says they never eat junk or sweets.If done faithfully and in the manner taught it does keep your metabolism running in medium to high gear and you do lose weight and keep it off as its a way of eating that you can do your whole life.Isnt that what we want?To learn is to eat for life and stay in the healthy weight zone?Yay!!!

This is a good way of eating as it combines HEALTHIER high Glycemic carb,Low glycemic carb and proteins in the FLFL meals.It also includes exercise.But for those that cant exercise,you still can lose alot without the exercise,maybe a little slower but still lose!This way of eating keeps your metabolism reved and burning fat.I lost 18 pounds in 3 weeks eating like this.If you notice he says MODIFIED! Dont read such a negative perspective into the name of the program or the advertisement.It does not teach that you can just eat any amount of anything you want anytime you want.That is not what Robert Ferguson says or teaches.

It is the basic food groups,categorized into meals and snacks,healthy and not so healthy.The RECIPES he has put in the program are delicious like the FRIED CHICKEN,ect,ect.But notice they are MODIFIED.So he is not saying oh go get the KFC and gorge or go to the bakery and get those HIGH SUGAR HIGH FAT BROWNIES and gorge away.Its not like that.It is strict portion control too.You are never hungry as you eat 6 or more times a day with snacks,eating every 2-3 hours keeps your metabolism running hot!The snacks are geared to more natural foods and less processed junk.He recommends controlled portions and processed stuff as rare snacking,not the norm!Also more protein snacking toward and in the evenings.He also has a 6 day flush that is very healthy and jump starts your weight loss.And best of all it works!

DO your research gals and guys before taking assumptions as the old saying goes, that just makes an _ _ _ out of you and umptions.I Know someone who lost over 50 pounds on this in just a few months! She feels healthier and has kept it off for a while now.It is a good plan and is very healthy.Because he recommends brown rice syrup instead of regular and stevia or splenda in place of sugar as much as possible.This plan is excellant for diabetics especially.Try it,its worth the price unless you dont like to cook or prep your food.

[NightNurse]

I just saw the infomercial and I am tempted to buy. My life is crazy with 4 teenagers at home, working nights and volunteering. My husband and I have gained over the last few years and I am worried about our health. As a nurse I feel like I should know this stuff (about glycemic index, etc), but the appeal is that it will come in a package and I don't have to spend hours researching. I am glad to hear others have liked it, and I know there is no magic powder.....we just have to find our own way to modify food choices and lifestyle.
Wish me luck.....and will-power!!

[BeverlyRN]

Nspired2lose: I am so glad you posted your message...you have the FLFL plan down pat!!! I've been on it for a couple months now--I'm down 22 pounds. Not earth-shattering...but really good! Especially since I know I have made this a way of life, not just a 'diet.' To all you skeptics...I understand, I WAS one. But I am a happy convert now. If you are looking for whats right for you, consider FLFL. It's ALOT of planning and cooking, but it is good food with great results! Good luck to all!

[Beejene]

I'm very interested in Food Lovers Fat Loss. Can someone who is following it give us an idea of what a days food might look like while on the 21 day phase? I spoke with customer service but they would not get very specific with me. I want more specific information so I can decide if I think its something I can do.
Thanks

[Beejene]

Congratulations on find whats right for you and your weight loss.

[Ryesmom]

I did buy the system and I havent started the 21MM yet because I decided to do the 6 day detox first. The 3 weeks on the 21MM has you take baby steps but you do eat regular foods. Example day one teaches you to snack in between, and you have great lists for everything you can eat on. I personally do better with lots of tools in a program and this one does I have learned a lot just reading through the info I got in my kit. I think what the other members are saying though you just need to find what works best for you.