I'm loosely following the SBD. I'm probably on phase 2.75 LOL. I like eating healthy oils, lean meats & lots of veggies, but I had to add a little more whole grain bread. And unlike all my previous failed attempts, I'm not counting ANYTHING. No carbs, no fat, no points. I'm losing slowly, but honestly, I decided at first to focus on baby steps. My first baby step is to exercise at least 5 times a week, which I've done. My next baby step is to eat healthier, which I've also done. As long as I'm losing weight, I'm just going to continue to focus on making better eating choices instead of getting caught up in counting & weighing to the point where I give up.

What's this 8 min morning stuff...... methinks it's time for research today.

Good luck on whatever plan you choose, and no matter what your plan is, sticking around here will be a great catalyst.

Thanks everyone.....I'm still uncertain, but will keep you updated!

I'm on the "What can every member of the family live with" diet. My 1 y.o. is allergic (hives) to wheat and my oldest daughter reacts severly to processed sugars, preservatives, and dyes. My son can eat anything. I don't feel comfortable eating foods my kids cannot eat and I don't feel comfortable giving my son foods the others can't eat. So, we are a wheat-free, sugar-free, chemical-free family. Except for wild rice cakes and dried fruits, everything we eat is homemade (even our nutrition snack bars for when we're on the go) and with as few ingredients as possible. I try to make sure everything packs a serious nutritional punch (since I am also nursing, this is extra important). We are quite health nuts because of the kids' allergies and dh's and my health issues. All 4 of my grandparents were diabetics and dh has a lot of heart disease in his family. 2.5 years ago, wanting to get off of medications for PCOS, I used this type of eating (though I ate wheat because baby was not around) and lost 30 lbs., reversed the symptoms of PCOS, and had a surprise knocking up (said allergic baby), not a possibility before (older 2 joined our family 11 months before baby through adoption). I gained those 30 lbs. back during pregnancy and then lost them again post-partum. SO, this time around is basically a continuation of the previous plan with some modifications.

I find that eliminating processed sugars is a key for me. I simply do not crave them now. I allow myself 1 tiny sweet daily (organic dark choc) and ususally forego it for some fruit instead. The other day, PMS, I craved salad. I do not worry about fat intake as long as they are healthy fats: mostly nuts, seeds, avocado, oils, wild Alaskan caught fish, and buffalo once a month. I eat a ton of fruits and veggies. I make some homemade wheat-free muffins, snack bars, "cookies", and other snacks. We eat a lot of nuts and dried fruit for snacks. We buy a lot of frozen fruits from Trader Joes to save on cost. We don't eat a lot of dairy, except fermented dairy (yogurt, homemade kefir) and the occasional cream in homemade ice cream (fermented foods, besides cream, because it puts back good bacteria so it is more bang for your nutritional buck).

I drink only water and a daily cup of coffee or tea.

I also exercise 8 times per week; 5 cardio and 3 weights. I change up the routine every 3-5 weeks.

I realize upon re-reading this how self-righteous this sounds, but let me assure you, it has taken me a long time to get here. I used to eat sweets by the bagful and, in fact, what led me back here, was the 6 week sweet binge I could not kick in June/July. I realized that just by allowing myself a few poor quality processed sweets this summer, my body attacked itself and would not give in. I had to go cold turkey. I have lived my whole life creating a very unhealthy body and yet I know what it needs to be healthy. So I am giving it my all.

I also got here because I stress fractured 2 bones in my foot just from taking a long walk with by 1 y.o. on my back. That's rediculous. For the first time in my life, I realized it was harder to be fat than it was going to be to lose the weight. I refused to break my foot while playing with my children (unless it is a really good reason like jumping off a cliff) again.

Now, this really is a plan I can live with because I have found healthy substitutes for many foods -- out of necessity. I had to find a birthday cake everyone could enjoy so I invented a wheat-free, sugar-free one sweetened with just a bit of maple syrup. Everyone loves it. I make homemade ice cream by food processing frozen fruit with a bit of cream and some nuts. Also a winner and I can give the kids ice cream for breakfast. For the most part, though, if I cannot make the food in a healthy way easily or if I can't make it low-fat by using only whole food ingredients, I just don't eat that food. For example, we just can't find a good way to make wheat-free bread and it is so expensive to buy -- so we don't eat bread.

I, of course, have the luxury of being a SAHM, so I can be in the kitchen quite a bit, albeit usually with one child on my back and another 1 or 2 on a stool next to me. We are not wealthy, but what we save on medical bills we use for whole foods. My children are NEVER sick. In fact, the only times my 1 y.o. was ever sick when she was exclusively nursing were the times when I would sneak sugar into my diet. My older 2 children came home 2 years ago with severe malnutrition, giardia, developmental delays, and rickets. They are now tall and as healthy as horses. The only times my son has ever been to the dr. except well visits were when he has hurt himself in daredevil stunts. The only times I get depressed or yell at my children or lose motivation to exercise or overeat or feel moody or get sick are when I am not eating this way. The only times my eldest daughter tantrums are when someone slips her some processed sugar. In fact, Sunday, someone gave her some teddy grahams and Tuesday she had her first cold in 2 years. When people comment that this must be hard to live like this, I respond that it is harder NOT to.

I really am not trying to preach here. I sort of started to say my plan and ended up using this as a way to almost process or remind myself of the logistics of the plan. It is helpful to write it all down.

I also realize that no one plan is right for everyone because it has to be come a lifestyle. I feel good that this will remain our lifestyle because I am actually journalling how healthy and good we all feel so that I will remember when I want to jump ship.

Oh -- one more thing -- I put this plan together when I realized that most of the people I know who are models of health eat like this. And, by that, I mean physically, sprirtually, mentally, and in terms of lack of illnesses. I have lots of thin friends who just eat much less of the standard american diet to stay thin, but they are getting hyrogenated oils and processed sugars a lot and are not really healthy. Thin does not equal healhty in all cases and I guess I want to be both when I get to goal. I started my family later in life (35) and I want to play with my grandkids, but my family history says that is not likely unless I make serious changes.

Sorry for the novel, but thanks for an opportunity to put my plan in print.

I really enjoyed reading your post, Paula.

I am a calorie counter. However I mainly follow what the american heart assc. has put out. It's really what we have been told all along. Eat your fruit, vegetables, grain, dairy and meat. Just do it in moderation. That's the real key. We need to eat like skinny people. Have you ever watched someone is a resteraunt get up and leave half there food. I used to think man how could they leave that good food. Now I know that is how the skinny stay skinny. I still don't leave it but I do get a box and put half of it in there for another day. So no big secert here just following common sense.

I would love to hear/read more on your plan and everything if you have time. I looked at your stats and dang near fell off of my chair! Your doing an awesome job!

Wow - my plan....hmmm....

Well, like Howie, I'm trying to eat and think like a THIN person! That has really helped my perspective to realize that people who are thin don't eat like me (or like I used to eat I should say )! They don't KEEP eating b/c something tastes delicious. In fact, my mom and I had this huge long conversation about how thin people eat right before I went to a big party and it helped SO MUCH! The food was amazing! But, I got one small portion of each thing, ate it, realized that I was full and didn't go back for seconds (or thirds ) because a thin person wouldn't do that - they don't stuff themselves just because something tastes good.

It's taken me a long long time to find something that really works for me and HOPEFULLY something I can do for the rest of my life. I think it's important to really set your mind to that - this is for the rest of your life! So many times, I've started a "diet" (don't use that word anymore) and thought that once I reach my goal weight, I'd have a big sundae to celebrate...I'd eat what I want again...duh! How dumb!

I eat what I want NOW but if it's something "bad" - I just eat a little. My daughter's 4th birthday was the other day and, of course, there was cake - after the party, I cut it all up into little half portion sized pieces and froze them - I know that if I want a peice of cake, I can have one for about 160 calories - I just have to budget it into my day.

I'm a calorie counter with FitDay and it has really helped me - I plan my food the night before and I tweak a bit here and there during the day if need be. I try to stay under 1800 calories, but, honestly, I'm often a bit over - which I don't worry about b/c with two small children, I'm definitely getting enough exercise.

I'm really focusing on eating better - and counting calories has really made me realize where and how I can get the best nutritional bang for the buck - what things are lower in calories that will fill me up... I still eat fast food - about once a week (MUCH less than before! - I still drink soda a couple of times a week - I don't deny myself - but I do figure it in - I can't have soda AND a peice of cake AND cookies all in the same day - it's all about moderation and making choices.

Also, like someone above said - sweet things don't taste as good to me now! AMAZING! When I first started, I would calculate in to have a candy bar on my grocery shopping day - my favorite candy bar :yum: - the last one I had was kind of...not as good as I remembered. I haven't had one in 5 weeks - not because I'm denying myself but because I DIDN'T WANT ONE!

Anyway, that's what works for me and I'm hoping that this is IT!

Good luck - you can do it too - try a couple of different things and modify if need be to best suit your lifestyle and needs!

I kinda evolved into my plan. I've done a little of just about everything before, from Protein Power to Pritikin to Cabbage Soup. This time, I really wanted to make long-term lifestyle changes, and to work at it more wholistically.

So I started by logging my food in Fitday and trying to aim for five fruits/veggies a day. After a week or so of that, I had an idea of my particular patterns, and how many calories I was actually consuming. So I started tweaking things. I focus on protein first -- making sure I got some in small increments throughout the day, then filling in around it with fruits and veggies. I have PCOS, so keeping an even blood sugar level can be particularly difficult. Protein helps satisfy my hunger early, and keeps me satisfied longer.

Next step was cutting back on sugar. Weaned myself back to diet soda by cutting real soda with diet. I don't really have a sweet tooth for candy or icecream (though unfrosted cake has a halflife of 5 seconds in my house -- so I don't make it), so some of that was easier. I started putting artificial sweetener in my coffee at home. Again, I don't use a lot of sugar to begin with, so I don't use enough artificial to note the aftertaste.

While doing that, I started focusing on moving more. Simple things, like taking the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator in the Metro and my office building. Stopping a stop early on Metro and walking the extra four blocks. It all adds up.

Once I was comfortable with these things that were "easy" for me and would help me feel successful, I started rejoining the online support groups and began journalling. This helps me explore the non-physical aspects of obesity -- why I eat what I eat when I overeat. What are the triggers? What are other options? WHat are my plans for different "difficult" scenarios, like eating out or going to parties?

Then I began limiting calories. The calorie counters say I need 2500+ calories a day to maintain this weight. So I began aiming for 1800-2000 calories a day. This gave me a loss of about a pound a week. Again, easy success to begin with. I started looking at the "value" of my food choices more closely. With limited calories a day, each bite needed to be good, and good for me. THis helped cut back on a lot of "extras" and second helpings.

This led me to really focus on portion control. You kind of have to when you count calories. I am amazed at how MUCH food is available, and so easily.

After a while of this, I kind of stalled. So I relooked at my calories, and realized I'd let them creep to the high end of my range. So now I'm focusing on 1500-1800 a day, and trying to exercise (garden, swim, walk) a couple times a week.

So, after all that explanation, what is my plan?

Eat less and exercise more.

No really, that's my plan. That's most people's plan, actually. But within that framework, there are a lot of specific guidelines that work well for me.

Food Focus

- 1500-1800 calories a day
- five servings veggie/fruit a day
- protein at each meal
- planned snacks (pre-commute and afternoon) to keep my hunger from becoming overwhelming
- choosing whole grains when available
- cutting back on sugar, over-refined foods, fatty snacks, and "treats"
- cutting back on unnecessary carbs

Lifestyle Focus

- logging every bite I eat
- no "forbidden" food -- I can eat whatever I want, in moderation, as long as I record it
- journalling and online support groups
- Drinking more water
- "official" exercise a couple times a week (a walk, swim, or gardening)
- daily exercise in the form of walking or stair climbing
- one day a week "free" where I can eat beyond my calorie limit -- but I still log it

Very interesting plan Synger. It sounds like one that will bring lots of success.

It is so true how important it is to ENJOY the foods we eat. I made a decision early on that if I don't like it, I will not eat it. Keeping my intake in a healthy range means I need to enjoy my food -- otherwise binges are too easy.

Hi TMunday,

Here is pretty mubh what I have up on my web site.

I basically count calories and watch my fat intake. 1800 calories a day and I like to try and stay around 40 grams of fat and drink at least 96 oz of water. I also go to the Y.M.C.A to swim but not as much as I should. Below you will see the guidelines set by the American Heart Association. It’s just good old fashioned common sense. No fad diets just a lot of self-control and hard work.



* Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Choose 5 or more servings per day.

* Eat a variety of grain products, including whole grains. Choose 6 or more servings per day.


* Include fat-free and low-fat milk products, fish, legumes (beans), skinless poultry and lean meats.


* Choose fats and oils with 2 grams or less saturated fat per tablespoon, such as liquid and tub margarines, canola oil and olive oil.


* Balance the number of calories you eat with the number you use each day. (To find that number, multiply the number of pounds you weigh now by 15 calories. This represents the average number of calories used in one day if you're moderately active. If you get very little exercise, multiply your weight by 13 instead of 15. Less-active people burn fewer calories.)


* Maintain a level of physical activity that keeps you fit and matches the number of calories you eat. Walk or do other activities for at least 30 minutes on most days. To lose weight, do enough activity to use up more calories than you eat every day.


* Limit your intake of foods high in calories or low in nutrition, including foods like soft drinks and candy that have a lot of sugars.


* Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol, such as full-fat milk products, fatty meats, tropical oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and egg yolks. Instead choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol from the first four points above.


* Eat less than 6 grams of salt (sodium chloride) per day (2,400 milligrams of sodium).


* Have no more than one alcoholic drink per day if you're a woman and no more than two if you're a man. "One drink" means it has no more than 1/2 ounce of pure alcohol. Examples of one drink are 12 oz. of beer, 4 oz. of wine, 1-1/2 oz. of 80-proof spirits or 1 oz. of 100-proof spirits.

Howie,

WOW!! Thank you so much for the very informative reply! I had to print out your message to keep for my reminders. It appears I need to eat like 2496 calories a day!! WOAH!!! That's a lot lol. I bet I don't even eat half of that! What an eye opener. This sounds like a good plan! I am going to look into it more. Thanks again so much for all of your help!

Your welcome. That amount would probably be to maintain not lose. You say you bet you don't eat that much. If your not sure you should journal everything you eat and add it up you may or may not be surprised but it is a good starting point to find out how much you are eating. Then go from there.

I was shocked!! I started on the site fitday.com today and it said I ate 1191 in total calories today! That is a huge difference!! Maybe that is why I have not been feeling good and not had any energy at all!!

I did order the AHA no fad diet book tonight on amazon! So I am hoping it gets here sometime next week. I think this might help me alot!

Synger, what you're doing sounds a lot like what Howie and I do. When you said,

it reminded me of what I do in considering calories like cash. What is going togive me the best bargain for the buck? Is the cheeseburger and fries and impulse buy of something chintzy, or an investment in something with lasting value?