Hi everyone, I'm finally starting my diet tomorrow - 7 April. I've come up with a few plans in my head but don't know which is the 'best'. Ok here are what I have in mind:

1. Raw Food Diet
2. South Beach Diet
3. Calorie counting

Well I've never done the raw food diet so I'm not sure if it's good for the scales but it seems pretty good for the overall health being from the benefits I've read online. At first I was thinking, maybe I could combine this diet together with South Beach but backed out on it because it would be torture having to go without carbs and any cooked food at the same time!

The last option would be just calorie counting - eat anything so as long I don't exceed daily limit. I actually did this last year and I did lose a significant amount of weight. However, not sure if this is good this time round as I want to focus on eating better and not eating junk even though it's within the calorie limit.

I also do an 'hibernation' diet on and off in which I eat a spoon of raw organic honey everyday before I sleep and I really think it works. Well, at least it did the last time.

Lol everyone probably thinks I'm a diet freak now, having done so many different diets. Anyway, what do you guys think?

EDIT: oh I forgot to mention exercise. Yes I will be going to the gym everyday (hopefully!)

Hi there!

Personally, I'm on the calorie counting. I do 1200 calories per day. However, I don't eat just anything. I, too, am trying to change the way I eat.

Now, I actually eat breakfast! Usually a bowl of Special K or Cheerioes with Skim Plus. Or, maybe oatmeal and a slice of toast with some ICBINB. These days there are so many healthy choices and you can still stay under your caloric goal.

I'm 54 and been heavy since my early 20s. Believe me, I've tried everything and when it's over, I gain it all back, plus some. So ... dieting doesn't work for me. I have to just change the way I eat. So far, so good. I started 3 weeks ago and have lost 15 pounds. Five pounds a week ain't too shabby!

Enough about me! Listen, whatever choice you decide on, best to you! You know you have a group of people waiting to support you and help you along the way!

Karen

It really is a YMMV thing, this one. I'm finding Low Carbing both successful and easy to follow (which is staggering - if you'd asked me before I started, I'd have said that it would be a b*tch for sure, because I [thought] I adored potatoes and bread and rice and noodles and all that jazz. Turns out that after giving them up for a few days, I don't crave them at all - I was literally craving the carbs BECAUSE I was eating the carbs!!! These days I eat lots of veggies and fish and meat and poultry, and also cheese and nuts and seeds and some butter and cream. But no flour, no sugar, and no starchy vegetables. (Also no fruit juice, and the only fruits I eat are berries and melons.) And I'm averaging 2lb lost per week - this is my 14th week, and as of this morning I'm down 30lb since January 7th. Without it feeling like a chore, or a punishment.

Now, that works for me, and for quite a lot of other people, because it turns out that a lot of my food issues are tied in with not being able to metabolise the damn carbs properly. But as to whether it would be the Way Forward for you would depend on your metabolism.

Whichever plan you go for, I hope you find one where you can ENJOY the food, and find it satiates you. I think that's pretty important.

(I'd also recommend taking supplements, to be on the safe side! I take a multivitamin/mineral, a fish oil/evening primrose oil, a calcium supplement and also a chromium supplement. Just to be on the safe side.)

I am a calorie counter and my diet plan does not include junk food.

Honestly, I really don't feel it matters what kind of diet you do. I think it's more important that you find something that you enjoy, something that you know you can stick with. I tried south beach and low carb and weight watchers and all sorts of crazy stuff, calorie counting is just what ended up working for me.

Thanks for the reminder! My mommy always buy these for me but I never got round to taking them on a regular basis. Will do so now that I'm starting my diet.

Thanks for the replies, guys! I was thinking, I will need to get my body used to the gym again so I might just eat normally but without junk food. I'm pretty sure first day will be ****. Will cut down on the food as I get more comfortable with gym.

I think you need to stop thinking of it as a "diet". Find something that you can STICK with longterm. The problem with "diets" is that they begin and then you get to your goal weight and they end and then you go back to your normal way of eating - and you gain the weight right back. When you find a plan that you love and enjoy you will be able to incorporate it into your life forever, no beginnings, no ends - just a continuance. Hence keeping the weight off. No more back and forth. You really need to create a new "normal". New healthy habits.

For me, "watching" myself never worked, so I choose calorie counting + the combination of healthy foods. IMO, it's an unbeatable combination. I NEED the accountability that calorie tracking provides. It's sets my portion limits and makes me look for the healthiest foods to get the most "bang" for my calorie allotment. Any yup, I'll be doing it forever...........

lifestyle changes need to fit you as a person. If you want to eat honey everynight before bed do so, but try not to concentrate on the #'s as much and more so how you feel and if the foods you are eating give you energy.

I do South Beach diet with calorie counting on FitDay and consistent, intentional exercise. I do consider South Beach a way of eating for life. I also try to use less and less pre-packaged foods. I strive for 60 minutes of exercise a day that increases my heart rate.
My DH also considers South Beach diet a way of eating for life and we do cook the majority of our meals at home with whole foods.
I think combining various options has given me the best tools to become healthier.
One of the greatest tools of all----3FC's!!! This site has given me support, information and inspiration.
Best wishes,
Karla

FYI . . . South Beach doesn't require you to go without carbs. If you're eating lots of veggies and beans (things that are encouraged even in Phase One), then it can even be pretty high in carbs (my mom does a vegetarian version of the South Beach diet and has eaten this way for almost two years now).

Is the raw food diet something that you could consider sustaining for the rest of your life? I think for most people, the answer to this question would be a definite "no" and this makes it a not-so-good choice.

South Beach and calorie counting are really sustainable for a long time, and I think that either one would be a great choice for that reason.