Please, if somebody can recomand the best diet I would love to give it a try. I am 5'2 and weigh 194. My goal is 125 however I don't know what to eat to get there!

Anybody have good advise. I would love to hear it?

The most effective way to lose weight and keep it off is to make permanent lifestyle changes - not only in nutrition but in exercise as well - that you can maintain for the rest of your life.

If you just do a 'diet' you are setting yourself up for failure. Exercise alone is okay but if you want to lose the pounds, you've got to find a way of eating that you can live with.

A group of us gals here are doing the Body for Life Challenge and we love it!! You should see the changes I'm making - soon as I nab the scanner from my neighbor, I'll be posting my 8-week progress photos (hopefully tonight after work!).

Give our Body for Life thread a peek and see what you think!

Well, then maybe I should rename my thread!

I need ideas of healthy eating, that I will lose weight while following.

ANY IDEAS!

Mrs. Jim-

I love that you have set your goal to a bodyfat percentage goal rather than weight! When you think about it, it really does make so much more sense! At 230 pounds, I look a lot healthier and like my body much more than when I was at this weight 3 years ago! (I wear a smaller clothing size now than I did then, and I have a lot more muscle tone!)

CarbLover:

I have been following Weight Watchers for a little over 3 months, with a lot of success. (31 pounds so far- yippee!) I don’t agree with any plan that restricts certain food types, etc., meaning that most of the diets out there were out of the question for me. However, I have incorporated bits and pieces from a number of different plans into my new lifestyle. And I STRESS the word “lifestyle.” As the Sugarbusters plan suggests, for example, I try to eat fewer carbs than I use to. This does not mean that I have cut them out (that isn’t the case at all! I LOVE carbs!!!), but rather, I try to eat more whole-grain carbs (whole-wheat bread, Kashi cereal, long-grain rice, etc.), and limit simple starches (potatoes, white bread, etc.) Well, a lot of diet plans urge you to do this, but I think I read it first in the SugarBusters book, so I will give the credit to them J As Weight Watchers suggests, I pay very close attention to the quantity of food I eat each day (following the points plan) and try to make wiser decisions in general, giving my body a proper balance of the nutrients it needs to function properly. As the Body-for-life plan suggests, I try to eat six small meals each day rather than three large ones, and give myself one day every week or so where I eat anything I want for at least one meal, with total disregard to calories, fat, etc. This reduces my cravings for “bad” foods and keeps my body “on its toes,” so to speak. Also as Body-for-Life suggests, I get my cardio exercise in in the mornings before eating anything, to boost my metabolism all day long, and to more effectively burn fat. In terms of finding a plan that’s right for you, you will likely have to pull bits and pieces (key concepts) from several plans to find something that is right for you. Because this is a lifestyle change (or should be, at any rate), an individualized plan is key. Good luck and I wish you lots of success!

Unfortunately, there's no such thing as the perfect diet - doggone it!!!

There truly is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to this stuff. The core elements of a successful "weight" control program are universal - eat right and exercise - but what appeals to YOU, and how YOUR body responds to those elements sometimes takes a lot of homework, including (in my case, anyway) a LOT of trial and error!

Check out my personal homepage if you're interested in hearing about what I've learned so far that seems to be successful for most people and sustains long-term results. Some of the basics are: permanent, not temporary, focus on change (as MrsJim mentioned); reducing calories, but not too much; a combination of aerobic and weight exercises; balanced eating, without a over-emphasis or exclusion of any particular macronutrient; look and feel (body composition or measurements) versus weight focus, and above all, the hard truth that at least 80% of dieting is mental!

http://pages.ivillage.com/msliz1956/mslizhomepage

Eat less, move more! Both Weight Watchers, which I follow, and Richard Simmons, which I've read about but have never done, base their programs on this concept. Like others here have said, don't go for gimmicks. Chose a plan that you can work into your life permanently.

Dear Carb lover:

I too loooooove carbs. And boy do they love me.. my hips, my thighs, my stomach, my double chin....

WW has been really the only thing through the years that has kept me on track. It's a program for life as everyone has been telling you. I've been able to stick program and for almost three years have been at goal. Maintaining is even tougher than losing since you don't get the thrill of the scale anymore.

BUT I keep coming back to the meetings (I'm over goal by 5 lbs currently) and would probably have put all 30 pounds back if not for WW and the lifestyle changes I kept getting hammered into my head. Even three years later I get brain freeze.

I will never give up pasta but now know what a cup's worth means. I love bread but know what it'll cost, and I plan for it and then don't have to feel guilty.

I now know that a whole yam (3 points for 8 oz cooked) fills me up far more than polenta which counts as 4 points for only a 1/4 cup.

WW really is the best, but you ultimately have to find what works for you.

Patch

Thanks for all of your feedback!

I decided with all the advice that I recieved from this web site that I am going to follow the Atkins diet.

I noticed that some follow both Low carb Eating with WW.

I will definately take this approach down the line.

I am on my second day of the 14-day plan. So far so good.

WColleen. What is your goal weight? You are doing great! Keep it up.

Patch30. I will need you advise once I start Low Carbs and WW.

197/125 (5'2)

Carb Lover: I don't have a goal weight yet- I can't seem to remember what 200 pounds, 175 pounds, 150 pounds (etc., etc.) *looks* like! I started at 263, and am now at 229. Once I get a little closer to where I'd like to be, in terms of clothing size, etc., I think I'll have a better idea of what my final goal will be. :-)

Good luck with Atkins!

Colleen