Are any of you in the same boat as I have been? There are so many voices out there saying "their" way is the best way until it begins to make the head swim! I recently told someone about getting some books on weight loss. One said only vegetarian will work, another says only low-fat, yet another says only counting calories, one says only low-carbs....and on and on and on. Does anyone else find themselves overwhelmed with all this? I feel like I am having to wade through tons of stuff to find that one golden nugget "just for me." I still haven't found a plan that I feel is a true fit for me, but I don't really like the shotgun approach either. I would prefer more structure, if it is to be found in just one plan.

Just curious what everyone else did to find "their" weight loss plan that helped them stick to it. If you have, what plan did you find to work for you?

Good question..
I would like to hear everyone's answers as well!!!!!
Mine is counting calories.. I guess the shotgun approach..LOL cause I have no one set plan..

At the risk of sounding like I'm saying my way is the best (lol!) - what worked for me is creating my own plan based on where I'd gone wrong in the past on the numerous plans I'd followed and what foods I liked eating. Just worked some simple rules to stick by - so calorie allowance, fat allowance, once a week treat, what exercise I'd do - but otherwise any food was potentially includable as long as I had the cals/ fat allowance for it. I suppose the key to successful weight loss and keeping it off is knowing yourself - or getting to know yourself as you go along, knowing why you overate in the first place and how to develop effective strategies to avoid overeating regularly again. There is no plan out there that can help with that I don't think! But I am sure you know enough about dieting and food to DIY! Good luck with it.

I would agree. I think it takes a bit of trial and error and involves really creating your own plan.

One thing to remember is that calories count no matter what you do. Some plans just have different ways to eliminate calories.

I agree - calories count no matter what!

I think that most people who have been at this a while start off with one idea (cutting out carb calories, for example, or cutting out soda and junk, or just counting calories in general), and then slowly start moving their eating habits to a "healthier" state. For me, I started just with a 1500 cal limit. Then I made a protein goal...then once I had that down, a fiber goal...then a calcium goal...then a "limit bad fats" goal. Slowly, my eating habits morphed from just counting calories to being, overall, an eating plan that I consider to be extremely healthy.

So my advice is to start slowly and build your own plan. Start with lowering your calorie intake. Once you're comfortable eating fewer calories per day, maybe you can pick another goal (fiber and protein are good choices - they help keep you full longer, or maybe a water goal to make sure you get plenty of fluids). Adapt slowly along the way, and don't try to tackle too many things at once. This is what is working for me!

WOW! You ladies are awsome! Thanks so much for this valuable input! I guess I am the type of person that expects to walk up to a book, it says "thus" and so therefore I do it (within reason, of course). LOL! I so very much appreciate the input and look forward to following these tips. What better way to get great advice than from those who are being successful.

Thanks again! I also look forward to any other's input!!

I knew that there were no foods that I could totally eliminate from my life, except of course the ones I despise. I plan on doing this forever and ever and totally eliminating my favorite foods would be a recipe for disaster, not success. But I also knew I had to avoid my so called "trigger" foods, because I can't control myself when I'm around them, I just overeat it. Although since getting into this I have learned to eat in moderation (who would have thunk it?) So I knew I had to avoid bread, pasta, pizza, and the such, yeah the carb-y stuff. I was going to reduce my caloric intake greatly so whatever I was going to eat had to have high nutritional value and be satisfying. So I decided to go with a low-fat proteins, low carbs and tons and tons of veggies approach. I do have the occasional treat every now and then in small portions. I basically count calories. I eat every 2 -3 hours, so I never get hungry. I have changed things up a bit, tweak it every now and then as I get tired of something and so I can try new things. If something's not working for me, time to move it out and get something else going. The first 2 - 3 weeks were very, very hard. Hang tough and get through it ANYWAY THAT YOU CAN. After that time, it gets much, much easier. The cravings wil practically stop, you'll look and FEEL better, the scale will go down, your clothing will fit better. All these things will propell you to go on further.

You need to find something that works well for you, based on your needs, likes and dislikes. Play around, experiment and you most definitely will figure it out. Good luck to you. Any more ?'s, feel free to ask. This IS a great place for advice and encouragement.

For me too, finding the plan that works for me has also been trial and error, but based on a lot of sound principles. I also started by calorie counting and tweaked things along the way, much like mandalinn did.

But keep this is mind: the right plan doesn't just help you LOSE weight, but you need to be able to MAINTAIN that loss.

I see lots of people post here that they are going to try X plan again, because it helped them lose a lot of weight before... but they gained it all back. I have to ask if that is really the right plan for them if they don't keep the weight off long term.

So, if you find that you have been on a plan but that it isn't working for you, my advice would be to try to figure out what's not working and try to fix it so it does work for you. heh. Easier said than done!

Something else that is easier said than done ???? Eat less and move more.
In all honesty that's the baseline for all effective weightloss plans. Anything else is trimming, preference or designed to remove your money from your wallet.

Try this:

http://www.thedietquiz.com/

It may help sort through some of your questions. It was helpful to me!

I waffled around the first month, trying to decide whether to do low fat, low carb, weight watchers, etc. Finally, I decided that I HAD to start something right then, and quit messing around. I had read the Suzanne Somers books a few years prior, so I started out somersizing. I needed something to get me going, to tell me what to eat (more or less), and I didn't have the time or the inclination to research that all for myself right then. Somersizing consisted of foods that I already liked, and I could eat as much as I wanted, I just had to combine them correctly. There were foods that I had to avoid, like sugar, foods with HFCS, white flour, which are things that are trigger foods for me that I needed to stay away from.

After 6 months and 50 lbs lost, I wanted to change things around some, so that I could add some foods back to my diet, and not follow some of the "rules" that I thought I couldn't live with the rest of my life. So I started counting my calories and made those other changes.

I still follow that plan to a large degree, only on level two, which is usually used for maintenance.

I think most "plans" out there will work. I also think that you will probably have to customize any of them to make them work long term for you. I think it is very important to eat whole unproccesed foods, with enough protein to keep you from being hungry and lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

Good luck!

I have only had one plan be successful for me (large loss - 60 lbs), and it was very restrictive. I did gain it all back.. sigh. So I'm modifying what worked last time and making it a bit more practical.

Calories do count, but I lose slower if those calores come from wheat, sugar, dairy etc. I know I must have some insulin resistance because of my past experience eating low-cal junk food! So it's knowing your own body and what you can stick to. A plan that can be maintained is hopefully our goal!

It's so cool to read all these posts and see everyone's different approaches. It's also cool to see that it all boils down to the same thing -- watching how much you eat and controlling it, and moving your body. We're all different, and what works for me might make some people insane because it's kind of a laid back approach. It's funny, though -- someone said they'd never be able to do points, but I've always found points easier to count than calories, probably because I often just estimate it instead of being exact. Many people count calories down to the single digit, and I just can't be that strict. As long as I'm within a certain range, I'm losing weight, so I'll stick with my relaxed approach as long as I can. Also, I'm all about eating whatever you want as long as you're within a certain range, at least until you get used to restricting your portions. You can't take everything away in one day and expect to succeed. If I told myself I'd never have bread again, well...I'd probably just laugh and butter some toast and never start that diet at all.

All I can say is -- try different things until you find something that works and that you can continue to do the REST OF YOUR LIFE. That's the important part. And factor exercise in as soon as possible.

I have also kind of customized my plan this time using bits and pieces of things I have learn over the years. I do understand what you are saying about wanting something to tell you "eat this item, this much." You may have to go to the bookstore or library and read a few approaches to find out what would fit in your life. If you think that would give you a boost start out with that type of approach and as you get more comfortable customize it to your needs. It does help to see what works for other people because sometimes we get in a bit of a rut and other people have great ideas for healthy food and combinations that shake things up a bit!

Kathy