There is a lot of diet wisdom here on 3FC, and it would be great to hear your thoughts on the following:

I know diets can work better in one situation and not so much in another. Which diet programs have you found the most success with? And were there aspects to them that made them especially appealing? Any drawbacks?

There's no doubt someone out there that can really benefit from what you know from experience. Thanks in advance for sharing!

I am new on this site, but I'll tell you what happened to me. I joined Go Figure Medical Weight Loss and lost 50 pounds and was the happiest I've ever been and then went on their maintenance program and it's all creeping back on again. I cannot afford the fees to go back to them (although I loved going in each week) so I'm trying to get back down on my own.

One diet I had success with in the past is called "Fit for Life," by Marilyn and Harvey Diamond. I don't remember the timetable exactly, but I lost seventy (70) pounds fairly easily over a period of about three months!

I didn't keep good track of my weight, so I'm not even sure of what my exact weight was before or after, just that I'd lost the equivalent of a small child. The fact that I didn't have a scale points up and to my having a weight problem in the first place.

The diet's main focus is digestion. They suggest that, because certain foods are digested by acid - protein - and others by alkaline - starch - that if you mix the two, you will have trouble losing weight.

I can't be sure of the exact mechanics of what happened - I just know I lost 70 pounds in a pretty short amount of time!

I tend to think it would work better if there was more weight to lose, rather than those last 20 pounds, but I could be wrong. For me, I definitely had more weight to lose, after having a baby, and also being a person who likes to feel full, up to several times a day.

Welcome, Flower95! Adore your avatar.

If you feel like it and you have time, would you mind saying what Go Figure Medical Weight Loss is about? Sounds like it was very effective for you to reach your goal, so I'm sure everyone will be interested.

I've never been on a diet. I always try to eat healthier and base what I eat on current scientific advice as well as what works for my body.

Currently, I eat around 100-120 g of protein from Quest bars, Premier Protein, Designer Whey Protein Powder, and almonds/almond butter. I have grilled chicken a few times a week.

150-200g carbs from berries, green apples, oranges, low carb vegetables

30g fat mostly from the almonds

The above plus unsweetened almond milk green smoothies, 80 calorie Greek yogurt and the once in a while junk to keep my sanity (I have had a small carrot cake that is going on week three in my refrigerator, amazing that this thing is still fresh, I also have these little cookies that are 10 calories each so I'll grab a few of those).

This ends up at 1300-1500 calories depending on how much I run that day.

For those of you who have been on diets, what do you do when you reach your goal? If you go back to how you ate prior to the diet, wouldn't you just gain the weight back? I've always wondered about this.

From previous posts, most people can figure out that I use South Beach to lose. It's always worked best for me. Three years ago I lost 20 lbs using SB and I'm down another 7 or so now.

I have tried Weight Watchers and The Reader's Digest Diet and neither really worked for me. And today I don't even understand the WW system.

Jen, some diets do have a maintenance stage. South Beach has Phase 1 (Getting Started- Significant Weight Loss in First Two Weeks), Phase 2 (Weigh Loss is about 1-2 lbs per week) and Stage 3 (Maintenance). I've never seen Stage 3.

Whole foods, calorie counting, and exercise.

To lose weight I haven't been on a diet really, I just slowly adjusted my eating habits one vice at a time and over the years have created a healthy life style and weight loss is a result of those changes. Those changes have also had the result of me eating pretty healthy and my tastes changing so foods I used to like I now find disgusting. I've counted calories the whole time though but I've also taken maintenance breaks where I've eaten intuitively and have discovered that I can naturally maintain my weight while eating intuitively. So I'll probably switch to that at goal.
Exercise has to be a part of my "diet" too. I'm very goal oriented so I make fitness goals for myself.
Sorry this isn't a real diet I guess. For me normal diet plans wouldn't work I don't think. The focus has to be on health or improving my fitness and seeing weight loss as a result. I notice whenever I focus too much on losing weight it ends up backfiring

Calorie counting and a vegan diet.

Unfortunately I seem to have lost willpower since then...

I admire your willpower, Jen. We see it in what you eat AND in your exercise regimen!

I have never reached my goal on a diet, I don't think. I did reach a wonderful low weight from being sick one time, but I couldn't maintain it, because of not solidly realizing that you always have to have a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Now I know, so once I reach my goal, I will just continue to weigh myself about five or six days a week. If I'm over my ultimate goal weight, I'll just eat fewer calories and/or exercise more to reach a calorie deficit. Easier said than done, but that's the scientific method - find out and do what works!

What I was doing before was "Maybe, if I eat less, I'll lose a lot of weight." That's too undefined and loose - at least it was for me.

Seven pounds - that's a lot! Says good things about South Beach and your stick-to-it-ive-ness.

The perfect formula.

There are as many possible successful "diet" plans as there are people. We each just have to figure out what works for us. Sounds like you're doing an excellent job of that!

completely agree that this is the best! Personally I can not follow any strict diet plan It's so hard and annoying to eat by the certain unchangeable plan!

hungerwerks thanks - I do the best I can to stick with that. I haven't counted calories in a while, but now I have been to get these last lbs off. I hope to see some results and then be able to be in maintenance mode soon.