Hey im new here but just wondering what diets you guys have tried and what has been the best so far?????

I started on South beach diet and loved it but now am doing Medifast for the convenience- once I'm done with medifast and transition out the plan is to go back to south beach diet for life

HCG has been the only thing that works for me and the weight stays off. I did medifast before but the weight went right back on - plus my metabolism was completely shot after.

HCG is highly controversial and I don't want to spark any negativity here, but it's the only thing that has worked for me and many, many friends. (The real hcg, not the drops... friends that have done the drops regained also.)

Im doing a diet plan by Michael Thurmond the guy that used to help people lose weight on extreme makeover so far it has worked great! Ive heard of the Hcg diet I wanted to try it because hcg is the same hormone that pregnant women have and my hcg levels were very high and everytime im pregnant i lose 20 -30 pounds instead of gaining like most women, but because my hcg levels get so high it also made me nauseated 24/7 lol so i opted out

I lost the weight I needed to lose, and I have kept it off, with the Richard Simmons Foodmover program. This is essentially the exchange program, a good old basic way to lose weight. It counts exchanges instead of calories, and it sure worked for me.

Calorie counting and consistent exercise is what is working for me. No special bells and whistles. Just eating what I want in moderation and strength training with some cardiovascular activites.

I've tried other "plans" but found the majority out there are just shortcuts that don't work for the long term.

Education on what is healthy is key.

I don't know if I'm sticking to any one particular diet plan, but probably a combination of low carb/low glycemic index. I am absolutely miserable if I cut out all my carbs so we've switched over completely to whole wheats/whole grains, except for when I am craving sushi every other week or so That and good ol' exercise seem to be doing the trick for me so far. I was considering doing Jenny Craig for a while to kickstart my WL again but didn't want to fork over ~$500/mo just for food.

Counting calories and finding the combination of macronutrients that work for me (protein/carbs/fats).

Nothing else really works, since CC allows me to live in the real world where I have to make choices about what I eat all the time (instead of a controlled environment/limited foods).

i just calorie count. i'm not on any specific diet.

fat smash diet...but not eating after 6 and good excercise....

After 20 years of yoyo dieting, the only thing that worked is giving up junk, eating more healthy whole foods, and portion control. I had to give up my "trigger foods" - foods that are hard for me to stop eating (pretzels, crackers, chips, cookies, baked goods, cold cereal). I have to plan meals, shop, cook, pack lunches, look up food choices online before I hit a restaurant.

This is how I eat now, it is a diet that never ends.

This month is my 6 year maintenance anniversary.

I am also a calorie counter. I would like to do the whole right cal right fat right carbs but that is too much for me. So just calories for now. Also alot of planning. And a fews days of exercise working up to 5-6 days a week.

Ditto for me. I also eat less than 100g of carbs a day and eat those primarily in the afternoon if I am working out that evening. And I'll work out 5x a week for about an hour and a half. 45-55 min of cardio and the rest strength training.

I have tried the Atkins diet in the past and that really helped me curb my cravings and I dropped a lot of weight doing that.....but it wasn't sustainable for me long term and I gained all the weight back. :-(

I personally think the question itself is flawed.

What causes weight loss is ingesting less calories than you use. Beyond that what matters is having a plan you can stick to. For some this might mean restricting carbs. For others it might mean tracking calories. The question is flawed because any diet that restricts calories works. There is no magic fairy dust at work. Stop thinking diet and start thinking lifestyle.

/RANT
HCG diet works because you're massively restricting calories. Wether you have fake drops that do nothing or you are being injected by a doctor with actual HCG that does almost nothing the reason you're losing weight is calories. Anyone who is thinking about doing HCG should read this. After you've lost the weight what then? You haven't learned sustainable life habits.

Every single diet I have ever tried and faithfully stuck to has worked for me. The problem has never been the diet for me. It was me committing to it for the long term. Weight Watchers, Calorie counting, heck, even the old slim fast diet plan worked...I was just not willing to stick to anything. I was a lazy dieter who wanted instant gratification without doing the work.

Now that I have finally "got it", and realize that I must work my program every single day, good old FREE calorie counting is what got me to my goal...and is keeping me at my goal.