What program are you on, and how's progress?
 

Hi - I've been posting for a few weeks now and from looking at signatures, tickers and posts, I see that so many of you have been very successful --and Im just wondering what programs you are all on and how you're progressing.

Me, I've forgone a "formal" program and just eating more sensibly and eating sensible portions. I've lost a little over 50 pounds in almost a year -- not fast weight loss, but it has been stress-free and I know I'll be eating this way for the rest of my life. I see a few others share this philosophy, but others refer to programs.

How about you?

Mary (Don't Worry - Be Happy! :carrot::carrot::carrot:)

I have tried almost every diet. Basic weighing, measuring and accurate calorie counting / tracking along with light to medium exercise (walking, bicycling, yard work and so forth seems to work the best for me. I have not given up any food types at all. I do watch the quantity that I eat of what some may consider forbidden foods very carefully and I either fit them into my daily calorie allowance or I will not eat them.

Larry,

I'm on the Rosemary Conley plan - calorie counting and less than 5% fat (except for a daily treat), with a strong focus on exercise. The weekly class includes 45 minutes of Zumba, which I love. I also do combat DVDs, lots of walking and have just started jogging! I've lost just over two stone so far (1 stone = 14lbs).

I'm just calorie counting, trying to stay between 1200 - 1400 calories a day with one day a week at 1800 - 2000 (I do out to dinner once a week). I've made the decision not to weigh or measure myself because I tend to let the numbers alter my mood too often (if the numbers are good, I get cocky and if the numbers are bad, I feel discouraged and want to give up). So, for now, I'm trying to focus on just creating healthier behaviors, and I've been successful so far----of course, it has only been a month! :)

I calorie count and try to eat a balance of 1/3 protein/ 1/3 fat/ 1/3 complex carbs. I eat 1,400-1,500 calories a day. Then I do 1/2 weight training and 1/2 cardio at a gym 3x a week and am doing to C25K running program about 2x a week. I eat back some of the calories I burn. I've lost 66 lbs. very slowly. I tend to lose about 5 lbs. a month. I hope to be able to live this way the rest of my life.

Previously I lost 40 lbs. on Jenny Craig but gained it back because I didn't get that maintenance is forever.

I am doing the Dukan Diet. It's pretty strict - there is a list of 100 foods you are allowed to have, and you can have unlimited quantities of those foods (for the most part). The foods are lean meats, no fat dairy, and vegetables, along with a couple tbs of oat bran (not oatmeal) every day. But if it's not on the list, you cannot have it, period.

For me, it's actually been very freeing to have that sort of strictness. No more guessing how many calories are in something at a party, no more figuring out how much of something I can squeeze into my day and not be too far over, no more being hungry and having to decide whether to eat something even if I'm over. It's like putting on blinders for everything that isn't on the list, and just ignoring it all but still being able to eat any time I am hungry.

I'm not saying I would want to eat this way forever, with no deviation. But I won't have to. The way this plan is designed, once I lose the weight, I'll be able to add more things back in a very gradual way. For right now, my focus is on losing the weight, and I'm willing to change my life this dramatically to make it happen. And it's working really well - I've never lost weight as quickly before (over 20 lbs so far, in 6 weeks) and it's never been so easy to stay on plan. I've eliminated all grains, starches, sugars, and processed foods, and I no longer have cravings for any of it.

I'm just calorie counting as well. I've found it incredible how much I can actually eat without going over my limit. Half the time I struggle to make it up to 1300 calories.

I'm doing some relaxed calorie shifting as well, but it's difficult so far...I'm trying to end up at about 16-1800 calories a couple times a week.

I've only been at this eating healthy thing for a few weeks, and my loss is not super-speedy ( 6.3 pounds so far), but I'm happy with that. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.

I started my new way of life on May 5 and have lost 31 pounds as of today!

I am just calorie counting (1200-ish a day) and excersing.
I work out pretty much 6 days a week doing treadmill and/or Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Some days I only do one or the other, but most days I try to do both. I am currently only doing 1.5 miles on the treadmill in about 25 mins, but am trying to get more mileage and less time.

Oh, also with calorie counting, I'm also watching the carbs. I'm not eating low-carb, but I do try to avoid over processed white stuff as much as I can, but I do incorporate carbs into my calorie counts. And of course drinking water as much as I can (which is really hard for me to do, for some reason).

Hope that helps...congrats on your 50 pound loss!!!! That is a great accomplishment!! :)

I use the exchange program, and have lost about 65 lbs. Now I am maintaining, being careful of the carbs, and enjoying life. I consider myself a success story in the weight-loss department. :wave:

Sounds like most of us are taking a more laid back method - watching calories and doing some exercise - using common sense. "April Snow" you're on a more structured plan - I've never heard of the Dukan Diet before - I'd like to get info on the 100 foods.

Great that we're all doing well and happy with our eating habits!

By the way Larry -- I absolutely LOVE the Orsen Wells quote :) :)

Mary

I do basic calorie restriction but I also have discovered that carbs are a big deal for me if I want to lose weight. The more carbs I eat the more carbs I want and that can make it very hard to stay on plan with restricting calories.

For me the best thing seems to be a lower carb diet. I am currently eating around 50 net carbs a day, I get around 1400 calories a day, always over 100g of protein and around 60-70grams of fat. The majority of my carbs come from 3 servings each of fruits and veggies a day. This month I've also removed all refined sugar which is going awesome for me so far. There is no way on earth I'm giving up carbs for the rest of my life, but I'm definitely learning to make healthier foods the norm instead of the exception.

I also eat on an IF schedule. I'm extremely glad that I heard about IF (intermittent fasting) months ago. I eat my meals between 2pm-8pm and I'm so much happier eating this way then the 6 small meals I used to spread out over the whole day. It's really helps a lot because I hardly ever feel hungry.

I am currently exercising 6 days a week for 2 hours mon-fri and about an hour on Saturday. I usually only exercise an hour a day, but I'm trying to have a big month. My current plan is very similar to what I was doing in March when I had a lose of 14.4lbs, so I'm aiming for great results like that again.

I calorie counted for a long time and lost a good chunk of weight, and then switched to Medifast which is low carb and much easier for me to stay on at the moment.

I am on Weight Watchers Online, which works best for me. I have been on many diets thru the years, and find that weight watchers is the best fit for my personality. I have lost 62 pounds so far.
As far as exercise goes, I still certainly do not get enough, but I try to get in a walk 3 to 4 days a week.

this is a list of foods http://ddr.myfreeforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=203

But I would recommend that anyone considering trying this plan buy the book. It goes into more detail and I have found it has been very helpful and motivating for me to read.

noregrets4me - congrats on the 50 lbs! You're obviously doing something right. :)

I just started this new journey June 1 and am keeping my calories to 1200 with lean meats, lean carbs (no white) and greens. I've lost 13 lbs and am starting to see a difference in my clothes. I'm just making better choices and going at this as eating healthier rather than a "diet."

I'm more active, but haven't started working out again. I wanted to get a hold on my eating first and will start back to the gym in 2 weeks time.

I always like to hear what others are doing as well.

~DD

Started doing South Beach two weeks ago, and after finishing Phase 1 I'm down 6 or so pounds from the start. It's great to feel like I can be successful at something, and I feel so much healthier from just cutting out the processed **** in my previous diet. LOL.

I am following the Mediterranean Diet, which is lie the Sonoma Diet only it does not restrict fruits. It is not a weight-loss diet (although weight loss does take place). It is a healthy lifestyle eating plan.

Whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, olive oil, lean meats (although I hardly ever eat meat; I eat natural peanut butter). You can even have wine, although I don't.

I have dropped from 144 to 135 since June 1, and I feel really good when I follow this food lan.

I do the basic principles of Weight Watchers (old points system not pro-points) but don't go to the meetings or follow strictly. I give myself roughly 20 points per day but I don't count fruit and I don't count coffee (as these are things that are always going to exist in my diet!).
I try to cut down carbs in the evening, and I try to eat something every few hours so I'll have breakfast, then fruit, then lunch, then fruit, then dinner.

I only do my points Mon-Fri and then at the weekend I switch off (to an extent). Restaurants & pubs & snacks are always going to be part of my life, and I have to do a diet that's realistic when I reach my goal.

I go to the gym at least twice a week. I also walk a mile+ every day to & from the station.

I've lost 60lbs (over 3 years) but I've never gone up only plateaued and then dropped. It's very slow progress but I've adjusted to my lifestyle rather than crash dieted.

I've been on Weight Watchers since mid-January. So far, I've lost 27 lbs. Slow weight loss, but I have PCOS so I'm just happy I'm actually losing. I also do 45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and I lift weights 4-6 nights per week. I'm about to start Crossfit in August.

Congratulations on your success! It's inspiring to see someone so successful on such a common sense plan. It shows how small changes add up to big results over the long term. I always have to fight against the "get-it-off-quick" mentality. It's like I'm trying to outrun what I realize will be my eventual discouragment (although I'm doing MUCH better this time around).

I'm making up my plan as well. Calorie-counting, wholefoods (though not to the point of giving up bread or what have you), I'm already vegan, porridge for breakfast most of the time, and soup and/or salad for lunch. I've been happily losing a pound a week and to my surprise, haven't got bored yet.

However, yesterday I saw the doctor about the bouts of nasty upper abdominal pain I've been getting. He thinks it may be gallstones and is referring me for an ultrasound. Meanwhile, he wants me to eat a very low fat diet (10%) and high protein (didn't say). Not the easiest combination on a vegan diet, and quite frankly it's doing my head in. I think I will be getting lots of recipes from fatfreevegan.com and using more protein powder in the porridge. Hopefully it'll only be temporary.

Wow, noregrets! 50 lbs is an awesome achievement! :bravo:

I'm like most people on here - watching calories and exercising. I use MyPlate to track my daily calorie consumption (It's on the LiveStrong.com website, and it's free!), which allows me to input my daily exercise and thus adjust how many calories I need to consume in a day. I also drink a HUGE quantity of water every day - at least one gallon, if not two. It means I'm constantly looking for the bathroom, but as a bio major for the first half of college I learned so much about how water powers the Krebs cycle (the fundamental reaction that causes fat-burning in the human body) that I'm happy to incorporate it in. As for exercise, I do odd jobs for people to earn $$$, most of which involve house cleaning, painting, or dog walking. I burn at least 1000 calories during a weekday. It's crazy trying to eat enough to keep up with it, but it's working well. I started losing in mid-May and I'm down 27 lbs thus far. I'm trying to average 8-10lbs a month.

I've tried other methods in the past, although South Beach was by far the most successful. Like recycledartgirl, I really enjoyed making it through each stage - the program has mini-goals built into it that really help motivate. But for some reason being on an official 'diet' greatly increases the likelihood that I'll end up falling off the wagon. I think probably because of the 'lose weight quick' mentality that is portrayed in diet advertising, even though South Beach isn't like that. Anyway, the lifestyle change is what works for me!

I do Weight Watchers and am doing great on it, nothing else has worked for me :) I also wanted to cut calories/portions, and WW was a great way to start!


Yay for lifestyle change!

I worked out an eating plan with a nutritionist, and it follows the diabetic diet principles (mainly, tracking carb grams) but also protein and fat. It is basically a controlled carb/low fat/moderate protein diet. It's the only reasonable diet that has ever kept me reasonably satisfied AND worked for me long term for weight loss. (Granted, eating a Taco Bell burrito once a day and 5 Mountain Dews worked back in the day, but that was NOT healthy! Same with exercising 3 times a day every day and eating 1,000 calories.)
I also work out on the elliptical 5 or 6 times a week for an hour. I sometimes mix it up with walks outside, swimming laps, and riding the stationary bike. As I've seen others say on here, the exercise keeps me honest because I HATE sweating and I'll be dam**ed if I waste that sweat on a stupid cookie! :dizzy:

I've just hit my one week mark back at the gym but I'm still working on figuring out my diet change. I've read that others who are like myself and don't have a thyroid and/or are hypothyroid do best on low-carb, high protein diets. When I was in high school I tried the South Beach diet and I remember losing weight quickly, but having a hard time sticking to it. I don't think I even made it all the way through the first phase because I couldn't adhere to cutting all the carbs.

A lot of things have changed since then and living on my own gives me the freedom not to buy the junk that my parents always had in the house, so I've been eating much better for many years, but haven't really stuck to a "plan" that's worked.

Anyone on a low carb diet- how many grams of carbs do you allow yourselves each day and how do you determine what's a good carb and what's a bad carb? I recently got a rice cooker and was going to make rice the staple of my diet, but it's a carb, so I don't think I can do that now.

Any advice? I'd really appreciate it! :)

I did WW about 10 years ago and it did not work for me. I did Atkins 8 years ago and it worked very well for me. I lost 90 lbs in one year. I got pregnant and over the past 7 years have not watched my intake at all. I started the Sadkhin Complex in early June. I have lost 21 lbs in a month. Should have been more, but the last 10 days I cheated a lot. Back on the wagon today though. Starting again. Sadkhin Complex is a detox diet and is very strict. I needed to jump start my weight loss and wanted to get my body healthier. This works if you can stick to it.

Thanks Lin, I appreciate your support.

I appreciate the whole 'race against time' thing to lose weight and there's so much pressure with summer magazine articles that are like 'get down to this size before your holidays!' I recently enrolled in a new gym and at my registration I was told I could shed my final 25lbs in 3 months. I laughed at this, and very respectfully declined the offer of them creating a meal & diet plan for me - I'd never stick to it and there's no point in rushing. I'm giving myself a year.

Also - Macarey - I'm a fan of WW too - I like the fact that a) if I want to eat Pizza Hut it's not forbidden and b) I have a heart attack when I realise I ate 70 points worth of Pizza Hut... it makes me behave!

I favor a low-carb exchange plan. I've done other plans too, so all of my weight was not lost on the exchange plan.

I'm following the Scarsdale Medical Diet/Atkins Diet. I have cut the carbs and it is really working for me.

I'm not the kind of person who can maintain calorie counting or weighing my food and with this diet I don't have to do this.

I find that now that I have cut the carbs, I don't really crave them anymore and the rest of my food choices are just happening naturally.

[QUOTE=MagdalenaRaela;3922

Anyone on a low carb diet- how many grams of carbs do you allow yourselves each day and how do you determine what's a good carb and what's a bad carb? I recently got a rice cooker and was going to make rice the staple of my diet, but it's a carb, so I don't think I can do that now.

Any advice? I'd really appreciate it! :)[/QUOTE]

I got the number of carbs from my nutritionist based on my height, weight, and activity level. I eat 45 grams for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then three 15 gram snacks (btw breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and then bedtime). It definitely seems like a lot some days, but it isn't! I don't count non-starchy vegetables at all (salad, summer squash, tomatoes, etc.).

That's so helpful, heathermichigan! Thank you! :) I'm still working out exactly what my food plan is going to be, but this gives me an idea of the constraints on carbs.

Hi DoingGood - I just read Malcolm's ezine article - interesting. I saw the reference to follow-up with him by e-mail. Is it really free or do they want you to buy something?

Sounds like everyone here is doing really well - it's very impressive. Everyone seems to be stress free on their lifstyle changes which is really a great thing. I feel this sense of having a huge weight lifted from me -- oh wait - I did -- 50 lbs. :) LOVING IT !!!!

Don't Worry - Be Happy !!!

Mary

I'm glad to help! :) I should also say that that was less than she wanted to give me for my weight, but with my insulin resistance, she told me once I started losing X number of pounds a week, she'd add back in more carbs. I didn't want to add any back, so I didn't, but you might be able to get away with a bit more! :) (And now that I weigh so much less, it is really a non-issue! She'd have taken them away anyhow! :) )

"LIKE" This is sensible. It's something you can live with the rest of your life.

Myself, I do WW. Love it! A bit slow for me, but there are some things I do not want to give up. Like Friday night happy hour with friends. WW has taught me how to work it in. I'm working on gearing my head around maintaining rather than losing at this point.

Nothing fancy, I try to stay around 120 carbs or less a day. I do a lot of walking either outside or a Leslie Sansone DVD. I do believe slow and steady works best for me.

I am also starting the Scarsdale diet, I am very excited and will be starting on Monday as I will be away till then. For now Im just cutting my carbs until i begin. Im very serious this time about losing weight. I have lose 60 pound once before and have gained 40 of it back.. Very depressing.. but now Im going to find a meal plan that is more sustainable for me rather than the drastic calorie reduction I previously did. I also started walking to work so that should speed things up. I would like to lose 50 pounds... This is my first time commenting on thread here and I am so inspired and pshyched to start this journey.... Jomo any tips for the scarsdale plan ??

Does my usual diet of spaghetti and wine count? ;)

On plan, I tend to just try to eat as "clean" as possible. Basically, I follow the guidelines set by Tosca Reno in her Cooler 2 plans. I try to choose foods that haven't been processed, I avoid white sugars/flours, and I avoid extra fats. I allow myself as many non-starchy veggies as I want. I also allow myself fruit if I want it, but I don't really like fruit, so I don't eat much of it. I watch portion sizes (sticking with the standard palm-size for protein, cupped hand for grains, etc.) and drink a ton of water. I avoid sugary drinks and sweets, for the most part.

When I can, I try to exercise regularly: one HIIT run, one easy run, one long run and 2-3 days of weight training each week... with maybe a short yoga session thrown in for flexibility.

Program with planning
 

I am on weight watchers. I have lost 33 pounds so far and have 13 to go.
I use their points system to keep track of how much food I have in a day, but I also try to eat only healthy stuff and if I can to have one of my meals carb free (usually lunch).