I'm having one of those introspective days..in fact..weeks... Since i first joined 3fc, i have hopped from one diet to the next...Trying a diet is like trying on a pair of pants, you have to keep trying one till they fit..and hopefully they fit good..Well,thats my problem, i keep trying them out and i know im in the right "brand" if you will, but the store doesnt have my "size" if you know what i mean?

Okay, in simple speak: Out of all the diets i have ever done and been successfull to some degree, i know its a low carb version. I have a gluten and wheat intolerance so this makes it a lot easier then say "weight watchers". So i know i fit into the brand of low carb..yet..there doesnt appear to be one particular diet(size) that fits me. Ive tried Atkins-it doesnt allow fruit? Ive tried south beach-it almost not restrictive enough in carb count Ive tried IP-i went bonkers and suffered from hunger pangs and who restricts fruit?

Yes i recognize that you can "add" back things later..but i really feel like i need one serving of fruit at least in my diet..

To top off this diet issue, i struggle with insulin resistance syndrome/high blood sugar...which makes losing weight harder!!! argh!

So i just dont know where i fit now?

See, i watched FATHEAD and i can say that i agree with his perspective on needing fat..and i will admit, i am afraid too of fat..my parents taught me to be that way..my mom was obsessive about low fat all her life..and hence taught me that fat is bad..and yet this guy says "fat is good"

So okay.. i think in my head..i can do protein in the form of meats and beans and i can do veggies and make homemade salad dressing with grapeseed oil and avocado and i can eat cheese.. but i dont know where dairy or fruit fits???

Hence why, i dont know where i fit into this dieting thing. I feel like i dont belong on any forum to any diet program because it feels like there isnt a specific plan out there that seems to fit to me????

Thoughts?

Why do you have to fit into a specific plan? Have you tried just eating a healthy gluten-free diet, staying off sugars and eating wholegrains (brown rice and such), and calorie counting?

I really think that this is a great opportunity here. You know what does and doesn't work for you. Now, you just have to custom tailor it to a plan that you can stick to. I highly recommend calorie counting. You can eat in any way you like and you just keep track of your caloric intake. As far as dairy and fruits....just include them in amounts that fit into your caloric bank account.

Also, you can belong to any sub forum here....wherever there's a discussion about something that is relevant. I've been around this entire website and I've done different plans as well. If you don't really know where you want to make your home base, so to speak, maybe it could be the group that fits your age range or maybe just weight loss support or the groups that are in the weight range you're trying to lose.

Ultimately, I think a lot of people here have had to customize their diets to fit their lifestyles and it doesn't have to be a plan that is out there per se....I hope I'm making sense.

Congrats on figuring all this stuff out!

Do what works for you! Remember this is a life long commitment. If you do not change your eating habits, you will regain your weight. I am doing calorie counting with myfitnesspal and with my smart phone, it is sooooo nice!

I agree with Esofia, just put your own plan together! The plans you mentioned are great, but realistically if you actually want to stick with something you are going to have to make it somewhat your own. So modify as needed, and maybe just calorie count to keep yourself in check. You don't have to let some 'plan' dictate what you do!!

I agree with calorie counting, you can tailor it to suit your needs.

I agree that you don't have to "fit" into a specific plan. You can modify an existing plan, or invent one of your own.

I also found that I do best on a lower-carb diet, but couldn't find a low-carb diet plan that I liked or believed in enough to stick with by "their" rules. I read a lot about lower-carb diets, tried a few, and ended up "tweaking" and "translating" low-carb diets into my preferred form of dieting (exchange plans).

I love exchange plans, because they help me eat a balanced diet (even if my definition of balance changes), and the exchange plan does the calorie counting for you.

When I discovered that low-carb dieting worked best for me, I went looking for a low-carb exchange plan (such as those I found on the frugalabundance website). Although I ended up tweaking the plan a little bit more to fit my needs.

Essentially the low-carb exchange plan trades high-carb exchanges for protein and fat exchanges. You can use a plan you find online, or you can adapt it to your own preferences (I did a bit of both).

I am also on my own low-carb plan, because I have IR and PCOS.

I don't follow a named plan because I had a hard time sticking to rules.... I like to listen to my body and a lot of these plans would me want to rebel from the start!

Anyway.....

I eat a whole foods diet, calorie count, and it's low carb. I eat fruit.

The one good thing that I learned from a nutritionist I went to is that for IR/PCOS, it's good to balance the carb with the protein or high fiber. That balances out the blood sugar. So, I'll fruit as a snack, but I'll add some almond butter to it. My snack ends up being about 260 calories, which is perfect for my calorie counting part.

I need to calorie count. My IR/PCOS/Body have told me over and over again than while I do better on low carb diets, I also need to track calories or I'll gain weight, regardless!!!

A typical day for me might be:

Scrambled eggs with apple/cheese
Salad with goat cheese, walnuts, cranberries, and grilled chicken
Brown rice, garbanzo beans, and collard greens

For snacks, I'll have a Kind bar or my left over apple (from breakfast) with almond butter, or a greek yogurt, or whatever else I might have purchased for snack items that week.

I think that any diet has to be modified in order to make it work.

I like making my own dieting rules. Then I don't feel a need to rebel against them

I am a calorie counter as well and I set my own ratios of fat, carbs, and protein. Within that, I eat what I like. I have adjusted along the way, it's a little bit of trial and error but that's ok. But if you tell me I cannot have ice cream, then all I will want is ice cream and I will eventually cheat and have some, and once you have gone off plan, might as well make it worth it and chat some more, right? With calorie counting I am accountable and it works for me. I hope you find something tht works for you!

Oh, about the forums... I mostly stick to the main support forum and the 100 lb club. I lurk in others depending what I am in the mood for.

I don't have a plan really. I still eat unhealthy foods sometimes. I eat healthier than I ever have before though. I cut out a ton of sugars and sodas, and I exercise. I don't think I'll gain it back because I've chosen something I can stick with for my entire life.

Doing things you'll stick with is the key here. Not everyone can fit inside a box, not many do. Most tweak it as you can see in the posts before mine.

Do what you want, what you'll stick with how YOU want to do it! I may not fit into a plan but I damn sure fit into the losing weight forums

I definitely don't fit into a set plan either. Basically this whole journey got started with realistic baby steps that I knew I could handle. Eventually that morphed into a whole foods diet high in protein. Recently, I started seeing a nutritionist who put me on a type of exchange plan that works out to about 1400-1600 calories/day. Even that I don't stay on 100% but it's close.

As for the forums... i normally just check New Posts and if something strikes my fancy I post. I do keep up with a decades thread and did the Halloween challenge so that's been fun but I don't have a certain diet area that I hang out at. I do hang out around the strength training posts a lot because it's something I'm pretty passionate about.

I have a similar problem; I don't really fit in anywhere.

I started out low carb many years ago: Atkins.

Then I went very-low-carb for a while. After that I toyed with anorexia (which I don't recommend.) Then I binged for a few years. After that I went to calorie counting, and then to exercise only with a high protein, high cal diet. Then I tried MediFast.

Now I have devised a very-low-carb, low-fat, calorie-controlled plan, supplemented with MediFast products, which I love. Add to that I am also a vegetarian.

I am toying with the idea of going vegan, and perhaps eventually gluten-free, but because it is impossible to do low carb with all those restrictions, I am going to wait until I reach my goal weight to make any additional major changes.

The result of this is that I can post on all the boards! lol I don't restrict myself to one label. And that's good. Find what works for you and go with it.

I don't believe that there is any research which says that people who strictly follow any particular plan lose weight and keep it off better than people who develop their own plan.

I used to beat myself up because I would always somewhat modify any plan than I'm on. I would think that I was "cheating" and not following the plan. Yet, in time, I've realized that doesn't matter. I know what works best for me. Sometimes that changes over time. What worked best when I was 35 may not be what works best for me now at 57.

I simultaneously "follow" imperfectly or take from calorie counting, WW, Atkins and SBD.

I modified all of them:

1. Atkins - I ate nuts even in phase I. I do count net carbs but don't add things in as rigidly as Atkins calls for. I do try to somewhat limit saturated fat. I count calories.

2. SBD - I don't limit full fat/sat fat as much as SBD does. I eat full fat cheese. I sometimes eat small amounts of refined grains. I do count net carbs and calories.

3. WW - WW is actually very compatible with low fat eating. You could actually follow SBD or Atkins and completely follow WW. However, I do modify WW even so. WW, for example, only counts reduced fat cheese for milk servings. I count full fat cheese. For the healthy fats, WW only counts certain healthy oils. I count the fat in nuts.

4. Calorie counting - While I have an average amount of calories I want to aim for I am fine with, say, eating 1000 calories one day and then eating 1500 the next. If it averages out I'm good with that.

All of this works much better for me that trying to rigidly follow one plan that doesn't work as well for me.

I'll agree with everyone else -- make your own plan. I lost 10 lbs in a month before starting IP by limiting calories and carbs. I would have a smoothie in the morning and a handful of nuts as a snack. I even had pizza one night -- I just went back to watching myself more the next day.

I'm on IP, because I just want to be done with the weight loss part and on to maintenance and it's worked for me. But there are days when I really can't wait to be done and think about going back to just eating sensibly.

Anyway, it sounds like there are a lot of resources here that can help you put together what makes sense for you. Losing weight is not easy -- that's for sure.

Good luck!

A lot of diet plans can be overwhelming. Keep it simple! Eat whole, clean foods. Cut out anything artificial and count calories. Calories are great because you can play with them a little if the weight isn't coming off as you would like it (no serious revamping required), and it also gives you the freedom to say, have a couple of pieces of dark chocolate if you're dying for some.

I agree with others about designing your own plan and calorie counting gives you some guidelines, but still gives you freedom. Plus if you do it for a week you start to know the calories for everything anyway. And there are some great websites and fitness apps you can use these days!