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What is the best eating plan you've ever followed?

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I'm curious what meal plans have really worked for people. I know everyone's body is different, but I'd like to try something new and I'm wondering what people have had success with. I'm considering the Bright Line Eating Plan—where you don't eat sugar or flour, but you do eat a ton of vegetables, some fruit, protein and fat at each meal.

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I know everyone's body is different but the best diet I can advice someone who wants to live healthier, lose weight very efficiently, or maintaining would be a low carb low sugar diet. I don't forbid myself from any food but now I live by eating low carb and rarely any processed sugar. I don't even count calories or worry about what I can and cannot eat as long as it is low carb and low sugar and I can still lose weight. Too many people blame fat as the main source of weight gain but it is carb, starch, grains, sugar that makes people unhealthy and fat. Go low carb, yes do it forever and not just to lose weight. You'll feel more satisfied eating more protein/fat, staying full longer, and having more energy. Going low carb, low sugar saved me life, changed me life. 

 

People eat too much carb and sugar which they only use 1/4 of the energy produce by it and the rest is stored very quickly. But hey it's your life eat what you want.

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I am not a fan of any of the various eating plans or fad/designer/celebrity diets, @bookseller. I have stayed healthy through 7 decades by eating balanced meals with portion control and execise.  I am sure you will soon see the 12-video plan advertised here, and you can use your own evaluation of them.  But any plan, like the one you mentioned for eliminating sugar and flower, with little meat & fruit, will end up leaving you craving those restricted items, resulting in binging on them again. Use a balanced meal with portion control and exercise to get your calories in vs calories out in line with your goals.

 

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Over many years I've followed many plans but most of them eventually made me heavier (or ill).  I've discovered that one of the reasons that I've failed in the past is that I do too much on too little food.  This leads to me either giving up or making myself sick.  So my simple answer is counting calories.  I don't exclude anything.  I treat my calories as a budget.  When I'm chosing what to eat I generally consider if it's worth the calories.

 

A few basic concepts are common to good eating plans.  Eat as many whole foods as possible.  Stay away from highly processed foods.  Take in a good variety of fruits and vegetables.  Unless you're vegan, include lean meats in your plan. I tend to stick to lean meats for the calories.  Don't be afraid of fat in your diet but pay attention to the amounts.

 

Too many diets demonize specific foods.  I don't believe there are truly any foods.  Some choices are just better than others.

Anne | Rural Ontario, Canada

Ionic (gifted), Alta HR (gifted), Charge 2, Flex 2, Charge HR, One, Blaze (retired), Trendweight.com,

Down 150 pounds from my top weight (and still going), sharing my experiences here to try and help others.

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Thanks, Larry. Ach, I wish I had the mindset to consistently use portion control...but that's a challenge for me...though I'm going to keep trying! I think Bright Line uses an addiction model, because for many people, (like me) eating even a small amount of an addictive food (sugar, flour) makes me crave more. I do find when I eat more fruit, veggies, protein and fat, my sugar cravings decrease. I'm curious what 12 videos you are referring to?

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Thank you for your comment. Tracking my calories on the fitbitlog has been eye-opening and motivating. I just got my fitbit for xmas and have tracked my food for 2 days... beginning to see where I can make some healthy changes regarding portions etc. and it has already made me consider if I really want to eat something, so yay for that!

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I wouldn’t call it a "meal plan" (because it doesn’t tell you what and what not to eat), but for me, it’s flexible dieting. Its basic principles are the following: 1) make 80-90% of what you eat whole, minimally processed food (something already mentioned by @USAF-Larry and @A_Lurker), 2) eat a sufficient amount of protein, 3) choose the remaining 10-20% from foods you like (even if they are not "healthy"), as long as you remain within your calorie allotment for your goal (whether it is to lose, maintain or gain). Obviously, it is not "perfect" (perfection would be to eat 100% "healthy"), but the flexible part (allowing a few "unhealthy" items in moderation) is what guarantees adherence and makes the diet sustainable; it’s a kind of insurance against cravings and binging. As noted, something few people would disagree with is you can’t really overeat  veggies (well, maybe except for proponents of very low-carb diets). There are just so many benefits in them: most are cheap, filling, rich in nutrients (vitamins, minerals etc.), low on calories and well, tasty (once you find the ones you love and develop a taste for them).

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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You plan sounds similar to the Atkins approach which is the eating plan I follow.  For those of us who have alway fought our weight, finding a way of eating that allows us to lose and get fit is amazing.  If we were able to 'eat sensibly' we wouldn't be fat so, clearly, we have issues with knowing what 'normal eating' is.  

I eat very little sugar and no breads or starches.  While you are allowed to add these back in on Atkins, I've found that, for me, they lead to out of control eating binges.  What I like best about Atkins is that I do NOT crave the junk and I don't miss the bread, rice, or potatoes (why should I miss that which helped make me fat?).  What I do eat is meat, veggies (lots of veggies) and dairy. I know that sounds boring, but think beef stroganoff made with sour cream, a sausage/spinach crustless quiche made with full fat cheese, sauteed chicken with a gingerflavored sauce etc.  This is good food. I'll put blueberries on my greek yogurt, but I've never liked most fruits and not liking them is the reason I don't eat fruit.  With Atkins, you will add back fruits and grains in a controlled manner while paying attention to what the addition does to your cravings and weight.  

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

I don't miss the bread, rice, or potatoes (why should I miss that which helped make me fat?).  


These are staple foods for more than half of the humanity, in parts of the world where very few people are overweight. It’s not bread, rice or potatoes that get people fat, it’s overeating (overeating these and plenty of other things). The problem in the industrial world is that plenty of food is available everywhere all the time, while there are less and less opportunities to use it for fuel (most people having desk jobs, cars to move them from one place to the other, kids playing video games instead of chasing a ball outdoors etc.). The reason why Fitbit is so successful is it motivates us to reach the same activity level previous generations had through their jobs and way of life. Previous generations ate far more bread and potatoe than we do, without getting fat from it.   

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Every body responds differently.  As I've stated before, if I incorporate these foods (which imo are not healthy foods) I will gain weight even at 1300 calories a day.  If I dont' eat them, I can lose weight on 1700-1800 calories daily with the same amount of exercise.  Additionally, these foods set off cravings that can be ignored for just so long before binge eating occurs.  These are the personal facts behind my statement  (why should I miss that which helped make me fat?).   I'll go further and ask why should I eat foods that cause me to have uncontrollable cravings and cause me to think about eating pretty much all day?  I eat whole, unprocessed foods that I cook myself, I have lost most of the weight I want to lose, my cholesterol levels have become excellent, and I do not think about eating something all the time.  The question was 'what has worked for you'.  This has worked for me.

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I would agree that every body handles food differently…one size doesn’t fit all…just like people respond differently to alcohol…one person can have one drink and stop for the evening, another can have an ounce and then needs another and another and another. When I was at my most fit, I ate very little sugar and processed carbs…my carbs were mostly veggies, and ½ c fruit for dessert…I’m going to go back to that now…because one thing I know for sure is when I have processed carbs? It sets off a weird craving and I keep eating…

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i find the Eating Well plan works well, is easy to follow,and works within all diet types (vegetarian, gf, etc.). you have to log and count calories---which has been made easier with calorie counting websites. i lost a lot of weight and inches with the ideal protein diet, but gained half back in a major binge after stopping the diet. 

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@joyacreater wrote:

i lost a lot of weight and inches with the ideal protein diet, but gained half back in a major binge after stopping the diet. 


Unfortunately, @joyacreater, that is the problem with most diet plans.  They aren't lifestyle changes, they are just temporary changes in diet.

 

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That why we overweight folks have such a hard time-the lifestyle that is normal and (probably) the one we grew up with is the one that got us fat.  Lifestyle changes are extremely difficult and ,typically, totally unfamiliar-that's why planned diets are so popular-they provide guidelines we didn't grow up with.  I wish the psychological aspect of losing weight would get more press.

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Over the years I've tried many different plans, however I've found many of them to be very hard to stick to or the food just didn't taste good at all so I'd revert back to my old ways.

What I found that worked really well for me is eating Paleo. As I started to eat this was I realized that I had a lot of food addictions (sugar, wheat, dairy etc) that many of us have that were actually hurting my body, making me sick often (I would get sick at least once a month) and making my stomach hurt. I didn't realize it was from the foods I was eating. 

Since eating Paleo, I'm not getting sick as often, my stomach doesn't bloat or hurt after I eat and I've lost over 20lbs. 

There are a ton of Paleo cookbooks and a ton of great recipes you can find online. I highly recommend giving it a try. 

Just a heads up, when/if you do start eating paleo, your body will likely make you think you need to eat that treat made with refined sugar or other foods you're used to eating. This will subside in 5-7 days and you'll find you're no longer craving those foods so push through that temptation. Your body will thank you for it later 🐵

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@KLAFitThanks for your response.Several of my kids, nephews and nieces eat paleo and they are all very athletic and healthy. They also make all kinds of yummy breads with almond/flax and coconut flours. It seems the main thing in many of the stronger meal plans is to avoid sugar and processed carbs and load up on organic veggies. I'm on Day 3 of this, and I don't know if its the placebo effect or not, but I kind of feel better already...of course I've walked 30,0000 steps as well...and ha, I'm also happy with any plan that includes avocados. 🙂

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PLANT BASED/VEGAN!.. FRUITS, WHOLE GRAINS, VEGGIES... PROTEIN FROM BEANS AND NUTS. HAVE EATEN NO MEAT FOR OVER 40 YEARS AND FEEL GREAT!  BUYING ORGANIC WHEN POSSIBLE.

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@jerob21  any dairy?

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@booksellerI don't know that I've really and truly liked any plan, which is probably why I'm in this fine mess again. Currently I'm just watching what I eat, sticking almost exclusively to whole foods and good carbs (so no rice/potatoes/bread, etc). Almost exclusively because ATM I'm dipping little chunks of 85% dark chocolate into organic, no sugar added peanut butter. I do have a problem, but this may be mildly better than a reese cup? And it's only a couple chunks, only a bit of PB. I'm ok with this snack. 🙂

 

However, a community member over in the manage weight area inadvertently turned me onto Zoë Harcombe who has an eating plan (was looking into a video on her explaining why calories are not created equal when I found her plan). I grabbed her book for my ereader and honestly, if I didn't have snow and bitter cold to contend with, I'd be hitting the grocery store and I'd start her plan tomorrow. I still may start tomorrow -- I think I may have enough veggies & meat to get through a handful of days. I'm trying to convince myself that I can be brave and go out on Saturday no matter what. My 24 daughter works tomorrow and will leave the house, so it's a bit disconcerting how big of a chicken I've become, LOL.

 

Here's the website if you'd like to take a look: http://theharcombediet.com/

 

We'll see how it goes. Cannot be any worse than what I'm doing.

Brie | F | 46 | Indiana | Alta | Charge HR | Aria
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I know everyone's body is different but the best diet I can advice someone who wants to live healthier, lose weight very efficiently, or maintaining would be a low carb low sugar diet. I don't forbid myself from any food but now I live by eating low carb and rarely any processed sugar. I don't even count calories or worry about what I can and cannot eat as long as it is low carb and low sugar and I can still lose weight. Too many people blame fat as the main source of weight gain but it is carb, starch, grains, sugar that makes people unhealthy and fat. Go low carb, yes do it forever and not just to lose weight. You'll feel more satisfied eating more protein/fat, staying full longer, and having more energy. Going low carb, low sugar saved me life, changed me life. 

 

People eat too much carb and sugar which they only use 1/4 of the energy produce by it and the rest is stored very quickly. But hey it's your life eat what you want.

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@AndyDandyPandyThis is pretty much what I'm hearing from Zoë Harcombe (her "diet" though it's not so much a diet as it is getting on the right path and staying there for forever), and what I've started doing today actually. Her plan is in phases. I'm going to stick with it and I have high hopes. I've recently quit smoking and drinking (did both very heavily), so this is just another step in getting me to where I need to be.

Brie | F | 46 | Indiana | Alta | Charge HR | Aria
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