Anyone doing the Virgin diet?

[martinimom]

Looking to link up with other Virgin diet followers.  I really need to swap some new recipes.  I started the Virgin diet on Nov. 10 and I dropped 31 pounds by the end of Feb.  I am only 2 pounds away from my goal.  I love it and can't believe how good I feel and look. I went from a size 14 to a 6 and would have never thought at age 47 I would be this small.  I do exercise a  lot (10-12 hours a week) but I have never been able to lose the weight before even with massive amounts of exercies. 

[shawni]

I am not using virgin diet.

Just a pointer, ensure what you lose is your body fat, visceral fat and maintain or increase your muscle mass, body water is within the healthy range and ensure your metabolic age is much healthier than the last time you started your diet.

BTW, mind sharing how virgin diet works? 

[RAC]

please share what is the virgin diet it sounds like you had great results. Great job!!!

[martinimom]

You can find everything on line but I also purchased the book.  There are 7 things that you don't eat Gluten, Soy, Eggs, Dairy, Peanuts, Corn, Sugar/Sugar Substitutes.  You can add dairy and eggs back in but I haven't really.  Every once in awhile I add some blue cheese to a salad.  I eat a brown grain farina for breakfast(like oatmeal) I add blueberries, nuts and coconut milk.  You can eat brown rice rice, Pad Thai noodles, beans etc. I eat shrimp, salmon, chicken etc. lots of veggies and fruits(anything blue or red) I make hummus, white bean dip with veggies for snacks or spinach smoothies.   I do workout with weights, Jazzercise -high impact aerobics, Hip Hop abs and Brazil Butt lift 10-12 hours a week.  I have gained  muscle mass my thighs and arms are very firm(just need to work more on that dreaded inner thigh jiggle LOL) The thing with this is it's a life style change. I can see being on this for the rest of my life.  It's just clean eating.     

[martinimom]

How does one tell a metabolic age?

[shawni]

Hi @martinimom   

You can not tell the exact metabolic age of someone by your eyes.
There are some scale in electronic form such as bio-electronic impedance weight scale that calculate your metabolic age. I personally use tanita scale to check my weight, my body fat, visceral fat, muscle mass, bone mass, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age, etc. How do we know whether we are in the healthy range of metabolic age? The standard healthy range is, your metabolic age should be 10 years younger than your original age. If you are 36 this year, it is good if you score metabolic age as 26 years old or younger than 26. For me, i am 36 years old and my metabolic age is 18 years old 🙂

 

[Nana14]

s it is a great way to eat, not really a diet just helps you find out what foods your body tolerates. You lose weight as an added benefit. I love it. Works for me I started last Spring, I lost 7 lbs the first week! I maintain a 133-135 pond average by sticking to the maintenance plan. IT Works!

[SunsetRunner]

Virgin, Paleo, Atkins, Smelly butt are pure gimmicks that yes will help you lose weight but are unsustainable. Once u start introducing the foods u restricted, the weight eventually comes back. Most of these diets can be dangerous. Many limit foods that have vital macro nutrients u cant get from just eating grass. Again, the best way to lose weight is moderation.... more calories burned vs intake.

U shouldn't deprive yourself.. countless studies show that 70-75% of people who lose weight gain most of it back. That rate is even higher for those who lose weight using one of these fad diets.

I do believe that some people do have mild allergic reactions to specific foods. For example i cant really eat egg yolks. They make me feel like crap but i can have egg whites.

Moderation people.. moderation

[Heybales]

Well, to go along with it, if you look at original comments, worked out like crazy but didn't lose weight.

No comment at all about watching calories, so it really sounds like the mindset of thinking exercise causes weight loss, which it doesn't at all by itself.

So not until starting the diet did calories actually get watched. And shock of non-shockers, eat less than you burn and weight was lost.

[PaleoCrossfit]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:
Virgin, Paleo, Atkins, Smelly butt are pure gimmicks that yes will help you lose weight but are unsustainable. Once u start introducing the foods u restricted, the weight eventually comes back. Most of these diets can be dangerous. Many limit foods that have vital macro nutrients u cant get from just eating grass. Again, the best way to lose weight is moderation.... more calories burned vs intake.

U shouldn't deprive yourself.. countless studies show that 70-75% of people who lose weight gain most of it back. That rate is even higher for those who lose weight using one of these fad diets.

I do believe that some people do have mild allergic reactions to specific foods. For example i cant really eat egg yolks. They make me feel like crap but i can have egg whites.

Moderation people.. moderation

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I've eaten Paleo for over 3 years. It's not a "gimmick". It also wasn't about losing weight. It's about eating CLEAN and REAL food. Not just low calories boxed chemically altered CRAP.

Just saying. Don't claim to know everything about every "diet", when Paleo isn't a "diet" at all.

Do some research.

[martinimom]

I'm still doing the Virgin Plan 90% of the time.  I like an occassional glass of wine, cocktail and girls nights out are when I will eat what I want.  I usually end up with stomach issues the next day.  I think the thing with the Virgin Plan it's not really a diet, it's a lifestyle.  I tried a lot before like I said and I thought I was eating healthy by eating 100 calorie snack packs, reduced fat granola bars and light/FF yogurt-Guess what they are all garbage.  They are not food, it's processed BS.  So even by eating a salad and then added a sugar/chemical salad dressing it really defeats the purpose.  I make my own salad dressing and if I want yogurt I get plain greek yogurt and add some sliced almonds and berries that I cut up.  I'm still a size 6 and have never felt better.  It's not really about the size, it's how you feel.  At 48 I feel better than I was in my 30's for sure.  Another thing, I think getting rid of sugar and sugar subsitutes in my diet   has made me look much younger.  :

[SoCalBeachGirl]

I am 58 years old and not "overweight" at 122 pounds. However, I have very high cholestrol even with meds and don't really exercise. So, I am what you might call "skinny fat". I started the Virgin Diet 7 days ago. I cheated a little with wine, so on my 7th day have lost 3.4 pounds - not the seven promised in the book. I like the diet because it gives me limited choices. However, it seems if you eat just one forbidden thing the plan doesnt work? Any suggestions? I would like to lose 7 pounds and stablize. 

[Heybales]

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@SoCalBeachGirl wrote:

I am 58 years old and not "overweight" at 122 pounds. However, I have very high cholestrol even with meds and don't really exercise. So, I am what you might call "skinny fat". I started the Virgin Diet 7 days ago. I cheated a little with wine, so on my 7th day have lost 3.4 pounds - not the seven promised in the book. I like the diet because it gives me limited choices. However, it seems if you eat just one forbidden thing the plan doesnt work? Any suggestions? I would like to lose 7 pounds and stablize. 

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Considering it was only going to be water weight anyway for that short time span - yes very exact method is done to obtain that much water weight.

But why not count it as a blessing, since now you'll have less to get discouraged over when you regain it.

Which you would have.

If you want to lose 7 lbs - set your deficit to 250 calories.

Eat until you reach your eating goal - don't miss it.

You will lose the weight probably faster than you gained it.