Are you following a program, or doing your "own thing"?

[dipgal]

Diets Don't Work, so they say..  I've dieted many, many times and always ended up gaining it back.  I've tried cutting down and mindful eating (vs shoveling it in) - but unless I have some structure to follow I just don't do it.  I am picking up my exercise with my new fitbit, but can't overdo it because of bad knees.. I have a LOT to lose and find it hard to take baby steps.   I'm trying to change several habits at the same time.  I am succeeding with moving more, but not much else.  I do not need another failure to add to the long list of attempts.

What are you doing successfully?  Thanks!

[swh328]

Hello Melissa,

would you mind sharing the details of your clean eating program?  Thanks in advance

[Melissa68]

Swh328 if you want to give my your email address I can email you the information.: )

[Gadget_Girl]

Hi Melissa, 

Congrats, that is awesome!! 🙂

I have been really watching what I eat (clean eating, no processed/refined foods). I work out at home for about 30min (mainly walk/run on treadmill and then do some weights). However, I have only managed to lose about 7lbs in 4 weeks (18lbs to go). Would love to hear what your meal plan/workout routine is. 

Thanks a bunch! 🙂

Nadia

[wbannatyne]

Nadia,

7 lbs in 4 weeks is actually a very healthy weight loss rate.  1.5 - 2 lbs a week is the rate that you really want to keep.  Good for you!  I do similar to you, 30 minute workouts (p90x3) and healthy eating along with a meal replacement (Shakeology) daily.  I lost 27lbs in 13 weeks.  Same rate as you.  Keep it up!

Wayne

[pwilbur]

Hello all, what I've decide to do is a detox program which is recommend 4 times a year. I went to my local health food store and purchased Whole body cleanse by Enzymatic Therapy which is an internal cleansing system. It's really easy to follow but you have to take several supplments. I started 4 days ago at a high weight of 179 and today when i weighted in, I'm 174.7 so I'm down 4.3 pounds today. The program is 2 weeks and so far it's really helping me. I'm not really taking it for weight loss but for overall health with my digestive system. I went to my family reunion and ate several pieces of pork and beef which all just sat in my system and make me very bloated so this is when I decided to start the detox program. I'm also planning a vacation in the next few months and will probably do another after i return. I also have cut out meats and only eat chicken and lean cuisine meals while during the detox. Believe it or, those portion size meals really fill me up so I might contnue them even after the detox is complete. So bottom line if you are looking to cleanse your system, the detox might be what you need. Hope this help.

[Gadget_Girl]

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@wbannatyne wrote:

Nadia,

7 lbs in 4 weeks is actually a very healthy weight loss rate.  1.5 - 2 lbs a week is the rate that you really want to keep.  Good for you!  I do similar to you, 30 minute workouts (p90x3) and healthy eating along with a meal replacement (Shakeology) daily.  I lost 27lbs in 13 weeks.  Same rate as you.  Keep it up!

Wayne

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Hi Wayne, 

Wow! Congrats, that's great! 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement and sharing what has worked for you! I do realize that I am losing weight the healthy way but sometimes it is a bit frustrating lol! I am just going to have to be patient 🙂

Thanks again and all the best to you!

Regards, 

Nadia

[Green-Strong]

Greetings Dipgal, 

I dont follow a work out program but I do use Purium products. I just finished my 1st 10 Day Celebrity Transformation Cleans and I lost 8.5lb. For me though it is the fact that I feel better, healthier, and off of depression medication. I think that "diets" dont work. A diet is something that feeds your body good things it needs and its not something you follow. It is how you eat. I eat okay. I am only human though so I try to put lots of nutirent rich foods in my body to make up for the bad stuff. I figuer and heard somewhere that if I keep adding good things eventualy the bad things will not have room. So, I drink Organic, non-GMO, Vegan, green super foods shake everyday. Im in the process of reading a good book called The Green Foods Bible. I like the info and what it is teaching me about what we put into our bodies. I'll be doing my second transformation with my husband and I think it will be great. Ill let you know how it goes. And by the way, what a good question. Have a good night.  

[HillySuze]

When I added more strength training, I saw improvement and felt better.

Are you able to go out for an evening walk? That's a nice, easy way to get more active.

[OldButActive]

I've never been interested in the concept of 'diets'.  I did use them in the past and sometimes something worked and then later it didn't seem to work.  I tried Nutrisystem but I found that they load all their foods with a ton of fiber.  I don't know of any way I could make my own food to replicate that so I dropped that.  

Now I am following my own lifestyle of eating.  I reduced meats, frequently eat vegan or vegetarian meals, don't weigh my foods (which makes it slightly difficult to enter in that I ate 2 handfuls of nuts), and I use Fitbit and MFP as a duo for encouraging my moving forward with weight loss as well as identifying areas that need improvement.

[Jillianz]

I do the 5:2 diet while eliminating sugar and processed foods (read: I eat more whole foods). Additionally, I cut out beef (for health reasons AND because it takes a gross amount of time to 'process' it... ick).  Finally, I've found something I can stick with for the rest of my life.

I guess trying different diets is like dating.... you gotta kiss a few frogs before you find what is right for you!

Anywho, good luck to all!

[Girish]

My Friend Manoj Menaparambath  who is a fitbit user has started this as part of a wegith management program  https://bodykey.co.uk/public/testimonials.  You can see his stats and how much he has able to reduce the weight 11 kgs in 2 months is amazing, i am also doing the same, but have not regliously followed the diet plan and have only reduced 3 kgs, so for me, fitbit is working excellent alongwith a diet and exercise plan and if you approach holistically from all aspects. 

Hope this helps. 

[dipgal]

Green-Strong and others who have mentioned cleanses – I am glad the cleanse is working for you.. I have “cleansed” many times, and for me it’s nothing other than a very short “diet” and lots of wasted money.  Some are more expensive than others.. I see the one you mention is about $200.. I’ve spent something similar on a naturopath prescribed cleanse. I’ve always gained back the weight I lost on cleanses. Maybe I was healthier for a few weeks, but it didn’t last. And, it ended up making me feel like a failure – again.

Jillianz – yep tried the 5:2 twice.. To me it is nothing but deprivation twice a week and I can’t stick with it. I know that many people are able to have great success, so good for you! I wish I could send you the books and cookbooks I bought – but they are on my Kindle.

On another note, I have had Acid Reflux/GERD for years and have been on and off Acid Reducers for the same amount of time. This go-around I have been taking them for at least 2 years, and it is very unhealthy to continue this madness! I have two choices if I want to naturally heal my esophagus and prevent daily heartburn attacks. I can go very low carb, or have some carbs that are the kind that are easily digestible and absorbable. I read the book “Fast Tract Digestion - Heartburn” for great info.. It’s not just spicy food and laying down after eating… Oh, and being fat which puts pressure on everything.

Doing one of the above will most certainly be a “diet”, but I hope to look at it as a move toward better health instead of strictly weight loss. Once I’ve got weight loss ruling everything I put (or don’t put) in my mouth I rebel after awhile.

I do plan to drink one detox drink a day that I will make using fruits/veggies, and I’ll limit my caffeine and alcohol. I’ll also cut out junk.. Should be easy with limiting carbs..

I do appreciate everyone who has posted here! Thanks!

[dlraymer]

I just do my own thing, but it is different each time.  I find eating the same thing everyday cuts down on cravings.  Since I am currently working from home, it has been harder to start something and keep to it.  So, I decided to try Kirkland Weight Loss Shakes.  They are chocolate, and I HATE chocolate, but they keep me feeling full, and I have no desire to over eat!  I am older, and have a very small build, and I am vertically challenged.  It is really hard for me to lose weight, even when I am exercising for 45 minutes every day. 

[camrrt]

Very encouraging- It does prove that taking baby steps does add up.

[dlraymer]

It certainly does.  It was really, really discouraging the first week, but this second week I am going gangbusters!  By this time, my stomach has shrunk, so it makes everything easier. 

I always said, when I was going downtown to work every day, that I didn't want to work from home, because I would gain too much weight.  IMHO, it is easier to exercise willpower a couple times a day (because I can't just go out and get something to eat anytime when I am working) than being at home around all this food all day long.  But, my daughter is taking my car to school, and since my husband is very strick about what he eats (we calll him the food nazi)  we don't have junk around here.  I gained weight when I stopped weighing myself everyday.  Right after I got my fitbit, I bought a Aria scale, so weighing myself everyday is automatic.  If I am checking my dashboard (which I love), it needs to have my weight, good or bad.

[DarleenMB]

A little personal info to round things out ... I'm 67 and I'm not telling how much I weigh.  I'm 5'9.5" tall and medium to large build.

I did Jenny Craig for 18 months starting in September of 2006 eventually quitting in April of 2008.  I got really discouraged because the longer I was on the program the hungrier I became and the slower my weight loss.  I needed to lose at least 80 pounds at that time.  I did drop 58 pounds but finally quit because I couldn't take it any longer.

In the last 6 months on the program I only lost 8 pounds.  I still had a long ways to go and it shouldn't have slowed like that.

I spent the next 4 years blaming my thyroid, my metabolism etc.  I tried the hcg diet.  Full starvatio on that one and it took 9 months to lose 20 pounds.  I wound up following some quack (because he was an MD I thought he had all the answers) and doing all kinds of idiotic stuff.  LIke eating nothing but fat and meat one winter.  Not.  One.  Single.  Vegetable.  Learned all kinds of stuff about my body during that one.

About 2 weeks ago, being majorly frustrated, I did a google search for a calculator to tell me how much I was eating to maintain my current obese self.  The answer shocked me.  Admittedly Self magazine probably wasn't the best choice for this info but it woke me up.  The answer ... 1550 calories a day.  Why was this so shocking?  Because that's about what I eat.  I know because on several occasions, on a whim, I counted up my caloric intake.  1500-1800 was average for me. 

So then I looked at another calculator, this one on the Mayo Clinic website.  Their calculation was a bit higher but still in the ballpark I've been living in.

I know myself.  I have been telling myself all I need to do is EAT.  Three healthy, modest meals a day with 2 zone=type snacks and the weight will come off.  But I haven't done it.  

I decided to make a pact with myself.  I would do Nutrisystem for 3 months.  One, because it's WAY cheaper than Jenny Craig.  Two, I can get a good deal on it from QVC (although I probably should buy the cards from Costco and save a little bit more).  Three, 3 months is all I'm going to subject my body to all those grains and sugars. 

Yes, they follow the American Health Association and American Diabetic Association guidelines.   Guidelines that are formulated by their sponsors ... the grain growers, the sugar producers, etc.  I figure 3 months won't kill me (I hope) and it should be enough to get me into the groove.  Oh yeah, the program I'm using is weekends off which means I have to find my own way on Sat and Sun.  Currently I'm using Atkins frozen entrees, shakes and bars to fill in the gaps.  BTW, the Atkins frozen entrees?  DEEELICIOUS!  I'm serious.  I could not believe how good they are.

Anyway.  I intend to build good habits and ditch the bad ones ... like skipping meals then grazing all afternoon on high calorie stuff and wondering why I can't lose weight.

[DarleenMB]

There is a very simple, easy, delicious way to get more fiber into your diet.  Green smoothies.

I found an app one evening while perusing the App store.  It was called the 30 day green smoothy challenge.  $4.99  I figured it was cheap enough so I got it.

I was nearly 3 weeks into the challenge when I started Nutrisystem.  My solution?  I have a smoothy every afternoon for my smartcarb snack.  But I cut the amount of fruit in half because it's way too much and I only make them with plain water.  They're yummy, filling and keep things in good shape.

[Melissa68]

Darlene email me at soulcal68@gmail.com

[Snowflakepdx]

I do my own thing. I really need variety in my diet and start to feel deprived if I restrict too much.  Sets me up for failure.   So last night we had lucious grilled lamb chops, mashed cauliflower and an arugula salad.  Tonight my homemade low calorie Lasagna or taco salad...I try to allow about 650 calories for supper .My husband and I are really working on following this eating plan forever so we need to get it right so we can maintain our diet and weight.    

Both of us are losing.  I'm down 8 pounds in 6 weeks.  We both have less then 12 pounds to go.  

[Algenon]

I do not diet because even before I used the fitbit I only consumed around 800-1000 calories and exercised using an elipitical at level 7 four times a week for 45 minutes each work out.  Dieting would have just made me ill.   I found that added in the extra steps was the edge I needed to lose the weight.  I have lost 35 pounds (midway point) since february.  

But eveyone is different.  You need to do what works for you.  Some people it is higher activity, some people (like me) need extra steps and still others need to count calories.