Can Anyone Suggest Me a "Good" Diet?

My sister joined Weight Watchers and lost 125 pounds in a little over a year.

 

i lost 75 pounds on south beach in 8 months, but i did work out alot also...and now i am sort of addicted to it

 

That's intense you guys
I think i lost about 20ish pounds in 3 months. What I did was I just cut my eating portion to a smaller size. I still enjoy most of the food, but cutting down the portion did help.
But then, I guess you kinda have to wean it, and slowly cutting it out.
Never did try South Beach or Atkins or Weight Watchers. It'll be fun though.
Do you cook for yourself in South Beach diet?

 

yeah...it teaches you how to eat, and what to eat..but i went out to eat all the time but just ordered sallmon instead of pizza ya know

 

I know others will disagree with me - but avoid "fad" diets (e.g. low-carb) - don't think of it as "a diet" - think of it as a lifelong change to your eating habits - otherwise once you reach your target weight you'll go back to your old habits and pile the pounds back on again.

Anything that makes really radical changes to your eating will not be maintainable long-term - basically any diet that is going to work, and work long term, will boil down to eating less, while maintaining a nutritional balance, and getting more exercise.

You need to burn more calories than you're taking in. If you work out your basal metabolic rate, that'll tell you how many calories your body is using just to be alive. Add onto that any exercise you do, then simply eat fewer calories than that each and every day, and you'll lose weight.

 

This one has always worked for me. It's the easiest one out there too with no additional costs. It's almost free, but it does save you money.


MAKE WISER CHOICES DIET:

All you gotta do is make wiser choices. Seriously. Do you *NEED* a soda with every meal? It's supposed to be a treat. At least, in my opinion. There's no need to att 95-400 calories for a DRINK that has NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE at all. It's just empty, WASTED calories. Start trying to switch into water or something like Crystal Light which is just 5 calories per glass.

Get out and go jogging, walking, or just wiggle your fanny pack. Really...diets are best combined with exercise. Anyone who just does dieting WITHOUT exercise is missing so much.

 

South Beach diet for the win
My mom wanted to lose some weight, so she bought the cookbooks for South Beach. Since my mom cooks for my family, my entire family went on the diet. She also enrolled me in bootcamp with her (Bootcamp is a 10 day program that our gym offers. It kicks your ass, but it's so worth it.)

I didn't lose much, but combined with eating much healthier and bootcamp, I just got noticably healthier and more muscular.

Go for South Beach. The food is delicious.

 

I agree with the above people who suggest not doing the "diet" thing. Diets might work but only as long as you're on them. If you change your mindset, you're changed for life, and it stops being a "chore" and just becomes part of your everyday routine.

I mainly make changes with lunch, since that's my "eat alone" meal. I've found lower-calorie, low-fat meals that I really like at restaurants near where I work and live, and I stick with those. I like a veggie wrap - lettuce, tomatoes, extra onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, cheese (I get half the cheese), and either salt'n'pepper, or just a bit of honey mustard. Add a small bag of pretzels or Sun Chips, and I'm set. If it's cold out, I'll have the "baja chicken" wrap - grilled chicken, half-cheese, a bit of salsa, onions, lettuce, tomato. A few more calories, but when it's cold, I like it.

Also, when I'm looking to lose a few more pounds, I do a few more things.

* When I go out to eat, I don't eat the last bite. Of anything. That's my sacrifice to the diet gods. If I'm tempted to eat it, I'll pour salt or sugar on it, or put my napkin down on it. That immediately eliminates about 5% of what I eat.

* Always order a side salad beforehand. No dressing, salt and pepper. Loading up on that makes it easier to stop earlier when the main course comes.

* I do my best to keep nothing tempting in the house. 100-calorie bags of microwave popcorn, pretzels or cut-up veggies are fine, but nothing else. I actually buy flavors of snacks that aren't my favorite, knowing I can stop snacking quicker with plain popcorn than I can with ranch flavored Doritos. Otherwise, I just eat the damn stuff when I'm at home. Even if I'm not hungry. I also always have diet sodas and low-calorie "fitness waters" around to help take the edge of hunger. I usually feel sated after a bottle of Propel - 20 calories.

* Move more. When you go shopping, park at the far end of the parking lot and walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. (If you're on the 30th floor, take the elevator to the 26th floor, and then walk.) Walk to nearby errands.

Lex

 

I'll nth the "Just Eat Better and Less" diet. I'm pretty sure it works.
All I can say for diets is do NOT do any diet that eliminates your complex carb intake. Your body can only run on sugars, not proteins or fats. Fortunately, the body has a system where they can change proteins/fats into simple sugars. But this can only happen in the liver (it's called gluconeogenesis I believe). In any case, diets like Atkins will help you lose weight, but it pays a heavy price on your liver. You basically need your liver to live...r. You may not notice the effects right away, but I'd be hesistant of putting so much strain on such an essential organ.

 

It's often recommended to eat 5- 6 small meals a day, rather than three large ones. This is kind of difficult for a lot of people, though, but I find it helps me eat a lot less during actual meals if I grab a small, healthy snack (ie- sunflower seeds or a piece of fruit) in between meals. That way, when I go to eat supper for instance, I'm not starving, so I eat less.

Another thing, is to try to avoid simple carbs (ie- white bread, snack crackers, potato chips, and so on) go for whole grains and the like. Also, try to have half of what you eat be vegetables and fruits, but more so vegetables.

Don't eat until you're stuffed, eat until you're comfortable. I also try to eat slowly when I can, because that way you tend to feel fuller before you're done, so you're not going to be as likely to get seconds. And if you are still hungry and you're considering getting seconds, try waiting 15 minutes to see if you really are still hungry. Often times, you won't be.

Finally, eat dessert/junk food rarely, but don't try to totally avoid it. Most people can't ignore their cravings forever, and so they end up giving in and eating a ton of it. So instead, allow yourself one or two small treats a week. Small being the key word; it'll help you avoid cravings without overdoing it on junk food.

 

Keep a diary of what you eat and when for a week, you might even want to write how you're feeling when you're eating. I found that even though I thought I was doing a good job, I was actually sneaking in extras I didn't need.

Don't just think calories. Look at nutrition labels. Try to get lots of fiber, protein, and vitamins into your diet. Remember, the further you get from the plant (or animal I suppose- I'm a vegetarian) the worse it is, ignore the health claims on boxes.

Plan ahead. Make yourself a stir fry with vegetables and whole wheat pasta or rice or a pizza with lots of vegetables and wheat crust on sunday night, then bring it to school/work for your lunch every day. Pre-pack snacks too, avoid being caught hungry with temptation all around.

Don't go hungry. You should be eating something every four hours or so, this will help you watch your portions when you eat because you won't be starving and won't end up eating more than you really wanted.

Don't watch tv or do something else while youre eating. Eat sitting down, only focusing on your food. Studies have shown that you are far less likely to eat more than you want/need if you're not multitasking.

Stay healthy in other ways. Try to reduce stress. This may mean just taking 20 minutes for yourself every day, or even investigating your spiritual side. Drink enough water. Sometimes you may feel hungry when you're really just a little dehydrated. Also, water helps flush out your system and keep you healthy. Finally, get enough sleep. Aim for 7-8 hours at the least. You're more likely to burn fat if you're not fried and sleep-deprived.

These worked for me, good luck!

 

I just wrote out almost 2000 words explaining good eating and proper exercise for this thread; then conveniently hit the back button and lost it (It was written in the quick reply box).

I'm shitty now so you will have to suffice with a very brief summary.

1. What you eat is important, avoid fats, sugars, sodium and processed foods not containing fibre.

2. Don't stop eating to drastically reduce the amount you eat, as long as you're eating the right things, go for it.

3. When you eat is important, make sure you eat a small meal AT LEAST every 3 hours and avoid fatty foods after 8pm and Carb foods between the hours 4-8pm

4. Exercise as frequently as possible, 20mins a day is much better then 3 hours straight once a week.

Remember that any successful weight loss program is permanent, once you're at your desired weight you can balance your diet so that you are merely "maintaining" your weight and not losing further weight.

 

I know most people hate it but Atkins works for me and nothing else. 3 years ago I lost 100lbs doing atkins (under 20 carbs a day for 1 year I was very strict just veggies and fruit for your carbs otherwise meat, chees, fish, and eggs) You have to take a good multi vitamin , mand fiber while on this and people are right you can't maintain the weight once you stop so I did diabetic association diet to maintain once I got to a good weight.(potion control) I mean I have been heavy my whole life....I have tried every diet from slim fast to dexatrim to weight watchers but this works for me! Carbs make me fat (I gained 30 lbs recently just from eating all the carbs I want for 1 month after a back surgery now I am struggling to get it off) best of luck and find what works for you....use vitamins whatever you try.

 

I am not a big believer in dieting. Recent studies seem to show that they all can work as long as you follow one basic principal - eat fewer calories than you burn. If you do that, you will lose weight. You should keep track of the number of calories you are taking in. Are you drinking soft drinks? They contain lots of calories and have zero nutritional value. Do you eat chips? Same thing as soda. The magazine, Men's Health, has a lot of great information about nutrition and exercise. I suggest you visit their website for some really useful information. Besides, there are some great pictures on the site!

 

Lol walk around alot even when you dont wanna and cut out the extra junk food you dont need

 

I would either say go on weight watchers, or go vegan/vegetarian. Going veggie helped me lose weight. And it is good for animals!