I was getting a little heavier each year. I'd bounce back a little, for example last fall. Then my sister gave me a pound of See's Candy for Christmas. Nice, but it only lasted two days. I've been on the ropes ever since then.

So my diet is not that strict. Basically 50 grams minimum of protein a day, which I carefully count. That's essential for my confidence. No snack foods except nuts, one sugared drink a day, no rice or pasta for now. No foods that I could binge on: cookies, ice cream, cheesecake. Especially no salad dressing. I took in 1900 extra calroies over two days last month simply because of blue cheese dressing. True confession.

Also, even before the diet, I started walking religiously (so to speak) every night, on a one mile course I designed to maximize my visual pleasure. Sometimes two or three walks a night, but with no increasing expectations. I want to enjoy it.

I seem to be losing some weight already. What really got me started was drinking one or two diet sodas every day. I think they fill me up a little and displace my desire for food. Once I'm settled in, I;m going to quit the diet drinks.

I'm still eating hamburgers, frozen dinners, etc. Just not as much. And getting that protein so I have a chance of looking healthy at the end. I'm going to start cooking vegetables this week.

Do you think it will work? Will I get tired of being a little hungry, tolerably hungry, most of the time?

Diets make you fat.

Diets train your body to be VERY efficient in storing fat from
the food you do eat (this is a leftover from evolution that
allowed your ancestors to whether a famine). So after a while on
the diet you stop losing. Then when you go back to normal
eating you gain it all back pronto, and often then some.

Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger.

Get a half hour of exercise (walking is good) every day, eat
healthy, and limit the desserts. This is a life-time program.

With the program you have designed, you are setting yourself up for failure. Sorry but you are doing it the wrong way. Diets are not sustainable. You need a lifestyle change.

Food is everything in losing weight and you want to lose slowly about a pound a week. Carbs (sugar) is the enemy not protein (meat). Drinking diet sodas are horrible for losing weight. Water is your friend. Fresh fruits and fresh veggies are your friends. Lots of fresh food.

You should eat small meals all day long. If you are hungry, eat a small amount and drink water. Lots of water. Many people eat because they are actually thirsty my friend. Do not over eat. Eat small amounts.

Walking - buy yourself a fit bit or some other thing to wear. You need to walk 10,000 steps a day. I know that sounds like a lot but not really.

I lost 45 pounds last year and I feel so much healthier and I am keeping the weight off. Diets do not work and exercise does not work. You need to make a lifestyle change is all.

Sugar - change your sugar from whatever to Stevia. Stay natural and organic if you can. Stay away from chemicals.

Carbs - carbs are the enemy. They turn to sugar which turns to stored fat in cells. Fat in foods is good for you which is different from stored fat in your body.

You can do it and it is easy. Quit buying snacks and frozen prepared meals. They are full of carbs and sugars and carbs and chemicals. Look at what is in them. If you cannot say it, don't eat it.

Whole milk is better for losing weight than 2%. Fat takes longer to digest than sugars. Look at the info on the milk cartoon.

Eat normal, just small amounts when you want to eat. Do not weigh or measure of limit yourself. Unless you want to fail.

You can do this.

I agree w/ you mentioned except the diet soda part. I lost 50 pounds last year by keeping my carbs to 100g per day, cal's to 1500 per day, and Fat to 25g per day. Myfitnesspal was my pal. I drank my favorite diet soda (Mountain Dew) throughout. It kept me going and satisfied cravings at times. Diet sodas to not inhibit weight loss in my opinion - despite what some dieticians and nutritionists say. Diet sodas are bad for you, but being overweight is worse. Pick your poison.

Recent studies suggest that diet soda can cause you to gain weight as it tends to increase your appetite rather than decrease cravings. The same is true of other "diet" sweets with artificial sweeteners. It's best to avoid artificial sweeteners in any form if possible. However, as you mentioned, there's a trade-off to consider. I have a friend that used to drink soda all day...well over 100 ounces a day. If you're drinking 1,500 calories a day on top of a normal diet, you're going to gain weight rapidly. He switched to diet and lost 100 lbs. in a year. The switch was probably worth it. However, it's not just the calories in soda that are bad for you. This friend has some other health issues that doctors have told him are likely due to his ongoing soda drinking. Of course, his soda drinking is still excessive.

Water in place of diet sodas.
Sparkling water if you miss soda "fizz."

:)

See how things go with how you're set up. Adjust if you need to. Less carbs and more exercise are really the key.

Best!

I think the OP has begun a life-style change--a change in the kind and quantity of food consumed as well as more exercise.

I agree with the fitbit idea. It is motivating.

I disagree with themaster that everyone should eat multiple times all day. It may work for some, but not for everyone for sure. Many people just bulk up.

Did our ancestors (probably skinny ancestors) throughout history eat constantly? No. Why should we think it would be a good thing for us?

I would spend more time worrying about the one sweet drink a day than the fat in the salad dressing. Make your own dressing to your taste and know that the fat will help you absorb nutrients from the veggies. Equally important is that the fat helps satisfy your appetite!

Complex carbs such as your sweet drink, See's candy, starchy vegetables, breads are what send you off the rails. Avoid them until you are at the point where you can handle them.

Drink 2 full glasses of water before meals--proven to help you eat less!

What worked for me was Dr. Michael Mosley's 5:2. 2 days per week (separated by 1 to 2 days) at 500 calories and 5 days at close to your actual calorie burning level. It's been nearly 4 years since I started.

I learned that hunger was not going to kill me, and that just because I can't have something today (if I'm fasting), doesn't mean that I can't have it tomorrow.

I'm no spring chicken and it got me back to the weight and shape I had in my 30's! (I'm maintaining with an occasional fast day now.)

If you're curious, google the fastday site (free).

OOPs! Couldn't edit--'complex carbs' in my post should be 'simple carbs.'

Eating healthy and restricting caloric intake to a reasonable amount won't make you fat.

If you really are in this for the long haul, and I highly recommend it, then you really need to go at it from a life style change attitude.
I suggest the following.

1.) Restrict caloric intake but make sure that you are eating healthy food. Limit meat, eggs and dairy.
I'm not vegan but I don't eat a lot of animal products and haven't eaten any refined sugar in a year. It wasn't really a choice though, had to to survive.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/food-as-medicine


2.) Introduce weight lifting to your workout. This boosts your metabolism and since as you age your muscle mass decreases this really helps fight both aging and weight gain. I do this 2x a week once with a trainer who really pushes me so I know I'm getting a good well rounded workout. (Highly highly recommend a trainer, regardless of your age they are amazing for motivation and guidance)

3.) A half hour of cardio EVERY day. Doesn't matter if it's a brisk walk or a machine but if you want to keep your heart healthy then get off your but.

4.) If you are sitting all day long make sure you get off your butt and move at least every hour. Even is you just stand at your desk.

I can guarantee you will feel better if you do this. I also do yoga which really helps with flexibility

I think the exercise combined with your weight loss diet is going to produce results.

That is the just right combination to get you going and stay the course.

You are seeing results because that is the magic of making some minor changes and taking action.

You should eat what you like, in moderation. If that means diet sodas for now and frozen foods, in proportion with other foods, it should be fine. Your body lets you know when it's lacking in nutrients.

As with any diet program, a nutritional supplement is always a good idea.

Most of the weight loss programs like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, use frozen foods. I've tried em, and found Lean Cuisine is as good or better. It seems fresher (maybe flash frozen?) and in the same price grouping at the grocery store.

It's the exercise combined with diet that translates to results for me. By just adding the walking will boost your metabolism, and decrease your appetite, while helping your appetite crave fewer starchy and sugary foods.

Good luck!

I changed my diet about two years ago or so and FINALLY got it right - for me, anyway, because I'm at the appropriate weight for my size now, I'm eating healthy, and I actually PREFER to eat this way than how I ate my entire life before. That's what's new to me. Before, it was always a struggle to "stick to a diet". This one, I guess, has stuck to me.

I started out by joining "My Fitness Pal" online. It's free.
I set myself up for a 1200 calorie/day limit and got some "friends", who are all complete strangers, but a great support group. But it was strictly calorie counting and you record everything (I recorded for about a year, but I don't record stuff anymore though). But THIS TIME, I didn't eat anything that was "prepared", just WHOLE foods, which I'll go into later.

I also bought a Fitbit One, which I still wear every day and set a goal of 10,000 steps per day. My husband and I started walking 2 miles per day in the town park, and then I'd get the rest of the steps in a little later in the evening by walking on the treadmill. On a busy day at work I can get all the steps in at work.

Before this change, I was eating fast food out at lunch EVERY day and sometimes dinner too. I had diet Coke about twice a day. Now for food, I eat only whole foods cooked at home for the most part. I RARELY eat out now, and in fact it is so rare, that I just allow myself to eat whatever I want when we're out, but it turns out that I eat pretty healthy even when we're out. It's odd, but I used to WANT to eat out a lot, and now I usually TRY to be home so I can eat my usual stuff. I've never been that way in my life!

I don't have a garden so I buy everything. But I'll buy a couple of heads of broccoli, or two bags of fresh green beans, and two bags of mixed veggies (like broccoli, cauliflower & carrots). Then I STEAM those on the stovetop. I have one of those stainless steel collapsible steamer racks that sets down in a large pan. I have tons of spices around, but I seem to only use salt and pepper for seasoning. But I think switching to FRESH veggies made a big difference in feeling full longer after eating.

I have a large assortment of large storage containers and I put the steamed veggies in these large containers and store in the fridge. So I always have at least two different containers of steamed vegetables on hand at all times. I do buy some frozen veggies as a backup in case I run out of fresh suddenly.

I buy Honey Crisp apples, which are expensive, but I love them so much I allow the extravagance. I have an apple every day, peeled, quartered and cored. I might add that when I was eating less healthy, apples didn't taste that good, but once you get off all the sugar and stuff, they taste wonderful.

So here is the food I eat:

Produce:
Honey Crisp Apples
Strawberries, blueberries, other fruit on occasion
Fresh veggies (broccoli, bagged veggies and mixed veggies)
Pre-cut Sweet potato, or winter squash
(I don't eat salad. For some reason that just doesn't work for me. I just feel hungry after.)

Bread:
Ezekiel bread (usually the "Sesame" one) - I like it because it's "solid" - so it feels like I'm eating something real.

JIF Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter

Coffee: I keep regular and decaf
Soda: I never have diet coke. But I do drink "Sparkling Ice" drinks.

Cereal - Choc. Chex cereal - my one "bad" food

Dairy:
Eggs
Sargento Sharp Cheddar cheese - shredded
1% Milk

Meat: I don't often eat meat now, but when I do I get
Ham slice
Pre-Roasted chicken, or chicken breasts to cook

Typical day for me:

Breakfast:
- One piece of toast with peanut butter
- coffee with a little milk and sweetener

Lunch:
- One piece of cheese toast
- Fresh veggies to fill up the plate
- Apple

Dinner:
- Scrambled eggs (one whole egg, one white only)
- Fresh veggies to fill up plate
- Fruit

Snack
- Bowl of Chocolate Chex (BAD, but oh so sweet and crunchy) Prevents desire for any further snacking.

If I DO get snacky even after that, I'll have some decaf coffee with a little milk and sweetener, and that seems to take care of it.

As you can guess, meal preparation takes just 5 minutes or so. I think that has helped IMMENSELY with the overall success. But I just microwave the veggies to warm them up and the other stuff is cooked on the stove or toaster oven.

The food I eat seems to really satisfy me, unlike all the diet foods I ate in the past. (like Lean Cuisine dinners and that sort of stuff) I AM hungry by the next meal, but in a good way that I feel is under control.

I'm sure I eat more than 1200 cal/day now, but not a WHOLE lot more. I'm mid-life and those extra pounds don't go away very easily any more. Anyone else would have to decide what is appropriate for them.

Good luck !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2016 07:22AM by seekyr.

Thank you for all the responses so far. I was looking for both ideas and social support, so each response was helpful to me. May there be many more!

Let me explain the diet soda issue just a bit. I'm working on a project and live near a small store, so I go there just to get out and relax. I can guarantee that if I only buy a diet soda or two, I'm walking away with 600-1000 fewer calories than before. That's a huge benefit and a huge change in my life, so temporarily ingesting some weird chemicals may actually be healthier by comparison. I've never heard of diet sodas causing diabetes, for example. I had to disrupt my old habits, and I'm trying to choose and build some new ones.

Yep I totally agree with your reasoning on the diet soda. Diet soda will NOT inhibit weight loss efforts. I lost 50 pounds last year, and drank my favorite diet soda throughout. I operated under the same premise that you mention here.

I drank diet Coke for decades, and had no ill affects as far as I can tell. The main thing for me was that I was getting to where I was spending about $4.00/day on it, which was wasteful. So I've quit drinking it altogether.

Now I must say that this is the FIRST time I've felt like my "diet" is actually preferable to my previous way of eating, and this coincides with stopping the Diet Coke. But I've never even considered that it was the Diet Coke that was the difference, but probably the switch to whole foods. I really have no idea.

Go here:

http://www.dietdoctor.com

Read the success stories.

Here's my success story, how I lost 20% of my body weight (from 200 pounds down to 160) at a rate of 2.5 pounds per week average. This was several years ago, and I have not regained weight:

http://packham.n4m.org/diet.htm

My best advice is that your diet now should look like what you want your final eating habits to be, meaning don't do a drastic or odd diet that you expect to scuttle once you reach your ideal weight. Otherwise you will regain what you lost. Just eat in a healthy manner, exercise portion control, and cut back on desserts.

Also, IMO it has a better chance of working if you lose weight very, very gradually. You want to give your body time to adjust.

I agree with the above posters that to have the very best chance of working, exercise must be a part of the plan.

As an alternative to sodas, consider trying flavored carbonated waters. I like San Pellegrino water (lemon, grapefruit, or blood orange.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2016 10:13AM by summer.

And it sounds like you're on the right track. I started fitnesspal last August and I've dropped 15, closer to 20 pounds now.

It's amazing to see how many calories one consumes when there's no accounting for it. I'm lucky enough that my jobs require a lot of physical activity (I'm a dogwalker and work at an elementary school during the school year for now) and I exercise at least an hour in addition to that.

No food is the enemy (provided you have no allergies or intolerences), it's the amount you consume and whether you balance it out with other parts of your diet. However, diet sodas CAN make you hungrier and crave foods.

Because I get hypoglycemic (I'm not diabetic, this has been an issue my whole life) I make sure to eat a protein rich breakfast with whole wheat bread or English muffin. Right now I'm eating a breakfast sandwich that consists of a lite whole wheat Engliss muffin, a sausage patty, 1 egg, 1/8 cup of a cheese blend, a teaspoon of mayo, 2 tomato slices and 1 cup sauteed spinach. I'm trying a cup of Activia yogurt (100 calories) with it to keep me fuller as I run around with the pups I walk and watch. So far, so good! The main thing for me is to keep my blood sugar steady so I don't crash and then binge on a bunch of food.

I eat pasta and potatoes once a week and usually have a lot of veggies or a large salad with dinner or lunch. You can make tasty homemade dressing that aren't filled with sugar, salt, and fats. A teaspoon of butter goes a long way with herbs and seasonings. For snacks, I keep low-fat cheese sticks on hand, nuts, fruits, veggies...that sort of stuff. A little prep work can last for a whole week! With homemade dressings, plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute for mayo and sour cream. It's alos an excellent snack on it's own with a little frozen or fresh fruit and/or some toasted nuts and a dollop of honey or other sweetener.

ETA: You can plateau after weight loss and then will have to make changes again. Don't get frustrated when the weight loss seems to become static. That's when you either need to add in extra time to your exercise, a harder workout, changing it up more, or food changes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2016 11:33AM by Itzpapalotl.

Another person with non diabetic hypoglycemia!! What?!? People look at me like I am crazy when I mention having this. My symptoms were far worse when I ws a teenager, but I have pretty good control over it now.
As a teen I would have attacks where my tongue, the back of my head, and my limbs would fall asleep. Then I would hyperventilate. As I got older the falling asleep, tingling stuff stopped, but was replaced by terrible headaches that would last for days. Not quite migraines, but close. I would have dizzy spells constantly.
We figured out that all this would happen whenever I was on a "diet." The last little "attack" happened several months ago. I was going on day three of a god awful headache. Nothing was helping. When I arrived at work there was a box of donuts in the break room. *No, donuts are not good for us in any way!!!* But I felt like I *needed* it. I ate one and within minutes the headache was gone and I felt amazing.
I have learned that I just need a good balance of things. I basically eat whatever I want, but portion control is key. I exercise a few times a week. I have a pretty good handle on it for now, but I have my emergency Hershey bar stashed away just in case.

One of my sisters is gets hypoglycemic, too, if she doesn't eat at proper intervals.

I always have a snack with me now, just in case. I get a headache, shaky, cranky, and occasionally sweaty. I finally realized what was going on a few years ago when I ate a bowl of cereal fro breakfast and went shopping. While checking out, I started to shake, feel woozy, and sweat. the cashier probably thought I was going through alcohol withdrawal since I was buying a box of wine, lol.
I can be hungry, but can't let it go on for too long. Then I need to eat a protein with a complex carb and a simple carb to feel ok if it gets to the hypoglycemic point. It's a pain in the ass sometimes!

Don't forget Michael Polan's adage: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Don't forget that, while protein is good, carbohydrates are your fuel. You can do without pasta, I'm sure (although I eat pasta and don't consider it fattening), but you can eat plenty of complex and non-processed carbohydrates, like potatoes and beans. Cut up potatoes and lightly steam them, then mix with one-two tablespoons of olive oil, course salt, and rosemary, and pan roast them until golden. It's low calorie and good for you. Potatoes are a wonderful gift when you're dieting. Jamie Oliver can help you master some good bean dishes that are meals unto themselves.

But the biggest thing will be to take control of all your food and prepare it in your own kitchen. If you do that long-term, eating your meals at your own table and not on the road or in a restaurant, you will drop weight consistently with little to no effort.

When you shop for food, shop around the edges, and try to stay out of the middle as much as possible.

As a rule, the processed food is in the middle, and the whole foods are out around the edges.

Nowadays, my version of "processed" food is to buy already chopped up fresh veggies. They are expensive, but I like the mixes, like Broccoli, cauliflower, carrot. But I also buy just plain ole green beans - the kind you have to snap the ends off yourself even, so I'm not TOTALLY lazy!

Do you know what your grandparents used to call organic food? Many people do not know the answer. They called it food.

Prepared foods have sugar and chemicals in them. You can eat whatever you like, just smaller portions. You need to give your body time to digest the food before you eat more.

The problem with diet sodas is not the calories. It is the artificial sweeteners they put in them. The chemicals. They make your body think it is getting food or fuel so your blood gets ready to (?).

The real trick is to eat less, move more and eat normal.

Don't forget to follow the teachings of the mighty morg. They offer a candle salad;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle_salad

This recipe is in an older issue of The Friend so it must be inspired.

And, when you get hungry and are tempted, pray and read the scriptures. Yeah, that always works.

Look up foods with low glycemic index. They keep you from feeling hungry, so you have less inventive to go off the wagon or to overeat.

Can we call you Dieter?

Good one! :-D

One more suggestion.

Once you get your weight down to what you want it to be - LOWER YOUR THRESHOLD! I kept letting my weight creep up until I was 25 or 30 lbs overweight. About the time I'd hit 30 lbs over, I'd freak out and start dieting. But it is so much work to lose a lot of weight. And it costs a lot in keeping yourself clothed too!

This time I decided that I MUST LOWER MY THRESHOLD and allow myself only 5 pounds. If I gain 5 pounds, I must get totally freaked out and do what I need to lose the newly gained pounds.

A big 'procedure' going on among hypnotherapists is that you should eat your food s----l----o---w---l ----- y ----- especially, non diet food.

Claim is you can eat much less and enjoy what you eat much more ------ and of course lose weight.

I lost 80 lbs last year (basically Atkins diet ----- lots of meat and fat) but gained around 1/3 back so I am dieting again from a much lower starting point this year.

Good luck!