Dieting, good/bad/indifferent? Options

[porcelainwarrior]

OK, so I've been here almost two years and I still can't make polls right...believe me I tried...a while ago now but I did try, so I'm just gonna ask for opinions.

I've started a diet with my mum, the Slimming World diet now that you ask. But I'm vaguely concerned by it. You have Free Foods you can eat as much as you want of then up to four Healthy Extras a day, then between 5 and 15 Syns a day (naughty things like chocolate and butter not to mention all the Syn values of your Healthy Extras if you eat too much of them).
But what concerns me is that you can have red or green days and on red days your Free Foods are a lot of meats and stuff whereas on green days its all pasta, rice, veggie proteins and pulses. On both days your Free Foods also include unlimited fruit and veg but I really don't understand how it works. I mean how can it be ok to eat a whole roast chicken? How can you expect to lose weight healthily that way?
Not to mention the fact that dairy is limited except for Mullerlight yoghurts which are Free anytime and day. The booklet seems to promote a lot of produce by certain brands, like Muller, Quorn, Baxters and certain cereals and breads, am I being cynical or does it sound like they're cashing in on this? Cause I know a lot of brands which are probably healthier than the options they give you...hmm...

Someone explain! And also suggest any better diets if you feel like it, I can't be bothered with all this adding up, you think it's confusing reading it? Trying eating that way!

[Jonman]

Sounds like claptrap to me. You can eat a 40 oz steak one day, then follow it up with 9 kilos of boiled rice the next. What's the betting you'd lose weight that way?

Arsenuggets.

I actually lost some weight a few years back when I did WeightWatchers (me girlfriend was doing it and I was showing moral support). It was pretty easy to stick to - you just had to have the self control to not pig out, and enough forward planning to figure out what you were going to have for dinner that day in order to figure out what you could have for the rest of the day. It required a bit of arithmetic, but it's hardly advanced calculus.

Personally, I'm nonplussed with the concept of a specific diet. Unless it's something you're going to follow for the rest of your life, any weightloss will be transitory and will come back on when you finish the 'diet' and return to your old ways. I feel (and I could be way off) that a much more effective way to lose weight in the long term is to take up some form of regular scheduled exercise, and be a chocolate nazi to yourself.

[porcelainwarrior]

Personally, I'm nonplussed with the concept of a specific diet. Unless it's something you're going to follow for the rest of your life, any weightloss will be transitory and will come back on when you finish the 'diet' and return to your old ways. I feel (and I could be way off) that a much more effective way to lose weight in the long term is to take up some form of regular scheduled exercise, and be a chocolate nazi to yourself.

Ahh see thats the point though, when you hit your target weight (and so long as you stay withing 3lbs over or under it then you get to keep going to the meetings for free, so they basically are saying, stick to this for the rest of your life or the consequences will be chubbyhood. It sucks, I've decided I'll follow it for a wee while but will be sensible and mostly stick to fruit and veg. I'm only chubby cause I eat too much cheese I've decided...mostly cause that's all I eat so it must be the cheeses fault...

I've started doing jazzercise cause my mum wont go to the gym with me and one of her friends does jazzercise. It hurt my ears a lot, I had to dance aerobically (which is bad enough) to Britney Spears (at which point I nearly lost all hope). And now my bum hurts (damn situps on cold gym floor). But that's only one hour a week so I guess I'll have to brave the gym alone eventually...

Grr-argh...

So, Weightwatcher's eh? That'd be handy actually, don't they have their own brands? So you definitly know you're allowed it and how many points it is and all that jazz?

[Snugglebum the D...]

I think Weight Watchers and diets of the same type - work on the basis that you're not supposed to mix certain types of foods as when combined they can be detramental to weight loss. Something silly like not combining proteins with carbohydrates.

You may be right about the cheese though, Porce. When I wanted to lose weight I cut out cheese (as I HAD to eat it every day or I got moody) and sugar and lost loads of weight (I was exercising at the time, also)

I think what helped me to lose weight was to train my taste buds. Basically, you get used to a certain taste of something and if you replace it with something else you don't crave the original thing. I had two sugars in my tea for years, and as I drink so much tea it didn't help me lose weight (fun fact: 1 cup of tea, white with two sugars is around 47 calories). I replaced the sugar with a sweetner and after the initial month of hating the taste of it, I'm used to it now and if I have tea with 'real' sugar in it, it tastes far too sweet (fun fact: 1 cup of tea, white with two sweeteners is around 16 calories).

Wow - i don't think that's helpful at all. That could even be verging on spam.

[Phyllis]

I think Weight Watchers and diets of the same type - work on the basis that you're not supposed to mix certain types of foods as when combined they can be detramental to weight loss.  Something silly like not combining proteins with carbohydrates.

Mm, I don't think they are. I think it's just a way to count calories and fat grams. I could be wrong though. Have never done it myself. I've just heard vague bits about it from friends who have done it.

My advice: Don't get married, it'll make you fat!!! Hehe. I'm kidding. Although I have lost a lot of weight since my divorce began without even trying, wheras I tried a lot during my marriage without much success. I think it's the lack of constant stress or something.

I'm not doing any specific diet though. I just eat the things my mom gives me and exercise a bit. As for what mom gives me...hmm. Lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains, I suppose. A bit of cheese, but that's usually part skim mozarella. And of course there's also various soy products cause I'm a vegetarian. It's also very handy because I often just grabbed something pre-made while I was on my own due to being in a rush because of finals or whatever...and those things are almost never healthy. Now I'm spoiled cause I never have to have instant stuff. I also didn't join a gym...I just have a video thingy that actually belongs to my sister. Minimal effort on my part, there.

And to think, I was worried about gaining weight by moving back in here. Mom used to make a lot of comfort foods, but not anymore. Apparently she started this health kick when my dad was diagnosed with diabetes...which was years ago. I didn't even realize it cause I only ate here on the holidays before and she didn't hold back with the comfort foods then.

[gothictheysay]

Weight Watchers is pretty good. Counting calories is a good way to go. Depriving yourself of certain foods isn't. Might want to ask you doctor (though you don't have to, I wouldn't want to ask my doctor).

But I'm not much help, as my diets tend to be temporarily-stop-eating-cookies-so-you-can-fit-into-your-pants diets. I just love food too much.

[Jonman]

Nah, WeightWatchers isn't about combinations of food. It's basically a simpilified way of counting calories and fat.

F'rinstance. You're allowed a certain number of 'points' everyday (based on your height (and/or weight), and sex). Typical foods are assigned a number of points, which is calculated on it's calorific and fat content. We even had a slide-rule type device so you could calculate the points of anything.

And that's it. You get bonus points for exercising, so you can eat more if you're being active. There's a limited number of things that are worth zero points (like carrots and celery), so I'd just snack on them if I got hungry.

Easy to do, and I found it easy to follow. The bird had more trouble, as she had significantly less points to have each day, and had one helluva sweet tooth. She claimed that she needed some chocolate every day, or she'd die. Or go mad. Or both.

[porcelainwarrior]

I think Weight Watchers and diets of the same type - work on the basis that you're not supposed to mix certain types of foods as when combined they can be detramental to weight loss. Something silly like not combining proteins with carbohydrates.

Erm...well...I think that's how the one I'm on just now works actually, you split up the days you can have proteins from the days you have carbs. But I've seen the original Slimming World diet and it was totally different. There were only
the red days (as they're called now). But then they introduced the green days for vegetarians and now they have this daft thing called Mix'n'Match or something where you just have red meals or green meals. You just have to decide which meal will be which. That totally can't right, right? Cause then you're only splitting carbs from protins for about half an hour. You're still eating both in the same day.

Wierdos.

I like the cut-out-cookies idea (maybe the cheese too though), I'm not really big on sweet stuff I just got into the habit of eating a lot of takeaway cause my boyfriend didn't have a cooker at his flat for a while and I put on a bit of weight I'd like to rid myself of.

[depressed lonely...]

when i last lost weight i ate the exact same meals and just cut a quarter of the portion. i also drank a glass of water every hour and took up walking the 3 blocks to school and the 5 to woolworths. i lost 21 kilos on that
if you're going on a diet do it in summer because your body still has it's chemical stuff telling it to keep on weight in winter.
i had a friend try every pay for it diet there is and not only did half of them not work she gained serious unexplainable weight when she stopped them eg 3 kilos in a day 8 in a week.
but then she thought that cos nuttella is low G.I she could eat a 900g tub of it in a day
and she could eat a 5 litre tub of oak in one sitting so maybe she brought it on herself

[saucy_tara]

I'm on a diet at the moment. It's my own, special brand of diet, weight watchers costs too much!!
I think the best way to successfully diet is not to deny yourself the odd treat otherwise you just get really bloody miserable. At the moment I'm allowing myself a chunk of dairy milk once a day, and I don't feel anywhere near as guilty as if I'd been eating an entire bar!!
Exercise is so important as well, toning up helps to get rid of the flab much faster than dieting alone.

[oxym0ronical]

Weight Watchers isn't bad at all, if you have the motivation and the discipline. Really though, you don't need to follow any big/brand named weight plan to lose weight. Portion size is one of the biggest problems for most people. Making sure you eat the right amount and variety of foods consistently and giving yourself a treat here and there is a big plus.

Getting enough water? The suggested amount is 64-100oz/day depending on your weight. Exercise, if done right, will help you lose fat, but gain muscle mass - which can end up leading to a weight gain. People see that and become discouraged.

A good way to think of it is that it's not a diet. If you truly want to lose weight and keep it off, it has to be a lifestyle change. This is why fad diets don't work..

[artist.unknown]

Small measures are good, eg cut out cheese, chips, grazing on cookies. And red meat. Stop eating it. If you're going to eat meat, chicken and whatever else has protein and that wonderful charred flesh taste without all the gobs of fat wot that steak and burgers do. You'd be amased what happens just by doing that.