Wading through the diet "fluff"

Steve,
I have lost 20 lbs. in 2 years. This may not sound like much but by simple changes my DIET, that is a noun not a verb, I have changed my life. First, I did not put the weight on in just a few months so why think about taking it off that fast. In the coming year I hope to lose another 10 lbs. so that will be 30 lbs. total. I have 1/2 cup of cereal for breakfast. A can of soup, a tin of sardines, or a pack of spiced tuna for lunch and a bottle of water ( at my desk at work ). I don't go out for lunch and if I do I order a salad. Evenings consist of what ever I want to eat but only one serving, NO SECONDS.
When special occasions rise or a party is in the works I don't worry.I simply stick to my diet, again it is a noun, the next week. I do not exercise as I should but that is another story. Everyone's advise here has value. Intake few calories or burn more calories all will help lose. Fad dieting is not the way, go slow and make long term lifestyle changes.

Scott
 
It's quite simple, unless you have absolutely no knowledge that real food is not processed and packaged. "Eat from the tree, not the factory." Eat food cooked for your benefit, not for money-making.

How much you eat, how much you exercise. Eat less.

The right amount of food is about what will fit in your hands cupped together, plus some bread if the food does not include grains like rice.

Forget the money-making products.
 
I'm on Atkins, I've lost about 30 lbs. and I have another 30 lbs or so to go.
I first tried Atkins back in the 70's it worked then, it works now. I can't say I've had any negative things happen from it. It's easy for me to stay on, I'm never hungry. I won't lie I miss the pasta and some other things, but I sure don't miss that 30 pounds.

Here's a thread I have running on my weight loss.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=478512
 
I started LA Weight Loss 2 weeks ago. And I'm sure some of it is water loss, but I'm already down 16 lbs (from 285 to 269). It's the first time I've been on a real diet in 10 years. The last time I dieted on my own (10 years ago), I cut my calories way back and exercised a ton and the weight came right off (260 down to 198, which is skinny for my frame - I'm 6' 1" and have bigger shoulders). Unfortunately I lost a lot of muscle mass, too. My bench press probably went down by 25%. I didn't want to do that again.

The LA Weight Loss program isn't cheap, but it seemed like the best plan for me - something I can stick to and something that will give me enough calories and protein to lose fat without losing muscle. So far so good.

Here's basically what they do - I eat 5 times a day. I can have:

2 1/2 portions of protein a day (1 portion is equal to a 7 oz cooked chicken breast or 2 cups of beans - it can be virtually any protein except dark poultry or fatty cuts of beef and pork),

3 portions of starch (1 portion is equal to a small baked potato or half an english muffin),

3 portions of fruit (1 portion is equal to 1 apple or a cup of watermelon),

4 portions of veggies (1 portion is equal to half a large carrot or 1/2 a cup of cooked spinach),

1 portion of fat (a tablespoon of margarine, for example) - I have to eat this, it's not optional

1 portion of dairy (a cup of milk, 2 oz of part skim cheese, etc)

Then I'm also supposed to eat 2 LA Lite bars a day. These are basically a 50-50 mix of soy protein and corn syrup. I'm not thrilled about all that sugar, but I suspect they include it in order to quash any hunger pangs in between meals.

We're supposed to cut out as much sodium as possible, except for 1/4 teaspoon of Morton's light salt a day, which we're required to use. A 1/4 teaspoon is 10% of your daily recommended sodium intake and 10% of your daily recommended potassium intake. Supposedly they do this to maintain your electrolyte levels so you don't pass out.

Finally, we have to drink 8-10 cups of water a day.

I also work out a couple of times a week. Nothing crazy.

So far the weight has been coming off fast. Now if you look at that list of food above, you'll notice that it's actually a lot of food. It's basically lots of protein, lots of veggies, some fruit, very few carbs, super low sodium and lots and lots of water. You eat just enough dairy and fat to keep yourself healthy.

My wife has been doing this program for 2 months. A few weeks ago she plateaued and decided to start cutting calories – she didn’t lose a pound for 3 weeks . . finally they told her to start eating more and she added 200 calories to her original diet and the weight has been coming off again. Supposedly what happens is that if you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode and slows your metabolism and starts storing calories as fat.

I think the above advice - "Just eat less. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. " is pretty crappy advice. You may lose weight, but it might be muscle and you may be setting your body up to gain weight fast once you're back to normal food. The diet I'm on now seems to really work. I'm now a firm believer in the "eat enough calories of good, healthy, high protein, high veggie, low fat, low sodium foods . . watch your portion sizes, watch your carbs and stay active” diet. Of course it’s only been 2 weeks, so I may have an update in a month.
 
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