Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

Well I am 3 1/2 months away, and I took a lot of peoples advise and exercised a lot and ate well. I'm Spinning, and using the Precor, and even some weights. I feel better, and maybe look SLIGHTLY better - but now I have no time. 3 1/2 months is really soon - and I feel like it is too late for a weight watchers.
I posted several months ago about Atkins - and everyone said NOT to do it. Does anyone have any new feedback on the Atkins diet or something similiar? I will admit it - I am looking for a quick fix. But I am also realistic - because 40 pounds would be my dream - but I would take whatever I could take - 25-20-even 10 - just something. And yes, I lost an inch here, and an inch here - but not enough to even make a difference in my clothes. What do you all think?

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I am using slim fast bars. If you follow their diet that they list on the box you can lose some weight and not feel hungry at all.

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

The atkins does work, for a quick fix.. but remember as soon as you start to eat regular again (noone can do that for life) you will gain it back... i lost a lot of weight, and my advise to you is try,,, Raisen bran with skim milk for breakfast , lettuce with vinigar and tomatoes for lunch (or fruit salad) and 3oz grilled chicken with lots of veggies for dinner....have a baked pot, instead of rice or mashed, and use landolakes 1/3 less fat butter.... thats what i did and i lost 70 lbs.. but its important that you not snack between meals at all....and drink water or crystal light...

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I did atkins and gained weight. But everyone is different. I am now excercising and watching what I eat but needed to see quick results also. I have been doing slim fast and lost 11lbs Listen, you will get TONS of advise on what works and what dosnt. If it works for you then stick to it. Everyone told me I will gain the weight back but if you dont go and eat crazy and learn to eat healthy you can keep it off. I follow the meal plan on the back of the box and drink LOTS of water & eat lots of Fruit. Then I eat a decent dinner. I have to admit I am not hungry. I have been doing it for about a month. Hope this helps

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

Do you run/jog???
Most people I know that have lost weight, including myself, did it with running.


And like the others said, lots of H2O!

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I was on Weight Watchers - and in the long term that may be a better solution. But it took me 6 months to lose 15 pounds! And after 6 months with such slow (in my mind) progress, it became harder for me to stay motivated to stick to it. I am also looking for a quick fix here (I have two black tie affairs next month and need to fit into my gown!) so I started Atkins about 2 weeks ago and I have lost about 7 pounds. I went to a wedding last weekend and had some wine, which may have slowed down the progress somewhat, but there was still progress nonetheless.

I know there was recently an article about research done at Duke University saying that the Atkins diet does work, but it's too soon to tell if there are long term effects. I lost about 40 pounds on Atkins in 1997, but slowly gained some back over the years (then I quit smoking and QUICKLY gained most back!). I also have been exercising (yes - even in this heat) as much as possible....I found that was the key last time as well. I just think my body responds to the low-carb diet and I find it the best way for me to stay motivated and lose weight....

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

Did anyone see the Dateline program on the Atkins Diet last night???

Here's some interesting reading: Food fight: The sequel - Weighing in on the diet wars

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

It is almost impossible to suggest anything because everybody is so different. I did Weight Watchers and lost weight, but it took 9 months. But I have kept it off. In additiona, I dropped most carbs. I never eat after 8:00 at night, water instead of wine, beer or soda. No juice. I think for the quick fix you might try slimfast. The Atikins will work but I don't know how anybody stays on it. TONS of water will kick start it. Just be incredibly strict with yourself - no snacks, no sugar, you know the deal!

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I joined ww in 1/99 and lost 15 pounds by 4/99...but I was hard core into loosing weight...

5 pounds a month is very healthy and feasible

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

It depends on how you define 'work.' Most people lose weight on Atkins, not because of what they eat, but because of what they don't eat, ie., carbs. But, it is high in fat and cholesterol and every other dietary nightmare. And most likely, the wieght will come back when you start to eat like a normal human being again, ie., on your honeymoon!

It sounds to me like you have made some very healthy choices which should get your body in shape. I would stick with what you have been doing. Maybe you can try a new exercise regimen if you haven't done so in a while. That always helps.

I hate quick fix diets. In the long haul they are very taxing on your body.

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

If you diet in a healthy manner you can expect to lose 1.5 lbs a week.
So with 3 1/2 months to go you *could* realistically lose 20-25 lbs.

If you're using the Precor, I'd adjust the levels to that you're really making your body work.
The problem with Precor is that in someways it's self-propelling so if you have it on level 6 and under, the machine is doing most of the work for you.
Take your pulse after 30 minutes. If you're heart isn't beating at least 180 bpm you're not working hare enough. For an aerobic excercise to be really effective, aim for AT LEAST 6 miles an hour.

I lost about 12 lbs on Atkins but it destroyed my body. (My last checkup was NOT GOOD and I'd never had any health problems until after doing Atkins for 3 months)

If you want to follow some of the Atkins principals, just cut out all starches and sugars for the next 3 1/2 months and replace them with complex carbs like vegetables. Keep everything lean protein, unlike Atkins, because it's better for your heart/

Sorry this isn't a quick fix, it's actually a lot of hard work and discipline but I'm sure it will work.
Oh, and don't use the weekends as an excuse to stuff yourself silly. It just sets you back from all your gains over the previous 5 days

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TRY Body for Life!!

It's a 12 week (3 month) program. It works awesome! I describe it on a post I recently put up (re: my first fitting) and another girl on the boards replaied that she had done the program too.

You can go to the www.bodyforlife.com site and see before & after pictures.

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

Dora - can you sum it up for me in a nutshell? I will try doing a searc hon what you wrote about - thanks!!!!! (How much did you lose?)

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I have had great success with weight watchers. But you are right- progress is slow. It is NOT a diet. It is a way to change your eating habits for life- not temporarily. As such, it promotes healthy weight loss, which for most people is no more than 1.5 - 2 lbs per week. I know you are looking for a quick fix, and I am sorry I do not have one- but look at it this way, you didn't gain the weight in 3 months, why would it come off in 3? If you tried WW, and lost even 1 lb a week, that would be 14 lbs in 3.5 months. Better then staying the same, right? Good Luck!

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

Alright, A LOT of people are going to disagree with me on this one...but try Xenadrine (you can buy in GNC)

I only wanted to lose about 5-7 pounds and this thing WORKED!

You're supposed to take 2 pills 2X a day...I only took 1 pill 2x a day.

If you are not good with caffeine, I don't recommend it but it curved my appetite and it worked well.

Just a suggestion...but like I said...I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me!

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I've used Metabolife on & off and I'm not much of a promoter for diet/caffiene pills. I lost a lot of hair on it!!!! Not to mention blackouts, numbness in one of my arms, heart palpitations, etc.. And I must add, I did less then the recommended dosage, stand at 6'1' and weigh in at 175.

I saw my sister go down to bones b/c she was up to 12 pills a day. Her problem coming off of them was lack of energy. She needed to take them to stay awake!! Her body got so used to them.

She's finally off of them and at a healthy weight, but that's probably a result of her finding out about the death of a girl she used to ride the train with. She was 26 and died from a heart attack ( I believe). The doctors attributed it to the 'diet pills'.

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

YIKES!! Sorry to hear that...

I'm not on them anymore. I took them for 3 months...and while I took them I really watched what I ate. I'm an avid runner so I always exercised.

I dropped 7 pounds and stopped. I'm fine..but that's definitely scary.

I can't gain or lose any weight because my dress fits like a glove and it would need to be realtered.

OK, so don't take those pills!!! I take back my post!!

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

Like you said, you're an avid runner. I think that's the key. People don't realize what it can really do for you.

A good friend of mine made a bet with his wife about losing weight. He's been drinking lots of water and started running. He could barely run a 1/4 of a mile, but now it's 4 months later and he does 5 with no problem. He's also lost somewhere between 30-40 lbs.

I truly believe that running just a mile a day can make a significant difference.

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I agree, Xenadrine does work. A lot of people in my family are on it. I did the Atkins diet and it does work, however, my sister gained weight on it. It doesn't work for everyone. Try it or Xenadrine one of them will work.

Re: Dieting Disasters ~ please help me!

I went from a size 12 to a size 7/6. You gain muscle tone on Body for Life, so you don't have dramatic drops in weight, but you do drop inches.

Here's the Body for Life plan:

FOOD:
You get a list of carbs (includes fruit), veggies, & protein. Basically portions are fist / palm-sized (no weighing or measuring). You eat 6 small meals a day (it's very important -- it keeps your metobolism going).

WORKOUT:
You have to work out 6 days a week. The first day is upper body weight training (takes about 40-45 min), the next day aerobics for 30 minutes), the next day is lower body weight training (40 minutes), then aerobics, etc. The thing the diet stresses is exertion. You are going to sweat! This is not a 'read a magazine on the treadmill' thing!

On your 7th day --> you don't work out & you can eat whatever you want (literally, I'd wake up and eat ice cream sandwiches for breakfast...)


You have to buy the Body for Life book (I live in Freeport, and I know the BJs Wholesale Club near me had it in stock recently). It includes photos of sample excercises (for example - you have to do chest excercises as part of your upper body day -- so the book includes photos of 4 different chest excercises you might choose, and others for biceps, etc. You don't have to do the ones in the book -- you could do a different chest excercise if you choose).

If you haven't checked out the web site you should --> it's very inspirational!

If you decide you want to do this program, you can email me at [email protected] and I'll try to answer any questions I can.

Sorry -- I know you wanted the quick down & dirty --> but I am long winded as anything... Good luck!