What is a better diet?

[jimnyc]

I planned on going forward, as part of my New Years Resolution, to eat better and work out more.

I've been going with the attitude that you eat less calories than you burn off daily, hence losing weight.

Now I'm reading about the Atkins diet where it's all about the carbohydrates. You can pretty much eat all the meat and other products you want, you just have to stay below 20-25 carbs per day. "They" say you lose weight quicker this way and can eat more. (they are various online sites I've been reading)

What do you guys think is a better diet?

[Thunderknuckles]

what is your goal in terms of dieting? If you're talking about making a permanent life style change then "dieting" of any variety is not a long term solution. You just have to eat sensibly. During my heavy weight training years, I never followed any diet. I ate anything and everything but kept the portions at a sensible level. Combined with regular exercise, you'll be in great shape!
If you're looking for a short term solution to lose some weight quickly and then keep it off with regular exercise, Atkins will shed pounds pretty damn fast. My wife and her family members have used it many times and I can tell you it actually works as advertised. I am not so sure about the long term health benefits of it, but it will shed pounds fast and yes, you can eat all the protein you desire.

[fj1200]

I planned on going forward, as part of my New Years Resolution, to eat better and work out more.

I've been going with the attitude that you eat less calories than you burn off daily, hence losing weight.

Just go with the eat better, making modest changes in what you eat, and work out more. Those would be permanent changes rather than any diet that you would do until you lose weight; after which you would presumably go back to your old eating habits and old weight.

In other words don't make any changes that aren't permanent changes because the results would not be permanent either.

[Trigg]

I completely agree with the other people here.

If you ramp up your exercise and cut way down on the chips, ice cream or whatever your snack of choice is, you will loose weight. Control your portions during lunch and dinner and try not to eat after say 7:00pm.

I don't think diets can work in the long run because people feel like they're denying themselves.

After you get to the weight you want make sure you check your weight periodically. If you notice you're creeping up start cutting portions and keeping an eye on how much junk your eating. This works for me anyway, and I'm only 5 pounds heavier than I was 4 kids and 20 yrs ago.

[jimnyc]

Thanks for all the advice thus far!!

I think I'm going to go for the low carb diet real hard for about 3 weeks to a month and then settle in on a healthy overall diet after that. Sounds like that would be a good way to start to rid the body of the excess fat and then just stay on a healthier diet than I am accustomed to, but one that will be doable so I don't go back easily.

I'm making a long list from the Atkins website and am going to shop later and get enough for a week or so and see how I fare. Seems like a weird diet to me, but its gotta work with so many people I know speaking in favor of it.

Never thought I'd see the day where I was going to become a "label reader". I went through life just eating whatever I liked and whenever I wanted. Now I'm going to have to start reading labels and checking the carbohydrates for awhile and then calories, sugar and whatever else they toss in there to make me a fat bastard.

[Thunderknuckles]

If you need some further advice on foods for Atkins, I can have my wife post on here under my account. She is a pro on shopping for Atkins.

[jimnyc]

If you need some further advice on foods for Atkins, I can have my wife post on here under my account. She is a pro on shopping for Atkins.

Ask her how I am supposed to enjoy egg salad, tuna salad, herring or any of the other cool things on the low carb diet - if I'm not allowed to eat bread or crackers!!

And I also couldn't find anything acceptable to drink other than water.

I shopped up and down every single aisle and it's not easy to find things with little or no carbs!

And my last concern, someone mentioned to me that if you go on the low carb diet, you will gain the weight right back one you re-introduce bread and other things into your system. Will I be ok, so long as I continue hitting the gym and eating a lower calorie diet, and moderate portions, after I switch from the low carb diet to the overall lower calorie diet?

[Palin Rider]

I planned on going forward, as part of my New Years Resolution, to eat better and work out more.

I've been going with the attitude that you eat less calories than you burn off daily, hence losing weight.

Now I'm reading about the Atkins diet where it's all about the carbohydrates. You can pretty much eat all the meat and other products you want, you just have to stay below 20-25 carbs per day. "They" say you lose weight quicker this way and can eat more. (they are various online sites I've been reading)

What do you guys think is a better diet?

There are no good diets: the only thing that actually works is a permanent change in eating habits.

The most painless effective changes are:

1. Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want when you're hungry.
2. Avoid refined grains (white bread, cakes, etc.) and greasy foods as much as possible. If you can't swear them off completely, cut them down as much as you can stand.
3. Eat until you are comfortably full, but never until you're overstuffed.

Good luck.

[Trigg]

Ask her how I am supposed to enjoy egg salad, tuna salad, herring or any of the other cool things on the low carb diet - if I'm not allowed to eat bread or crackers!!

And I also couldn't find anything acceptable to drink other than water.I shopped up and down every single aisle and it's not easy to find things with little or no carbs!

And my last concern, someone mentioned to me that if you go on the low carb diet, you will gain the weight right back one you re-introduce bread and other things into your system. Will I be ok, so long as I continue hitting the gym and eating a lower calorie diet, and moderate portions, after I switch from the low carb diet to the overall lower calorie diet?

There are green tree drinks with fruit flavors with no calories that are VERY good IMHO. I'm not a big water drinker either.

[Thunderknuckles]

Ask her how I am supposed to enjoy egg salad, tuna salad, herring or any of the other cool things on the low carb diet - if I'm not allowed to eat bread or crackers!!

And I also couldn't find anything acceptable to drink other than water.

I shopped up and down every single aisle and it's not easy to find things with little or no carbs!

And my last concern, someone mentioned to me that if you go on the low carb diet, you will gain the weight right back one you re-introduce bread and other things into your system. Will I be ok, so long as I continue hitting the gym and eating a lower calorie diet, and moderate portions, after I switch from the low carb diet to the overall lower calorie diet?
I called her and she will post some tips for you under my name when I get home from work.

[Thunderknuckles]

I've been on the low carb diet for over 2 yrs now and it's a definite lifestyle change. And I've never felt and looked better in years! I've lost over 100 lbs after popping out kids 2 and 3 on it.

It takes dedication but once you commit, you will see results.

Now I've tried many "diets", Weight Watchers, low cal, low fat always hungry. So I gave Atkins a try and with dedication on WANTING to lose weight I've kept it off and LOVE the lifestyle change I've made.

The first 2 weeks are crucial. You have to stay under 5 carbs a day and it's tough. You will go through carb withdrawal. Drink a lot of water, tea and black coffee.

Since you've read up on it I won't go into to much detail but you can basically eat: hard boiled eggs, tuna with low fat italian dressing and tomatoes, mayo and mustard. I ate a ton of steak and chicken and broiled cheese on top for flavor. The beauty of Atkins is you can eat "high fat" foods so you get the flavor out of eating and not suffer through that low fat crap.

I've done a lot of research on the health benefits and cons and most of the negatives I've heard are just that, negatives from people that do not have the dedication to give up carbs. Though I eat high cholestrol foods such as eggs, my cholestrol went DOWN considerably and my blood sugar is perfect. I am healthier than I've ever been in my life.

Exercise is key. I work out about 5 days a week. I invested in a Wii and bought "My Fitness Coach". Great work out and I do it at home and it only takes a mere 30 min a day.

Are you looking for menu advice or tips on how to get through the first 2 weeks?

[SassyLady]

I started the HCG diet ... drops that go under the tongue and you combine with vitamins, lots of water and a 500 cal diet. Typical day ... get up and have coffee, then midmorning snack of apple or orange. For lunch 3.5 oz of protein (chicken, white fish, steak) and 3.5 oz of veggies (they have specific veggies) and then afternoon snack of apple, orange or 6 strawberries. Dinner is same 3.5 oz protein and 3.5 veggie. Take the drops 3x/day, drinks 2 liters of water. I have been losing about 1 lb per day, feel great.

The drops train the body to eat the stored fat instead of going after the daily fat that is eaten because no fat is eaten on this diet. Once you reach your goal weight they you transfer to maintenance routine for three weeks and then on a nutritional plan that has developed over the last few weeks that will keep you on track. The crucial part is that if you ever gain 2 lbs or more in a 24 hour period you must skip all foods the day of the weigh in and just drink water until dinner. Then you have a large steak and a large tomato. This is supposed to get you back on the maintenance weight immediately.

My daughter and a friend of hers are on it, I'm on it, and my girlfriend is on it ... it is doctor supervised and we've all been losing an average of a pound a day. I wanted to lost about 35 lbs ... have lost 14 so far ... started after Christmas. Losing the "jiggly" fat in arms, legs and torso area.

Anyway .... cooking is easy ... everything is fresh food ... no processed, frozen or canned. Easy....broil my meat and fish and slice up raw veggies (might steam or broil) and cut them up in little pieces and put on little plate and my mind thinks I'm eating a lot. I also eat really slow to give stomach chance to savor the food. Not hungry but still craving a little - chocolate stuff mostly. Lost 14 lbs, and 9 inches.

Good luck Jim with your diet.

[jimnyc]

I've been on the low carb diet for over 2 yrs now and it's a definite lifestyle change. And I've never felt and looked better in years! I've lost over 100 lbs after popping out kids 2 and 3 on it.

It takes dedication but once you commit, you will see results.

Now I've tried many "diets", Weight Watchers, low cal, low fat always hungry. So I gave Atkins a try and with dedication on WANTING to lose weight I've kept it off and LOVE the lifestyle change I've made.

The first 2 weeks are crucial. You have to stay under 5 carbs a day and it's tough. You will go through carb withdrawal. Drink a lot of water, tea and black coffee.

Since you've read up on it I won't go into to much detail but you can basically eat: hard boiled eggs, tuna with low fat italian dressing and tomatoes, mayo and mustard. I ate a ton of steak and chicken and broiled cheese on top for flavor. The beauty of Atkins is you can eat "high fat" foods so you get the flavor out of eating and not suffer through that low fat crap.

I've done a lot of research on the health benefits and cons and most of the negatives I've heard are just that, negatives from people that do not have the dedication to give up carbs. Though I eat high cholestrol foods such as eggs, my cholestrol went DOWN considerably and my blood sugar is perfect. I am healthier than I've ever been in my life.

Exercise is key. I work out about 5 days a week. I invested in a Wii and bought "My Fitness Coach". Great work out and I do it at home and it only takes a mere 30 min a day.

Are you looking for menu advice or tips on how to get through the first 2 weeks?

I guess a little menu advice. I know I'm gonna suffer a little as a result of removing the carbs from my diet, but it's even harder finding acceptable foods! I'm already missing my sweets big time, even just a little taste. Drinking a lot of green tea and water but I wish I could just have a Vitamin Water! I switched from Dr. Pepper to the Vitamin Water about 3 months back because it was healthier and now I can't even have that!

I guess my MAIN question would be: is there ANY type of acceptable bread to eat with the various meats? What about ANY types of crackers? I have TONS of tuna and egg salad, and also herring, and without bread the only other thing I can think of is crackers - but even they have too many carbs!

The working out daily is the easy part! I'm just hoping that after 2-3 weeks of this, that I don't explode and put weight back on. I plan on adjusting to a lower calorie diet in a few weeks. I'm going to shoot for 1600-2000 per day - where I was probably eating 3000-4000 before the New Year!

Thanks for the tips thus far. And create an account if you want, you don't need to get involved in politics if you would like to utilize the bottom portion of the board and just discuss fun things amongst friends!


I started the HCG diet ... drops that go under the tongue and you combine with vitamins, lots of water and a 500 cal diet. Typical day ... get up and have coffee, then midmorning snack of apple or orange. For lunch 3.5 oz of protein (chicken, white fish, steak) and 3.5 oz of veggies (they have specific veggies) and then afternoon snack of apple, orange or 6 strawberries. Dinner is same 3.5 oz protein and 3.5 veggie. Take the drops 3x/day, drinks 2 liters of water. I have been losing about 1 lb per day, feel great.

The drops train the body to eat the stored fat instead of going after the daily fat that is eaten because no fat is eaten on this diet. Once you reach your goal weight they you transfer to maintenance routine for three weeks and then on a nutritional plan that has developed over the last few weeks that will keep you on track. The crucial part is that if you ever gain 2 lbs or more in a 24 hour period you must skip all foods the day of the weigh in and just drink water until dinner. Then you have a large steak and a large tomato. This is supposed to get you back on the maintenance weight immediately.

My daughter and a friend of hers are on it, I'm on it, and my girlfriend is on it ... it is doctor supervised and we've all been losing an average of a pound a day. I wanted to lost about 35 lbs ... have lost 14 so far ... started after Christmas. Losing the "jiggly" fat in arms, legs and torso area.

Anyway .... cooking is easy ... everything is fresh food ... no processed, frozen or canned. Easy....broil my meat and fish and slice up raw veggies (might steam or broil) and cut them up in little pieces and put on little plate and my mind thinks I'm eating a lot. I also eat really slow to give stomach chance to savor the food. Not hungry but still craving a little - chocolate stuff mostly. Lost 14 lbs, and 9 inches.

Good luck Jim with your diet.

Wow, 1lb per day, that's awesome! I'm hoping to lose about 20lbs before I switch from the low carb to the low calorie - then I'm hoping it will steady and maybe lose 1lb or 2 every few weeks with proper exercise and common sense eating.

Will reply more when I get back, speaking of the gym, I promised myself I would leave by 8am - and if I get in the habit of not staying within timelines I will eventually quit!

[Trigg]

have you checked out the veggie wraps or flat breads??????

[jimnyc]

have you checked out the veggie wraps or flat breads??????

Yeap, I've yet to find ANY bread yet that is below 12-30 grams of carbohydrates. When I switch to the low calorie diet, I'll be eating wheat bread, some pita and the wraps. But the low carb diet forbids just about any type of bread known to man!

[namvet]

http://www.route66classicgrill.com/zphoto/cache/Route-66/72oz_steak_challenge/Oct-Nov_06_052_595.jpg

72 oz steak ....slurp

congrats jimnyc on the steelers win !!!!

[SassyLady]

Jim ... if you can't eat bread .... put your tuna salad, etc., on large leafs of lettuce and make a lettuce wrap....or just eat it with a fork. We have to get past the idea that we have to hold our food in order to eat it. Giving up bread was the hardest....well, not really....it was giving up the cookies and M&M's!! :laugh:

[PostmodernProphet]

a while back I sat down and thought about my eating habits and decided that I ate too many potatoes......baked, frenched, chipped, hashbrowned, etc.....

so I decided to remove them from my diet....not a hundred percent successful, but probably at least 75%.....

and, I make it a habit, about half an hour before each meal to drink at least 16 oz of water.....

been about a year and a half now and I am down 65 lbs.....I feel good about it....

[DragonStryk72]

I planned on going forward, as part of my New Years Resolution, to eat better and work out more.

I've been going with the attitude that you eat less calories than you burn off daily, hence losing weight.

Now I'm reading about the Atkins diet where it's all about the carbohydrates. You can pretty much eat all the meat and other products you want, you just have to stay below 20-25 carbs per day. "They" say you lose weight quicker this way and can eat more. (they are various online sites I've been reading)

What do you guys think is a better diet?

Keep in mind that Dr. Atkins died overweight. My dad tried it, and it doesn't really work. You'll get some initial weight loss, but any diet that cuts out whole reams of food is bad.

You should check out the 3-hour diet: http://www.3hourdiet.com/tour/?fromhometext

It's a great diet, and you still get to have some fun foods as well. It's working really well for my mom, and I'm getting ready to start it myself.

[jimnyc]

Jim ... if you can't eat bread .... put your tuna salad, etc., on large leafs of lettuce and make a lettuce wrap....or just eat it with a fork. We have to get past the idea that we have to hold our food in order to eat it. Giving up bread was the hardest....well, not really....it was giving up the cookies and M&M's!! :laugh:

That's what I was doing, just making small bowls of the tuna/egg salad and eating slowly right of the bowl. I thought it would be easy to just drop the bread products - wow, was I wrong!


a while back I sat down and thought about my eating habits and decided that I ate too many potatoes......baked, frenched, chipped, hashbrowned, etc.....

so I decided to remove them from my diet....not a hundred percent successful, but probably at least 75%.....

and, I make it a habit, about half an hour before each meal to drink at least 16 oz of water.....

been about a year and a half now and I am down 65 lbs.....I feel good about it....

What you said about potatoes I have heard others say about soda. I guess some things are bad for everyone and others are bad for certain bodies. In my case, I'm just going to try and eat the best I can, cross my fingers and hope I don't end up looking like Jabba the Hut's brother.

What's with the water? To fill you up a bit so that you don't eat as much of a heavy meal?


Keep in mind that Dr. Atkins died overweight. My dad tried it, and it doesn't really work. You'll get some initial weight loss, but any diet that cuts out whole reams of food is bad.

You should check out the 3-hour diet: http://www.3hourdiet.com/tour/?fromhometext

It's a great diet, and you still get to have some fun foods as well. It's working really well for my mom, and I'm getting ready to start it myself.

While I've heard many great stories from people who have lost weight quickly, 2 of them being family members, I have also heard lots of bad stories. And I also see the diet is just outright considered "controversial" by many. But I think it is probably perfect for some and not so perfect for others. My guess is that when anyone makes a life altering and/or permanent change to their diet, they should probably go over it with their doctor. I just plan on eating better and doing my best to eliminate the obvious (those 6 large pies from Dominos at 3am).

I've not read that site yet, but even my personal doctor recommended eating every 3 hours and having 200-300 calories each time, maybe even less as times goes on. He said this would mostly keep me satisfied throughout the day, while also reducing my calorie intake.

[DragonStryk72]

While I've heard many great stories from people who have lost weight quickly, 2 of them being family members, I have also heard lots of bad stories. And I also see the diet is just outright considered "controversial" by many. But I think it is probably perfect for some and not so perfect for others. My guess is that when anyone makes a life altering and/or permanent change to their diet, they should probably go over it with their doctor. I just plan on eating better and doing my best to eliminate the obvious (those 6 large pies from Dominos at 3am).

I've not read that site yet, but even my personal doctor recommended eating every 3 hours and having 200-300 calories each time, maybe even less as times goes on. He said this would mostly keep me satisfied throughout the day, while also reducing my calorie intake.

That's why I recommended that one. They only talk about losing about 2 lbs. a week, maybe a bit more the first week, but really consistent weight loss is what you're looking for. As well, the diet including a lot of different foods, and includes meal plans for when you stop at McDonald's or somewhere, meaning that it's a diet that takes a busy life into account.

[jimnyc]

That's why I recommended that one. They only talk about losing about 2 lbs. a week, maybe a bit more the first week, but really consistent weight loss is what you're looking for. As well, the diet including a lot of different foods, and includes meal plans for when you stop at McDonald's or somewhere, meaning that it's a diet that takes a busy life into account.

I was looking for a huge start, or continual losses, when I found out that realistically that one should shoot for a pound or 2 every week to 2 so as not to disappoint or place the body in a place where I will want to give up.

Not as an excuse, just entering as a fact to the situation, but I also take a medication called "Seroquel" which my doctor prescribed as a sleep aid. Since it helps, and I've been on it for awhile now, he is hesitant to take me off of it, even though I've now requested it several times. Against his wishes, I have cut down how much I take...

Look up "Seroquel weight gain" on Google and you'll see what I'm dealing with. I may be on the best diet, have the best eating habits and exercise and STILL gain weight. Here, here's a link...

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=seroquel+weight+gain&aq=2&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=8ce0e008a607e93d

[DragonStryk72]

I was looking for a huge start, or continual losses, when I found out that realistically that one should shoot for a pound or 2 every week to 2 so as not to disappoint or place the body in a place where I will want to give up.

Not as an excuse, just entering as a fact to the situation, but I also take a medication called "Seroquel" which my doctor prescribed as a sleep aid. Since it helps, and I've been on it for awhile now, he is hesitant to take me off of it, even though I've now requested it several times. Against his wishes, I have cut down how much I take...

Look up "Seroquel weight gain" on Google and you'll see what I'm dealing with. I may be on the best diet, have the best eating habits and exercise and STILL gain weight. Here, here's a link...

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=seroquel+weight+gain&aq=2&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=8ce0e008a607e93d

Well, if you're looking for a more significant start to the diet, then Slim-Fast actually works pretty well, it follows the 5 a day formula, and you can just do a simple tv dinner or something at night, to keep you at about 1200 a day total calories.

My personal suggestion is a focus on cardio to really jumpstart yourself. A simple way to do this is to queue up a tv show you really enjoy watching (I like NCIS, but you could do it while watching football or whatnot), and just use an exercise bike for the time span. It works well, and you don't mind the time on the bike as much.

[PostmodernProphet]

others are bad for certain bodies.

that's my theory....identify your personal weakness and attack it.....substitute the troublemaker with calories of a different type and focus on losing a pound a week.....that's 52 lbs in a year.....



What's with the water? To fill you up a bit so that you don't eat as much of a heavy meal?

yes....it takes a while for your head to know your stomach is full....if you go into a meal with your stomach thinking you just ate four quarter-pounders you have a better chance of controlling your eating....

another trick I've learned is to exercise division control instead of portion control......if you take an 8 oz steak and cut it into ten pieces to eat it you will have less satisfaction than if you take a 4 oz steak and cut it into twenty pieces......take time to savor the flavor.....

[namvet]

I was looking for a huge start, or continual losses, when I found out that realistically that one should shoot for a pound or 2 every week to 2 so as not to disappoint or place the body in a place where I will want to give up.

Not as an excuse, just entering as a fact to the situation, but I also take a medication called "Seroquel" which my doctor prescribed as a sleep aid. Since it helps, and I've been on it for awhile now, he is hesitant to take me off of it, even though I've now requested it several times. Against his wishes, I have cut down how much I take...

Look up "Seroquel weight gain" on Google and you'll see what I'm dealing with. I may be on the best diet, have the best eating habits and exercise and STILL gain weight. Here, here's a link...

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=seroquel+weight+gain&aq=2&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=8ce0e008a607e93d

on advice from my doc I went to a dietician. thinking she was going to put me on some sort of strict diet that I, and most people won't follow. I was wrong. she showed me how to slowly go off the standard slop I and many people eat. especially fast food. instead of a daily diet of this crap simply cut back. like slow withdrawal. I worked my way down to eating this stuff from every down to zero. it worked. I went from about 238 down to about 178. never felt better.
I stopped one day at a fast food and tried it out. it tasted just god awful. yuk !!! I haven't been back since. so. i can still eat what I want but now only just once in awhile. food like BBQ and steak I eat maybe 2 or 3 times a year !!!!
I should have went back and gave her a sloppy kiss :laugh2: