what diet are you?

[surgtech1956]

Those of you that are 'dieting'. Are you following a particular diet, Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Eat for Life, etc... ?

[snapdragen]

Not really a diet - I'm on Weight Watchers. More like learning to eat properly, there are no restrictions on what you can and cannot eat.

[maillotpois]

I'm with Snap.

ETA: Been a WW member since 1988, and lost a signficant amount of weight with them back then (60 lbs). Kept it off, more or less. Childbearing is fattening. Child rearing even more so.

[Bikingmomof3]

I decided on a lifestyle change 2 years ago. I switched to exercise and eating 5-6 healthy meals a day. I went from a size 20 to a size 4/6. I eat foods I enjoy. When I eat sweets I do so in moderation (a piece a cake verses half the cake ) The major trick for me was learning portion sizes. I also journal everything I eat. I love food and that will never change, so I changed how I looked at food and shed a lot of fat.

[7rider]

Well, I lost my weight on the "Fall Madly in Love With Someone Who Doesn't Know You Exist" diet. It very simple - don't eat or sleep for four month, and viola'! The weight just melts away. Then, wake-up, come to your senses and then resolve to keep it off through exercise and a sensible eating plan.
Geez, I'm at about 10 years now...although about 5-10 pounds has creeped back on since marriage (hmmmm....).

[Nokomis]

I'm on week 8 of the 12wk body for life challenge. I've lost inches & almost 5% bodyfat, but no weight. The eating plan makes sense to me, and I intend to stick to it even if I adjust the work out portion later. As I'm getting back on the bike I'm trying to figure out how to balance weight training which I love w/ endurance & cardio training.

[teigyr]

I'm a combination of the above! I've done WW and it is wonderful. It worked far better before I was married though because back then I could personalize my eating. I could also go for a 20 minute walk to be able to have that extra glass of wine

When I met DH, we'd walk to breakfast on the weekends (bloody mary's!) and go to microbreweries, etc. It really really made a bad difference ....

I have returned to cycling, DH got a bike, and we ride on the weekends. I run and go to the gym during the week. I watch what I eat but eat what I want in moderation. It's a slow process but it's working! I don't keep a journal as to what I eat (I think I should) but I do keep a journal for exercise.

Oh, I also switched to egg beaters, low fat/fat free cheese, turkey bacon, whole wheat, etc. I make the same things, I just try to be smarter about it

[annie]

I decided on a lifestyle change 2 years ago. I switched to exercise and eating 5-6 healthy meals a day. I went from a size 20 to a size 4/6. I eat foods I enjoy. When I eat sweets I do so in moderation (a piece a cake verses half the cake ) The major trick for me was learning portion sizes. I also journal everything I eat. I love food and that will never change, so I changed how I looked at food and shed a lot of fat.

Wow, 20 -> 4/6. That is amazing. I do agree that portion sizes are key. When I go out to eat, I always take at least 1/2 of my food home. It feeds me two more times. Our portion sizes here in the US are a joke. I'd would much rather pay 1/2 the price and get 1/2 the food. Until that happens, at least I don't have to cook the next day.

Annie

[Zen]

I went to weight Watchers about seven years ago and lost a good bit of weight. I think they have sensible plan that involves food diaries (to track points) and portion size. The points method calculates total cals, fat cals, and sugar cals to determine how they assign point values to foods. They've done the work for you but it still makes you more aware of your eating. There's also the support available in going to meetings.

I don't use it now but I still take into account sugar and fat content.
Weight Watchers is great.

[KnottedYet]

Eat What You Crave.

I read about this a long time ago, and it really does work for me. You eat whatever the heck you want, as much as you want.

Want chocolate? Eat it!
Want huge breakfasts, and snack-sized dinners? Eat it!
Want salads morning noon and night? Eat it!
Want huge hunks of parmesean cheese snarfed over the kitchen sink to catch the crumbs? Eat it!

After a few days of chocolate and marshmallows you start craving some sauteed broccoli with garlic. So you eat it. You de-fuse all those "food bombs" we assimilate through-out our lives, and start listening to what your body wants.

Lost about 50 or 60 lbs. Don't know exactly, don't really care. I feel good, my cholesterol is down, and food is yummy rather than guilt-ridden.

[crazycanuck]

I'm not on a diet but pretty much just eat sensibly. I don't eat junk food (ian eats it..) and think about what i put in me yob. That and I swim twice a week, bike my 200-250km/wk plus pilates & run after a dog..

I've not lost tons of weight however have changed size if that makes any sense. I was a size 16 almost 18(that's aussie sizes & have no idea what that equates to in the US) to a size 12-14. I weigh 65kg's & have so for a year. It won't stabilize or go down until my dr & I get my thyroid meds sorted.

I've never dieted..

C

[horsemom]

I have recently lost 25 pounds from 'pretty much lumpy' to the 'right' size! I started with Atkins, with which I had luck before. I got through about three weeks of it, lost the cravings for sweets, and then went to low fat, low sugar, and slowly added good carbs. Of course, regular excercise, but that in itself did not take the weight off before.

Right in the middle of all this I went through an emotionally stressful internship in the field (trail building - long story) and then right into a three day class where I had to do a 2 hour presentation. I just flat lost my appetite (first time in my life!) and lost 10 lbs in 10 days!! Not really good, I know, but I capitalized on that and have kept it off.

I eat fresh vegies, fruits, lean meats primarily. Oh, and ice cream---I LOVE ice cream, and if I had to deprive myself, it might get ugly. Once or twice a week I have a couple scoops----but I figure if I balance it with good eating and excercise, it is ok. Life is too short to not eat Ben and Jerry's.

I like the feeling of being the right size instead of slightly larger---I feel strong and sexy, and most off all, healthy. That is motivation enough to keep this off. I love that my clothes are loose instead of having to unbutton my jeans when I am sitting in the car!!

Laura

[Jenn]

I wouldn't call it a diet it's a lifestyle change that my father guided me towards as he's a body builder and always looks good. I do the same as Bikingmomof3. I eat every 2-3 hours 5-6 meals a day. MOSTLY egg whites, white fish, brown rice, yams, TONS of green veggies, some fruit, protein shakes in between. I'm down 22 lbs since April. NOW, if I could just give up my wine, I'd probably lose more, but there are just SOME small pleasures, I want to hold onto after chasing a 16 month around all day, although, that has probably helped add to the weight loss also...haha

[gnat23]

For those that do WW: How do you do it with all the exercise?

I had great results with WW when I wasn't exercising (strange, but true), but now that I'm clocking ~150mi per week, I just couldn't find my groove with the food again. I was either dead tired, bonking, or gaining weight.

I've tried to ignore the food I eat on longer (50mi) rides, as it ends up being nothing but CytoMax, Sport Beans, and Luna Bars... then eating sensibly after the ride. But surely there's a better way to do this.

-- gnat! (Oh, and the Garmin's calorie counter is off by a ridiculous amount, but I don't know by how much.) :P

[maillotpois]

Gnat - now that WW has the "use your APs the day you earn them" policy, it's alot easier to lsoe weight while exercising. Frankly, if it is a 80 mile ride or above, I just don't keep track and try to eat sensibly that day. The key is not feeling "entitled" the whole next week because I did a double century over the weekend.