Commercial Diets - Which ones have you had success with?

breathless575

Has anyone had success with any commercial diets? I'm on day 2 of the Almased diet, but I'm not really losing weight yet. I know I need to be patient though! I'm just wondering what are some of the better diet plans out there.

Ready2Rock206

Day two and you're already looking for something else to do? I can't see any commercial diet being successful for you if you're giving up on day 2. How about just eating foods you like at a calorie deficit instead?

Chef_Barbell

I prefer to count my calories then have someone tell me how to eat.

breathless575

I'm not looking to give up. I'm still in it, but feeling discouraged because I haven't lost any weight yet, so I was wondering if there was something better out there.

kimny72

You measure weight loss in weeks and months, not days. Unless you are very obese, you should be expecting to lose around 1 lb per week.

And no, I never had any success with commercial diets, just eating a balanced diet, logging my food, and hitting my calorie goal.

crazyycatlady1

I have lots of family and friends who've tried everything from WW and 21 Fix, to Medifast, Nutrisystem etc. They were all successful with losing weight, but every single one of them gained all the weight back shortly thereafter. I'm the only one who's been able to maintain long term and I'm the only one who went the (free) route of counting calories. It's not trendy or glamorous, but it gets the job done

Ready2Rock206

breathless575 wrote: »

I'm not looking to give up. I'm still in it, but feeling discouraged because I haven't lost any weight yet, so I was wondering if there was something better out there.

It has been TWO days. Your expectations are completely unrealistic.

sunfastrose

I lost 50 pounds using WW online and have maintained that loss for over 15 years. But - I know nothing about their current program, so would agree with recommendation to count calories.

Unknown

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breathless575

I'm hopeful to see a loss tomorrow. After two days of nothing but liquids, I think I should start to see some small progress.

elphie754

breathless575 wrote: »

I'm hopeful to see a loss tomorrow. After two days of nothing but liquids, I think I should start to see some small progress.

Your expectations are unrealistic. 3 days is not enough time to determine if something is working. Also, a liquid only diet? For many that would be a recipe for disaster, leading to binging. Doesn't sound like you are actually listening to the advice being given to you though.

jdog022

breathless575 wrote: »

I'm hopeful to see a loss tomorrow. After two days of nothing but liquids, I think I should start to see some small progress.

you understand that if you drink enough liquid to be in a calorie surplus or maintenance you won't lose an ounce? In any event this hole approach is incredibly flawed

arrghmatey1

After 30 years of trying every diet known to man ( Gawd, I hate that I can say that! )

I can tell you with reasonable assurance that all those commercial diets are good at is lightening your wallet.

If you do manage somehow to lose weight it will be back because they are as a general rule not based on reality.

Not only will the pounds come back but they will bring friends.

Sound nutrition with a deficit which is sustainable and a little exercise thrown in will get you where you want to go.

That may not be what you want to hear but like I said it is one thirty year weight loss veterans advice.

I just wish I wouldn't have weighted till now to follow it. ( 51 lbs in 17 weeks )

Good Luck

ent3rsandman

breathless575 wrote: »

I'm hopeful to see a loss tomorrow. After two days of nothing but liquids, I think I should start to see some small progress.

You have no idea what you're doing. You are not going to lose fat without chopping it off physically, because you are completely incapable of doing it any other way.

Momjogger

Of course you want to lose weight quickly only drinking liquids, but depending on your age, current weight, and activity level, your metabolism can adjust and work against you losing weight if you limit calories so restrictively and if you do not have that much weight to lose, you will lose it slowly. I count calories, exercise for 30 to 90 minutes a day, and eliminated processed carbs for most days (I find them triggers for overeating for me). I eat a lot of fruit, vegetables, lean meat, eggs, yogurt. I make smoothies and do meal prep. Snacks are fruit and yogurt, a hard boiled egg and plain cucumbers or celery. Mealsare usually meat and veggies or a salad with chicken. I eat omelettes with vegetables and cheese and turkey bacon for breakfast on the weekends. When I go out to eat, I have a salad with chicken or shrimp or seafood and veggies. Tonight I ate steak with onions, peppers, barbecue sauce and broccoli on the side. I had a "snack" of leftover chicken and cucumber slices this afternoon because I was super hungry and needed to eat something before Zumba. I knew it would hold me over. I do not snack on processed food and eating more whole foods instead helps me to stay full, feel healthy, and keeps me from being tempted to over eat. In the past I tried Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Slimfast, nothing stuck. I lost 60 pounds three years ago and have kept 1/3 of it off, but I started eating more processed foods and tracking my food less and it crept back. I DO NOT want to be this weight, so I am back at it. It is not easy, but I am healthy and it is working and it is sustainable. I wish you the best of luck.

estherdragonbat

https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/almased/

So Does Almased Work?

If you replace most of your meals with Almased and follow their diet instructions then you will probably lose weight. You cannot really fail.

However, the diet options provided are extreme and fall into the fad diet category. You cannot live long term on this plan and the suggestion by Almased that you follow it for 6 weeks will not be possible for many people.

Replacing your meals with diet shakes is never going to be a proper way to live and we feel it will lead to yo yo weight gain once you are free from this difficult regime.

So, like the other fad diets, you follow their plan and lose, because their plan puts you into a caloric deficit. But once you've lost the weight, maintenance is an issue and as soon as you stop with the diet shakes, you'll gain it all back.

breathless575

Momjogger, thank you for your advice. I like your snack ideas. Fruit, vegetables, lean meats, eggs, and yogurt sound like reasonable suggestions that I can incorporate into my diet. So, would you say you do low carb? Do you eat cheese?

WVWalkerFriend

I do low carb but I'll reiterate what's been said already. It takes time to lose weight whether you count carbs, calories, or points. Is there a particular reason you need to see the scale drop so soon? An event coming up, maybe?

breathless575

crazyycatlady1 wrote: »

I have lots of family and friends who've tried everything from WW and 21 Fix, to Medifast, Nutrisystem etc. They were all successful with losing weight, but every single one of them gained all the weight back shortly thereafter. I'm the only one who's been able to maintain long term and I'm the only one who went the (free) route of counting calories. It's not trendy or glamorous, but it gets the job done

Thanks for responding. How many calories do you allow yourself each day and what do you eat to make up those calories?

Machka9

breathless575 wrote: »

I'm not looking to give up. I'm still in it, but feeling discouraged because I haven't lost any weight yet, so I was wondering if there was something better out there.

But you're just on Day 2 ... right? You can't expect to see weight loss already on Day 2.

When I started with MFP, I entered my details, chose sedentary as my activity level, and chose to lose 0.5 kg/week. MFP gave me the number of calories to eat.

I weighed and logged everything meticulously.

For 10 days ... nothing happened. No weight loss at all.

I figured I'd stick with it for 3 weeks and if there was no weight loss at the end of 3 weeks, I'd give up.

By the end of 3 weeks, I had lost 3 kg.


I've never gone the commercial diet route because I like choosing my own food, and because I made the decision that if I had a limited number of calories to work with, I would eat only foods I liked. But whether or not you go the commercial diet route to stay within your calorie limit, you've got to give it at least 3 weeks ... these things take time!


Edit: BTW - when I read "commercial diet" I was thinking along the lines of Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, not an all-liquid diet. I have a friend who does Jenny Craig and it seems to work for her. It seems expensive to me, but at least she's getting reasonably balanced and varied meals.

shadow2soul

breathless575 wrote: »

Has anyone had success with any commercial diets? I'm on day 2 of the Almased diet, but I'm not really losing weight yet. I know I need to be patient though! I'm just wondering what are some of the better diet plans out there.

Patience....weight loss does not just magically happen it takes time. Weeks, months, and in my case, years. Yes you read that right. It can take years. Time is going to pass anyway though.



For me, "commercial" diets didn't work. Why? Because they had me at such an large deficit that I struggled to get through week one, let alone week 2. Most of them are set up for rapid loss for sedentary individuals and no adjustments for those of us who are fairly active. It's just a "one size fits all" crash diet and yes if you stick to it weightloss will happen, but you won't know how to maintain that loss. Creating the cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Why not go a bit slower and learn how to maintain your loss as you go?

mfpanyko

I follow Weight Watchers. It is a sensible way of life that I can live with. I've maintained a 65 pound loss for four years.

LessCookiess

So in other words you're not eating food at all you're not following a sensible plan at all. Drinking too much water isn't good for you either if I were you I would stop this liquid diet, and eat solid food and follow the calorie intake that MyFitnessPal recommends.

nowine4me

It typically takes me 6 weeks to lose a pound. Not hours or days -- weeks. Patience is key.

susanp57

I think what the OP is looking for is someone to tell her what to eat. I get that.

Sharon_C

The thing with commercial diets is that they'll put you in the caloric deficit needed to lose weight but they don't teach you how to keep the weight off. Maybe that's their scheme. It keeps you coming back to buy their stuff.

brdnw

Yuck, don't do a liquid diet, don't do any pills, don't do any sort of program. Just eat healthy. It's really that simple. Eat fruits/vegetables/protein and then be active. It's really that simple. After 1-2 weeks you'll notice progress and after 3 weeks you'll have huge amounts of momentum. Just eat like a human should eat and you'll be great.

brdnw

plus you don't need a diet, you need a lifestyle change. You're not going to accomplish anything starving yourself on some random diet because at some point you need to stop it and you need to know how to eat when that day comes.

jpaulie

breathless575 wrote: »

Has anyone had success with any commercial diets? I'm on day 2 of the Almased diet, but I'm not really losing weight yet. I know I need to be patient though! I'm just wondering what are some of the better diet plans out there.

How Long did it take you to gain the weight? 2 days? Think about it

doittoitgirl

None. I've tried many and so have my friends. Juicing, "jump starts", diets that encourage you to cut out large entire food groups, they are all quick fixes that may give you results short term but seldom work for the rest of your life. Focusing on whole foods, calories in calories out, and exercise for a complete lifestyle overhaul is the best way to keep the weight off for good. And making adjustments little by little is the best way to stick to the new habits. A few minor adjustments a week are so much easier to execute than NOT EATING for 5 days and expecting to feel refreshed afterwards.

jamalimani

Atkins works well. I have had two doctors recommend it to me and I lost 22 pounds in 4 months. I have maintained it for the past 4 months. Now I am launching back into it for 13 final pounds and the win! I don't look at it as a diet. It is a low carb, high protein lifestyle change, which is great for me since my family history puts me at risk for diabetes! I can buy their Atkins stuff or just follow the rules. It is super easy and you don't have to "buy" anything to do the diet if you don't want to. You also can eat until you are full, you just have to eat the right stuff.