Best diet?

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etromb50
etromb50 Posts: 20
in Food and Nutrition
What have you had most success with? A low fat diet, low carb such as South Beach, vegetarian, decrease in calories, no snacking? Talking lifestyle change here.
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  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    Just decrease in calories has worked so far for me. i've had a few doctors recommend low carb for me, but i just cant do it.
    i typically eat 3 meals, two snacks, and a protein shake.. but some days i just eat 2 meals. just depends on how hungry i am
  • fuzzimama
    fuzzimama Posts: 85
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    My normal diet using MFP, which has basically meant very little change to the amount of fruits, veges and meat/chicken/fish that I eat, but a big reduction in starchy carbs, sweets, baking and diary etc. I still have everything that I had before, but in better proportions. Not sure that's what you're looking for (i.e. not a total lifestyle change), but it is the thing I have had most success with.
  • vegansassy
    vegansassy Posts: 13 Member
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    Low Carb Diet. Lost 70 lbs since 01/06/2011. Sometimes it is difficult to say no to the sweets, but it rarely happens. Plus even pretty easy to stay away from breads and pasta since I get sick from gluten. I usually dont snack after dinner, if I do it is coffee with heavy cream, or low carb shake....sometimes lc flaxseed minute muffin... usually the coffee or tea( decaf ). and when I make a shake, I make enough for the family... they love them! My kids ask me almost everyday for one of my shakes. I have tried slimfast, weight watchers, low fat, south beach, and will have to say atkins or protein power are the best for me. Sugar and Gluten make me way too cranky...caffeine makes me shakey and anxious... So no sugar, no caffeine, no gluten. Love flaxseed, almond meal, nuts...learning to like vegetables a lot more. I was one of those kids who ate only corn as a veggie. Wouldn't eat salad until I was like 18. And really didn't start liking it until last spring/ summer. Now I eat broccoli, spinach, asparagus, cabbage, bok choy, etc. I just have to find the way I like them prepared....plus being sugar free after a while changes your taste buds...you seem to enjoy the healthy foods more. So low carb all the way!
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    My normal diet using MFP, which has basically meant very little change to the amount of fruits, veges and meat/chicken/fish that I eat, but a big reduction in starchy carbs, sweets, baking and diary etc. I still have everything that I had before, but in better proportions. Not sure that's what you're looking for (i.e. not a total lifestyle change), but it is the thing I have had most success with.

    This

    You could try reading http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/ for more info. I've been touting it on here like crazy because it made a whole heap of sense to me!
  • stevenleagle
    stevenleagle Posts: 293 Member
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    I used to diet. I failed at all of them. I now track calories and (try to) make better choices. More vegetables, leaner meats, better quality breakfast cereals, water instead of sodas or juices, that sort of thing.

    To me if you are serious, its about making long term lifestyle changes that will serve you best. This includes exercising more.

    Of course I was "obese" before starting my journey and I recognise that some people out there only have a few kilos to shift - in which case perhaps a short week or two diet might be all that you need.
  • jfluchere
    jfluchere Posts: 346 Member
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    Paleo...unprocessed whole foods and eating good fat
  • chickielou
    chickielou Posts: 47
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    dont do diets..........do change for good. I should say change that you can live with. theres many things out there I cant live without, so I have had to adjust my life to suit me, I dont need to be super skinny, just healthy and happy and happiness for me is to be able to have a treat now and then and a drink with friends etc.........

    So just decrease your calories and increase your exercise, if you do anything drastic, most of the time it will see you right back at the beginning cos its too drastic a change.........and more often you end up with more weight than you started. Just edge your way slowly through a big change like this, bit at a time
  • lovemydrmartens
    lovemydrmartens Posts: 144 Member
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    the best diet is the one that you can keep up for the rest of life... nothing weird, just healthy eating and ... less of everything... you can eventually allow yourself a little more of everything... ;-)
  • ffsathyveluk
    ffsathyveluk Posts: 3
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    Leangains type Intermittent fasting!
  • aqua_zumba_fan
    aqua_zumba_fan Posts: 418
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    I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years. Not too much weight to lose. I'm just reducing calories but eating back exercise calories and working with a weekly rather than daily goal so my body doesn't get used to the same amount of calories all the time (I'm at 1200 plus my exercise calories, which tends to be a fair bit extra). Don't really believe in 'diets' per se as they tend not to be sustainable.
  • stayxtrue
    stayxtrue Posts: 1,190 Member
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    there is no diet that is the best... Its honestly about eating a healthy diet. If you are eating healthy, keeping to your calorie deficit if losing weight or eating at a maintenance to stay at a weight and remaining active you have nothing to worry about as you will see yourself become much healthier.

    However there are people who do low carb - high protein -high fat (healthy fats) type diet and see more results but lose energy. Honestly the way I see it is eat healthy, eat as much food as you possible can that is natural and not full of preservatives. This means buying meat from an organic butcher, and buying fresh produce as much as you possible can and drinking plenty of water. This alone with an active lifestyle is what you would need to start feeling better and become much more healthier.

    There is a reason why people a long long long time ago lived longer than we do today, they lived off of the land, everything was provided by nature, no man made chemicals or preservatives or processed foods :)

    Well thats my 2 cents worth :)
  • snaggly
    snaggly Posts: 48 Member
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    Well, I tried many fad diets before and had crappy metabolism but was fine till I got older and found that I could not maintain my ideal weight. I really think the others are right, that we should focus on lifestyle changes, not "diet". This is what I intend to do now!
  • margo36
    margo36 Posts: 222 Member
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    I just eat normal food and cook using fresh ingredients. I don't have ready meals or processed food. I used to weigh over 300 pounds and lost all by keeping within my calorie allowance and I eat my exercise calories.
  • fuzzimama
    fuzzimama Posts: 85
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    Of course I was "obese" before starting my journey and I recognise that some people out there only have a few kilos to shift - in which case perhaps a short week or two diet might be all that you need.

    I'm in the 'a few kgs to shift' (well actually more like 12kgs, but not obese), and yet I have struggled for 20 years with anything from 5kgs to 12kgs and never been successful. So I still reckon a 'rest of your life' diet is better than any particular fad diet.

    I don't think a short week or two diet is what works (from experience) because once it is over you go back to what you were doing before and then slowly gain back to your former weight. What MFP has done for me is opened my eyes to exactly where I am getting every calorie from and helping me make more real choices (almost entirely about portion size, 'cause I'm not into denial at all LOL).
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    The best diet is the one that you can adhere to, whether that be low carb, paleo etc,
  • fuzzimama
    fuzzimama Posts: 85
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    there is no diet that is the best... Its honestly about eating a healthy diet. If you are eating healthy, keeping to your calorie deficit if losing weight or eating at a maintenance to stay at a weight and remaining active you have nothing to worry about as you will see yourself become much healthier.

    There is a reason why people a long long long time ago lived longer than we do today, they lived off of the land, everything was provided by nature, no man made chemicals or preservatives or processed foods :)

    Totally agree with the first bit, but (despite our rising obesity problems), humans are living longer now than ever before, and certainly longer than long, long ago when they lived off the land. A life expectancy of 20 - 30 years is typical from caveman times (but they died from illness, infection, accident etc. not heart disease or cancer). In more recent times lack of preservation of food and treatment of water would have lead to many unnecessary deaths (from food poisoning and waterborne illnesses). But yeah, a simpler (than average) diet combined with modern sewerage, medical treatment etc. is a good choice.
  • Suziq2you
    Suziq2you Posts: 396 Member
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    I eat whatever I want. Now I just eat enough for one person instead of three.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
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    Great answers so far! I've looked into everything from raw vegan, paleo, whatever-the-hell-I wanted-to-eat, to just putting some thought into the quality of my food choices without beating my head in over it. I've taken away a little from each of those really... I still see the importance of raw fruits & veggies, good fats, organic foods if I can find it, meat... and now I'm even putting bread back into my mouth lately (gasp!)

    Just put some thought into it without jumping on any one particular bandwagon.

    Use some sort of calculator to figure out how many calories you really need based on age, activity level, height/weight, etc.

    And don't get too strict! Like someone else mentioned, pick something that appeals to you in such a way that you will adhere to it. And don't be afraid of desserts every now and then!
  • Horseyrider
    Horseyrider Posts: 22
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    I stick with whole foods and have for decades; the real foods that my great-grandmother would recognize. No soda, no GMO stuff, no commercially processed foods, nothing with a barcode. As much as possible organic, much of which I grow myself. Beef is grass fed, pork and veal milk fed, which I buy straight from the farm, along with raw milk and cream; and I churn my own butter. I raise my own free range eggs and chicken organically. I grind my own flour and make my own bread. If it's a food that can't give me something back in terms of nutrition, then I don't eat it.

    For exercise I stay away from gyms and weird machines, and instead work in the garden, ride my horses, walk my dogs through the woods, and do barn chores.

    While I know that won't work for everyone, this really works for me. I feel great and my doctor loves my diet and exercise routine; but I was just putting on too many extra pounds for my satisfaction. Logging really helps me to track portions and choose more wisely.
  • LadyKT
    LadyKT Posts: 287 Member
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    The best diet is the one that you can adhere to, whether that be low carb, paleo etc,

    ACG, its interesting you of all people say this - why do you spit back responses to those who say they do low carb and quote several scientific sources saying that what they're doing is "wrong"? Try to educate people against something, whether written science proves it or not (and goes against an MFPer's else's own results, mind you - they're not in those studies and neither are you) and then saying "whatever you can adhere to" is hypocrisy and quite frankly, makes you look like an *kitten*.

    Just my two cents. If you really want to HELP people - Educate those who are asking. Not those who are spewing "misinformation".

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