What diet should I try?

I am wondering if I should try a preprescribed diet beyond my ever effective guideline of "just eat better"!!!

What are you guys trying and how does it work for you? Are you seeing results? Do you feel hungry?

I tried South Beach once and I felt like I was PMSing 3 weeks straight. No thanks!

I am considering the zone diet because it seems to make sense to me... But I never met anyone who tried it

Part of me is also thinking all I need to do is focus on eating whole, healthy foods, avoid processed stuff and try to only do rich grains like quinoa and barley over rice and pastas. Just keeping that in mind while meeting MFP goals might be enough!!

Any input or experiences are appreciated!,

My opinion is that you should set up reasonably intelligent calorie and nutrient goals and hit them using foods you enjoy. Within that framework I would also:

a) Try to eat "mostly" whole and nutrient dense foods.
b) Exercise a few times per week.


And I would not complicate it beyond that.

If you have yo-yo'd on again then off again then my suggestion is IIFYM. (If it fits your macros). It basically allows you to eat whatever (no low carb, clean only, etc. restrictions) as long as you stay in your macros.

The below thread gives you all you need to know to be successful. It's not a "quick fix." Its just a reasonable philosophy regarding losing weight. As you see more and more success you can choose to "clean" up your diet or not.... it all depends on your goals.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

If you have yo-yo'd on again then off again then my suggestion is IIFYM. (If it fits your macros). It basically allows you to eat whatever (no low carb, clean only, etc. restrictions) as long as you stay in your macros.

The below thread gives you all you need to know to be successful. It's not a "quick fix." Its just a reasonable philosophy regarding losing weight. As you see more and more success you can choose to "clean" up your diet or not.... it all depends on your goals.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

That's the old one, i updated the new one.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

Sorry I grabbed it off my history. thanks.

The "eat less, move more" diet. Eat at a deficit, but get sufficient calories. Meet your macros. Protein, veggies, and water will keep you full, so incorporate a lot of those things. Work out. You'll lose weight on a diet plan, but what happens when you go off of it? What healthy living habits have you learned from it?

Part of me is also thinking all I need to do is focus on eating whole, healthy foods, avoid processed stuff and try to only do rich grains like quinoa and barley over rice and pastas. Just keeping that in mind while meeting MFP goals might be enough!!

^ This exactly! It's not about "dieting," since most people think of a "diet" as something you eventually stop doing. I think it's best to change your eating habits for the better in a more permanent way, something you can sustain long-term which will allow you to be healthy and maintain your desired weight. I have been down the diet road before and seen the experiences of others many times and believe it can be much easier and much more effective to change your overall lifestyle instead.

Nutrisystem helped me simply by giving me tools to eat healthy. Eventually I weaned off of it and now I eat clean on my own. Nobody created my diet. Through a lot of trial and error, I found macros that work for me, for what I am trying to achieve.

It's all about a healthy lifestyle. There will not be on diet that is best for everyone, but there is one (or maybe a few) that are best for you. And like everyone said before, you can't think of it like a diet. You have to think consciously about what you are putting in your mouth. Do you really want to consume that food? Look at the nutrition. Does that fit your goals? If not, why do you want it? What is it about that food that makes you crave it? Most likely it's psychological. Food shouldn't be psychological. It should be biological. Sustaining, enriching, and enjoyable both while you are eating it and after consuming it (though I guess that's pretty psychological right there).

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Eats gluten, some processed foods and refined sugars. :bigsmile:

And follows the advice for setting calorie and macro goals found here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

Good stuff - been working great for me for over a year, losing fat, inches and pounds and feeling fantastic.

For me it isnt a diet. It is a new relationship with food. I am learning to enjoy healthier choices, and developing a more normal eating pattern. Food is no longer a reward or something to be used for comfort. I simply eat at a deficit, make sure I am getting a good amount of protein (at least around 100 gms a day if I can) and I exercise. Pretty simple, but effective And as a plus...aerobics are good fat burners and all...but you might consider lifting weight...as heavy as you can work up to. You are not going o bulk up but building strong, lean muscle actually allows your body to burn fat more effectively.

i also vote for "eat at a caloric deficit, move your body more" plan.

for me, lots and lots of veggies, and cutting out excess carbs helps me stay under my goal. (im not saying low carb necessarily, but high calorie/low nutrient stuff like bagels and fluffy breads aren't worth the space in my daily caloric budget, so I save that for special days, or when I'm hiking up a mountain)

Hi, I don't know you but thank you for putting your trust in my opinion with something so important as what diet you should choose! I have no idea what foods you like to eat, or how much of them you want to eat, but despite that, I think you should be... *rolls 2D10* ... Vegan! They seem like a friendly bunch, and you seem like you'd fit in there. I don't think I could ever be a vegan myself, but you never know, right? Give it a shot, and see how it goes! Good luck!

How about trying NO diet but a lifestyle change and mindful eating approach?plan ahed... Eat more FRESH fruits and veggies, lean proteins, less crap disguised as "healthy" or "diet" foods... Like snack-wells or some other such garbage... Limit or eliminate all soda (sugar and diet) replace with unsweetened iced tea or flavored sparkling water like Ayala's flavored water. Exercise at least 30 minutes 5 times a week. Calculate your BMR and eat more than those amount of calories on a day. Calculate your TDEE and eat LESS of those in a day...
There you have it.

I think the only thing you should change is your attitude to food. Stop thinking in terms of specific "diets".

Eat food. Eat enough of it - quantity and quality - to give your body the nutrition it needs. But not too much of it.

Simples.

I am not dieting. I am changing the way I eat. Less sugar, less sodium, more whole foods, fish, turkey, more legumes. Fewer processed foods. It takes more time than just grabbing a box of stuff and making it, but it is better for me in the long run.

This

Diets always fail. Hence the reason I'm never on a diet & I've lost all my required weight an then more.

Workout hard daily, eat better daily, no cheat days, no days off. That works for me.

In my first few days I used this site to record what I ate, not to restrict it in any way but to give myself an honest look at what I was eating compared to what I needed to be eating. It didn't take long for my brain to get around what I was doing to myself and it just clicked from there. Eat what you need to eat and start moving. Even if that moving is 10 mins marching on the spot in front of the TV to start with. You can do it.