What "diet" is the right diet for life?

Seriously? Get your calories under control first. Then start throwing in fruits and veggies that you like, and try to get enough protein and fats that make you satisfied.

There are people who do better on lots of whole grains and veggies. There are others who need more meat and fats to feel at their optimum.

The problem is that you really shouldn't be taking dieting advice from fitness mags (and to be honest, I think random strangers on the Internet are probably worse... so take what I say with a grain of salt and some professional advice) and that humans can live on ANY diet.

And no diet is going to make you immortal or eternally young. That's just advertising.

Eat at a calorie deficit and you can eat anything you already like. I like the 80-20 approach...80% whole foods, 20% not so whole foods ('junk'). It's great because I never feel deprived. I'm not focusing on macros right now because I'm just losing weight, but when I get closer to goal, I'll ramp up the macro counting.

I've lost nearly 10 pounds so far, so I think it's working.

First delete the word "diet". Think of it as eating healthy for mental, physical and emotional health.

The right diet is the same one you think you'll want to be on in 20 years. If it isn't fun, easy to incorporate, or helthy, then any diet or exercising you're doing isn't sustainable. Find something your comfortable with, keep it simple, and commit to it long term.

Eat what you like now just less of it. No fad diet needed.

everyone is different so what works for one will not work for another. tomorrow Im starting the IIFYM thingy.watch your calories and eat how you like as long as it fits into your calorie goal. if you feel crummy including junk food then cut that out for awhile, if you feel more energy doing low/higher carb go for that. just make sure you get a decent ratio of the right foods and nutrients and you should be ok.what ratio for you that is right is up to you and what you feel is right and what makes you feel better inside and out.I change things up after awhile just to see if it will make a difference for me.

dcavazos wrote: »

I guess what I want to know is for those of you who have lost weight and maintained do you have any information on what is the right diet for a healthy life?

Step 1 - define what "healthy life" means for YOU.

IMO a huge part of people's problems is they want bodies that aren't consistent with their activity level. Someone living the typical bed-to-car-to-chair-to-car-to-bed lifestyle so typical in the US can put on a LOT of weight before their body is incompatible with their lifestyle. So if you are highly sedentary, it's going to be hard to keep the weight off because you are going to be constantly fighting your own body, which frankly speaking, doesn't need to shed the pounds based on the lifestyle.

I think an awful lot of people are going about this completely backwards. Figure out the lifestyle you want first...

Nutrition isn't well understood. We are very complex organisms. One day saturated fat is the devil and the next day we should all start eating butter again. There's no real definitive answer as to what is the optimal human diet with the current state of scientific knowledge. Find something that works for you and go with it. For me that means eating more saturated fat, less omega six fatty acids, and minimal carbs. I did ok when I ate raw vegan, too. People will thrive on all kinds of diets in the short term, it's the long term sustainability for you that makes the real difference. I'm pretty nerdy about nutrition. I read a ton of books. Studied nutrition in college. I've dabbled in everything from raw vegan to LCHF paleo. The information out there would make your head spin. I know what works for me and the current science I personally believe, but I have no delusion that it's the only way way to be healthy for everyone so I don't push my beliefs on anyone else.

What I did was look at how I'd been eating and figure out what changes I could make within the ways that I liked to eat that would allow me to make my diet healthier, lower calorie, and even more enjoyable (so that it would be sustainable). (I also got active, and for me I simply tend to eat better when I'm active; they aren't unrelated.)

I did like not ever having to think about how many calories were in anything, and feeling free to eat according to whim in any quantities, but I also didn't eat so terribly (or giant amounts or anything). I just ate kind of stupidly in a variety of ways, which was pretty easy to figure out when I thought about it. And a lot of the stupid stuff (like a bagel for breakfast, which is stupid for me, not necessarily others, or eating any "special treat" that showed up at work) wasn't based on my love for that particular way of eating, but a lack of organization. Others (like getting Indian takeout whenever I was stressed at work and hadn't bought stuff to cook) were simply overly self-indulgent.

So based on that analysis, I decided that the diet that would work best for me would involve various principles such as: (1) try to cook most meals at home (including breakfast), and bring lunch when possible, (2) eat protein and vegetables at all meals when at all possible (again, including breakfast), (3) don't eat outside of mealtime (mealtime could include a scheduled snack if I decide to plan one) unless there's a really good reason for a rare indulgence of this time and NEVER eat to deal with emotional upset/stress, (4) keep going out to dinner regularly (1-2 times/week) but don't pretend like it's a special occasion that allows for major indulgence if you do it that often and watch portion size and order sensibly, and (5) don't waste calories on foods you don't care about. I'm sure I could come up with others if I thought about it. The main point, however, is that these are rules that make sense for me, based on my preferences and lifestyle, and the food I cook is both healthy and--just as important--every bit as delicious and appealing to my taste as the foods I was eating before.

Putting this in another post, since it's a slightly separate point and the whole thing was too long because I'm a windbag:

As for the nutrition stuff, the basics that everyone agrees on, and that aren't largely personal preference (or some guru vs. another guru on questionable evidence), really aren't complicated and I think people tend to overcomplicate them for whatever reason--perhaps thinking there's some key that will make weight loss easier. I'd say, think about what you learned of as a healthy meal as a kid--some protein, veggies, and then fill out the meal with some fruit or dairy or starch/grains as desired. Once you start logging and experimenting with this you'll easily figure out the combinations that work best for you. Beyond that, low carb or high, low fat or not, it really doesn't matter; it depends on the person and the lifestyle and how you feel. (Well, I suspect that more people are less hungry with moderate to somewhat low carbs and not low fat, but people really do vary and what else you eat will make a difference for you too.)

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There is no such thing as a diet unless your looking at short term results.

There are 2 things you have to do to lose weight...EAT LESS MOVE MORE. It's actually really simple.

I eat anything I want...I don't ever tell myself I CAN'T have something. What I do ask myself is "does this food make my body feel good and will It help me in my new lifestyle?"...fast food does not make me feel good. Eating McDonald's, taco bell, del taco or any one of the plethora of fast food places I know are not healthy...so why put that in my body. So for me, who at my heaviest was having fast food once or more a day, I had to cut out fast food....it was my choice and because of that I've had no problem not eating it. Now when I want fast food I will do Subway or Chipotle or even IN N OUT but it's not often and I try to be aware of what I'm eating.

I love chocolate, I love pastries and I know my control is limited so I don't buy the stuff for my house often. If I want it I'll have a dessert when I go out to eat or I'll buy it but only a serving or 2...I'm a binge eater and I know if a cake is sitting on my counter there is a 50 50 chance I'll eat it all. Know your triggers. Know what needs to be purged from your diet and know what needs to be minimized.

There is no set guideline that works for everyone...you have to know yourself and do what's best for you. Fast food, junk food, soda, over eating, under eating, not moving are just a few things that I can guarantee aren't good for anybody so start there...eliminate what you can and minimize what you can't eliminate yet.

I lose just about 10lbs a month. From July til October that was what I was losing by watching my food and calories and exercising. November and December I didn't lose anything...I gained a pound. I stopped watching my eating, stopped counting my calories and was eating out a lot and having a lot of sweets....but I was exercising and because of that I didn't gain more. That told me very clearly I have to watch my food in take and I have to exercise...if I want too lose weight I can't do one or the other I have to do both. Chances are, so do you.

So here is the big diet secret....EAT LESS MOVE MORE.

I would also side with the general opinion here and state – a diet that you feel comfortable with and that fits with the lifestyle you want.

For instance, I grew up on a diet based on a traditional mediterranean diet – lots of grains, lots of veggies, moderate fish and little meat. I have the luck that it is a diet that is vastly considered one of the healthiest out there with little to no dispute, so thus far, I have never had to even consider changing a diet plan.

However, after starting to seriously exercise and learn more about fitness, I realised that if I wanted to really "bulk" (as much as possible for a woman), I would not be able to do it eating like I am now. Regardless of how healthy the Med Diet may be – I would need to adapt my eating habits to include more protein.

So, does that mean I would switch to a high protein, low carb diet or even Paleo? Nope. I would not feel comfortable with them. That is just not me. Probably I'd find a way to eat more fish – tuna and sardines are not that expensive, after all. Include more eggs and include a larger steak every once in a while.

The only thing I'd personally recommend is make a diet choice that does not restrict whole food groups. Almost always they prove to either be difficult to sustain or lacking in certain nutrients.

Besides, food is too amazing and life comes with way too many hurdles to deprive yourself from yummy yummy products.