Commercial Diets - Which ones have you had success with?
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I have tried a lot of commercial diets and no they did not work. I would start out enthusiastic but after a while I would get bored or more often starving hungry and end up eating way too much and so gaining back any weight I had lost.
The one you are on is going to cost you around £50-£60 for 14 days. It is a very low calorie product. Between 230-330 calories in each shake depending on if you use milk or water. So 690-990 calories per day. It is recommended that women do not go below 1200 calories per day as very low calories diets can have some very adverse effects on the human body.
I would say that by day 7 (if not before) you will be really fed up with it. You will lose weight to start with but once you get sick of the taste you will probably start cheating or even binging and put the weight back on.
Please consider just putting your statistics into MFP and then logging your food, counting your calories and eating tasty healthy food to lose weight.
So many people here have lost weight that way. I lost 32 pounds doing this kept it off for 2 years, I am now trying to lose a bit more so doing what I know will work.4 -
I don't like being told I need to buy certain foods or invest in a program to do what those in third world countries do for free. I like knowing why I gain weight and what I can do to not only lose it, but keep it off.
No program or fad diet is going to get you started on the LIFE CHANGE you need to make in order to drop the extra weight you gained and the knowledge to keep it off.
I get to eat what I like to eat and feed my family what they've come to enjoy and expect. My diet consists of the regular foods I normally purchase at the grocery store and the great thing about it is its a diet I know I can stick with.2 -
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breathless575 wrote: »
The problem with that is when you are done with the diet you still have no idea how to eat and you will gain back any weight you might lose.
1. Enter your correct stats into MFP.
2. Unless you have 75 lbs to lose or more, choose a goal of 1 lb weight loss per week to get your calorie goal.
3. Start logging your food accurately and consistently, everything you eat and drink every day.
4. Take a look at your diary after a week and see where you are wasting calories, and what foods are working. Tweak as necessary.
5. Focus on eating plenty of veggies, lean protein, and healthy fats. I'm a fan of whole grains too, but not everyone is.
6. Try to fit in occasional treats.
7. Move more, whenever you can.
8. Learn as you go!
This might not get you quick weight loss, but it will get you healthy weight loss, and a much better chance that it will stay off. Read the forum stickies too, lots of great info. :drinker:7 -
breathless575 wrote: »
eat whatever you want up to your calorie goal. not joking.. whatever the heck you want. Not recommended yet you can do it on twinkies if you want to. The point I'm trying to hammer down is total calories is significantly more important the what they are right now. Yes fruits veggies etc should make up most of it but I eat ice cream every night. bacon and eggs for bfast. u get the idea2 -
Breathless575 I do eat cheese. I like low fat feta and sharp shredded cheddar, but I add it to things (salads and omelettes), I do not snack on it. I do eat starchy vegetables and fruit, so I don't think it is necessarily low carb, but I do try to limit starchy carbs to dinner usually (sweet and white potatoes, butternut squash - I make my own oven baked sweet and white potato fries too). I probably haven't had a starchy vegetable in 2 or 3 days maybe? I eat Oikos black label triple zero vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit and in smoothies a lot.1
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So now lots of people have told OP that she cannot expect to lose weight in 2 days. OK, that has been beaten to death. She is still asking what commercial diets people have used and whether they have been successful.1
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I have only followed (mostly) a plan twice:
Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. Plan that focuses on whole foods found in nature and minimally processed foods. It also restricts sugar and is fairly moderate/high in protein. I lost 30 or so pounds in about 4 months fairly easy. I stopped doing it and regained my weight. I think If I had continued with it I would have not regained like I did. The woe worked; I regained when I stopped it.
Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution by Berbstein. A LCHF and ketogenic diet for keeping insulin low. I lost about 40lbs this time, in under 6 months. I have been doing it 2 years. I regained almost 10 lbs when my health took a turn, but I am slowly losing it again. I'm eating this way for life. I know I would go back to gaining if I return to my old ways.
I agree with the others that you need to be patient. Most people will only lose half a pound to a pound per week unless you have a large amount to lose. Be patient.
And becareful of eating a diet that you can't maintain. Chances are that once you stop, you will regain. Unfortunately. If is often wise to start as you mean to go on. KWIM?1 -
No commercial diet is going to beat educating yourself. Particularly when you get to maintenance. Your best bet is to very much moderate your expectations, stop thinking in days, and read some of the stickied threads at the top of the forums - there is some very helpful info there.5
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BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »So now lots of people have told OP that she cannot expect to lose weight in 2 days. OK, that has been beaten to death. She is still asking what commercial diets people have used and whether they have been successful.
Thank you.
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BrunetteRunner87 wrote: »So now lots of people have told OP that she cannot expect to lose weight in 2 days. OK, that has been beaten to death. She is still asking what commercial diets people have used and whether they have been successful.
..and she has said she would rather be told what to eat than figure it out within a calorie limit but whats the direct response she got? "EAT AT A DEFICIT AND WORK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF"
jeez.1 -
Ok, then, I've been successful in Atkins and Weight Watchers but sticking closer to the Atkins way is more sustainable for me.1
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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.
I lost 8 stone on a shakes only, doctor recommended and prescribed diet along with gym sessions 5 days a week........
I also lost fistfuls of hair, a large amount of vitamins and minerals from my body and the best part of 2 years of my life as my body couldnt cope, my immune system struggled, i caught infection after infection that i couldnt fight and my lung function was severly compromised
I was then given medical drinks to boost things and regained everything plus a bit more
I was so ill i was told i had 5 years tops left to live
Looking back i wish calorie counting had been suggested instead of slimming world, weight watchers, atkins, orlistat pills, pills that had to be pulled due to a surge in suicide rates from it, shake diets etc9 -
Simple rule of thumb.....
If you can not maintain the diet you are on once the weight has come off then don't even bother starting. You will jyst regain that weight and then some because you have not learned to rid yourself of your bad eating habits by replacing them with better ones (be it portion sizing and/or food choices).
If you have no intention of drinking all of your calories for the rest of your life then quit what you are doing and concentrate soley on eating at a deficit. Once you have mastered that make small steps to improve your macros and micros. Many dietitians recommend the 80/20 rules which is 80% nutritious largely unprocessed foods and 20% treats as being the most sustainable.1 -
breathless575 wrote: »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?
I'm 4 years into maintenance and my calorie range is around 1,800 a day (I'm 38 yrs old/5ft, 6in). I can't remember the specifics of my calorie intake back in my weight loss phase, (5 ish years ago), sorry!
What I ate back then was pretty much what I was eating before I started losing weight though-I continued to eat fast food 3-4 times a week, continued to eat frozen entrees, (I switched from higher calorie ones to Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice etc), soups (again-switched from high calorie options to low calorie ones, loved Progresso Light ones!), still ate chips, crackers, cookies etc. I kept eating what I liked, just started eating it all in the correct calorie amounts for my weight loss goals Lost around 50lbs and improved all my health markers, including normalizing a high/prediabetic glucose number (yay!).
In the years that have followed I've expanded my food horizons and now eat a more whole foods, plant based diet but that has nothing to do with my weight management plan. I control my weight by my calorie intake!2 -
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CICO0
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Why don't you take a look at some of the people's food diaries?
I would also echo that learning how to eat rather than a very specific plan would be more beneficial in the long run. There are plans that I guess would be considered commercial that you could look to. South Beach, Atkins, Paleo, WW, etc. I think the main problem with some of these plans is that they have turned into a brand rather than a way of eating. So if you want to look at one of these, go back to the original rather than the current commercialized version.2 -
So I have tried WW, and Atkins. WW worked, but I get the same thing here for free. What worked with WW for me was the accountability. Having to keep track of and log everything I eat. I am eating pretty much the same thing I always have (which is why Atkins didn't work for me. Too restrictive to stay on long term.) The key is to be honest about my logging and aware of what's going in my mouth. So eating chicken, beef, pork, salads, even pizza and ice cream are all "on my diet." I've lost 75 lbs so far and am still going.4
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I lost weight on WW. I found the accountability of weighing in in front of people helpful. This was a WW @ Work and a good group. I liked the mindfulness it brought to my eating - who knew all that wine had that many calories!
I now prefer MFP, but @breathless575 since sounds like you want something more structured do try in person WW meetings.0 -
In my experience commercial diets don't work. There is no magic fix. The time it took to gain the weight should be an indicator that it will take time to lose it. Personally I have tried almost all of them including a lapband (which had to be removed due to complications). None of it worked until I started eating right and exercising. I have to eat low calories because I am 60 years old and only 5'5" but I have lost 78 pounds on MFP. I know I can live with my current eating plan for life. Quick fixes never last even if they seem to work initially.0
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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.
Day 2???
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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's only been 2 days. jeez0 -
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.
If you are feeling discouraged after 2 days, you have a long hard miserable road ahead.
PATIENCE!!2 -
Nothing long term. I stick with it for the few months it requires then I gain it back and then some when I go off the diet.0
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Nutrisystem. LOVED that program. The only complaint is that it's expensive and you have to buy an entire month's groceries up front. Who does that?! That being said, there's no real secret to it. If you plug your food into my fitness pal, stay under the goals set for you, and get some exercise, it's the same thing. It's all about calories in and calories out.0
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OP, you might find this helpful: https://www.eatthismuch.com/. It gives you a diet plan, including meals, based on how much you want to eat and your diet preferences (keto, paleo, Mediterranean, whatever). I think it will make more suggestions than that, although I'm not sure what of the additional features are free and what are not, as I can't stand being told to eat specific meals (I do much better cooking with what I have--it feels way easier).4
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The only commercial diet I would ever personally endorse is South Beach, namely because it whole foods focused and not some gimmicky drink this shake or juice for 10 days or whatever. It's also the only diet that I'm aware of that has a maintenance plan...phase III is supposed to be your maintenance and more or less the way you're supposed to eat forever.
I've never really done it (wife has), but my overall diet is pretty similar to what phase III looks like.
I'm not really big on diet plans that have you juicing or drinking shakes or eliminating whole macro nutrients, etc...these things teach you nothing about how to maintain a healthy weight long term...they only serve the weight loss phase.2 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »OP, you might find this helpful: https://www.eatthismuch.com/. It gives you a diet plan, including meals, based on how much you want to eat and your diet preferences (keto, paleo, Mediterranean, whatever). I think it will make more suggestions than that, although I'm not sure what of the additional features are free and what are not, as I can't stand being told to eat specific meals (I do much better cooking with what I have--it feels way easier).
That's a really cool site!0 -
I think what the OP is looking for is someone to tell her what to eat. I get that.
I can understand that too, but this is the wrong site for that. We don't 'do' pre-set diets as such. We're more of a 'here are the guidelines, do whatever floats your boat so long as you stick to them' bunch.
If OP goes through the initial set-up, picks an appropriate weight loss goal and lets people know what it is, we'll be willing to help her figure out how to select her own diet.0
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