Looking for a inexpensive & socially compat. diet

Eat less packaged foods, more fruits, veggies and control your portions. Doesn't cost any more than current groceries and eating out.

Don't buy Hamburger Helper. Buy hamburger (lean), pasta and make your own sauce. Don't buy canned green beans, get fresh. Fresh strawberries, apples, peaches instead of the plastic cups.

When you're out order grilled chicken, steamed veggies, plain baked potato. Skip dessert and cocktails. McDonalds? Get a salad with light dressing or a fruit & yogurt parfait with a grilled wrap.

You don't need to really spend money on a diet, just adjust your current lifestyle.

Good luck!

eating what you want in moderation and making good choices?

Love this. It is so true. I so badly want a secret method, a special exercise, some magical fruit, or crazy diet that will get me to lose weight quickly and easily. But that it fantasy. Losing weight is simple, though that doesn't mean easy. But it really just boils down to math (calorie reduction).

"Making good choices" is sound advice. Even when I "cheat" - I make sure I do so with intention, I make the decision to go over in calories. I still record it too. It's all about choices. I get that many social situations don't always mean healthy food (or drink). But I can make choices to not show up hungry and eat in moderation once there.

the fastest, most efficient and healthiest way i've found to take off a few pounds very quickly is to eliminate all processed foods/drinks for a week. eating this way for a week can really introduce you to some healthy alternatives to processed foods, and show you how easy it is to introduce healthier eating habits into your daily routine. that means you can eat:

fruits
veggies
seeds, nuts
unprocessed meats (chicken, pork, beef ok, but not salami, pepperoni, etc.)
eggs
water and brewed teas and coffee
pure condiments & spices are fine (i.e. honey, pepper, oregano, maple syrup, oil & vinegar, etc).
rice and potatoes in moderation

no: bread/wheat products, dairy, salt, sugar drinks, carbonated drinks. stay away from processed condiments (ketchup, mayo, bottled salad dressings, seasoning mixtures, etc.)

I vote the Mediterranean lifestyle!

Here's something really interesting about it too: The Mediterranean Diet consists of eating a great deal of fish, vegetables, fruit, and legumes. All of these things are relatively inexpensive--especially if you're talking about buying a hunk of fish or a bag of lentils versus a hunk of steak. Anyway, a study that was done in the early 1900s on poor peasants who lived and ate the Mediterranean lifestyle simply because they couldn't afford otherwise. They actually ended up living longer than their more affluent counterparts--the ones constantly eating things like a lot of beef and other types of meat that aren't fish. I'll have to find the article and post it but it was quite interesting to read!

So I throw my hat in with this one. Foods like carrots, lentils, green beans, apples, fish, any type of bean, and grains like quinoa and rice (not sure if those are widely eaten with this lifestyle but I like them too much to exclude them) are the best bet for a very healthy and inexpensive meal plan.

I wish people would stop this "don't eat process foods, eat organic...ect" bull crap. It does not help you lose weight. It's a lifestyle decision, nothing more. Eat veggies, eat fruits.....eat everything in proper portion sizes and you'll lose weight no matter if it's processed and/or non-organic.

I go out to eat once, sometimes twice a week. It's just a matter of chosing the best thing on the menu (nutrition wise) and planning ahead (if you know you're going to eat a bigger dinner, eat smaller lunch and breakfast).

I wish people would stop this "don't eat process foods, eat organic...ect" bull crap. It does not help you lose weight. It's a lifestyle decision, nothing more. Eat veggies, eat fruits.....eat everything in proper portion sizes and you'll lose weight no matter if it's processed and/or non-organic.

I go out to eat once, sometimes twice a week. It's just a matter of chosing the best thing on the menu (nutrition wise) and planning ahead (if you know you're going to eat a bigger dinner, eat smaller lunch and breakfast).

While you (in the generic sense - not you specifically) may be able to loose weight eating whatever the heck you want as long as you don't eat too much of it, reducing the processed food in one's diet CAN help lose weight. The fact is that most people are on MFP to get *healthier* not just lose weight. Processed food typically has more calories, more additives, more extra "stuff" in it that you dont' really need. Real (non-processed) foods have more vitamins, natural fiber and other good things our bodies need. Cutting processed foods out and eating more non-processed foods can only help your health & weight loss goals. Do I think everyone needs to go to the extreme and cut out ALL processed foods? No... but to say that it's bullcrap to suggest cutting out processed foods is a bit ridiculous.

Great post, you should get a lot of options in the replies, because different things work for different people.

"Make good choices, just smaller portion sizes" is really a great way to live but somehow I couldn't get there just by knowing I 'should' be doing this.

So I am on the 17 Day Diet. (before anyone bashes this, please read the book).

This is not a FAD diet, it doesn't claim to get you to your goal weight in 17 days. It's actually an outline of four different cycles, each cycle is 17 days long. The first cycle is a bit strict, but that is what I NEEDED to get started on the general 'eating healthier' lifestyle. The last cycle is the "maintenance" cycle, which gives terrific instructions on how to eat day-to-day, AND how to participate in "celebration" or "special occasion" situations, or just eating out because it's Friday! I won't be there for another 45 lbs or so, when I'm at my goal weight.

I'm currently on Cycle 3 - I lost 10 lbs in Cycle 1, 3 lbs in Cycle 2. So far had a slight weight gain in Cycle 3, but I sort of "took a day off" when we had my daughter's 21st birthday party at my house this weekend. As of this morning the weight gain is near gone and I'm moving that scale back DOWN.

The greatest thing about this diet, FOR ME, is that I just feel great. Overall I feel better than ever, more energy, SLEEPING so much better than before. I'm off Diet Coke, processed sugars and carbs, nearly eating "clean" all the time, drinking lots of water, exercising - all the things I 'should' be doing, this Diet got me here!

This Diet is a great fit for me, I hope you find what is a good fit for you!

:drinker:

Ice

The patented "Eat Less, Move More" diet.

Eating healthier helps with the eating less and moving more part. I eat a variety of food. Mostly "healthy" but a lot processed unfortunately. I dine out. I drink beer. I eat candy.

I thank you for your explination although I had to google HCG.