Different types of diets?

Definitely track for a few days, you'll be surprised, if you're accurate as to how much you're eating, and fast food and candy and soda add up very fast, once you can see the results you'll be able to figure out how to make adjustments to lower your calories. Don't try for a big all at once change in your eating, adjusting is easier if you make gradual changes

We have a Sonic near our home. I think there's very few restaurants that have such a large offering of sugary beverages. I usually get a diet Dr pepper when I go there. Anyways, just a reminder to count your beverage calories because they can really add up.

jerrianne_s610 wrote: »

Hi there, my name is Jerrianne and I’ve made an account on here before, but I always failed. I know this sounds so clichè, but now that it’s the New Year, I really, really want to do something about my weight. I’m tired of feeling terrible all of the time, and I’ve put back on the 13 pounds I lost, plus some over the past year because of my new work place. (I work at the local sonic drive-in.) Although I work in such a place, some of their food now makes me want to throw up, in all honesty. I’ve never really been a big sweets person and if you asked me, I wouldn’t say I have an addiction to food.

I don’t binge or raid fridges and sometimes I even forget to eat, but I still gain weight and I thought that maybe my metabolism or something is a problem. I try my best to drink only water, and now it’s definitely something I’m sticking to because I felt 10x better drinking it than a soda a day or etc, but the doctor has ran plenty of tests and my metabolism is running normally and all around, I am one of the “healthier” obese patients, but my doctor says it could get dangerous if I keep gaining.

To cut to the chase, my question was what type of eating plan is the best? I normally feel best eating healthier, but as a college student getting paid minimum wage (food shopping is expensive y’all!) and having parents who buy unhealthy food, is it more convenient to just count calories or go full on track with a keto eating style?

I was thinking doing something that made me count calories some days (days I have to eat out or I’m with friends) and then mostly keto throughout the week. I’ve done keto before and it really worked for me, honestly. (I think I have a very carb sensitive body?)

If you guys have any other lifestyle choices you use to help you shed the pounds, feel free to also include them! I love hearing feedback from real people and not blogs online (some are biased buttholes).

Thank you!,
Jerrianne

With all due respect, the bolded is likely why you've failed in the past. Looking for special "diets" and making drastic changes is often a sure-fire way to fail. Like AnvilHead showed above, it's all about taking in fewer Calories than you expend.

As such, you'll basically have to figure out what foods satiate you within your Caloric goal (assuming you've set up your MFP account properly with a reasonable weekly loss rate) and eating to that goal. Here is one site that shows what has shown (via one study plus some calculations) what is called a/the Satiety Index. Note that this is just what was shown before. Oranges, for instance, are shown to be fairly highly satiating - yet I, personally, don't find them satiating. As I said, you'll have to experiment and figure it out for yourself.

That said, and as mentioned previously, make a few small changes at first. Find something on the Index that is supposedly highly satiating that you already like. Try eating a little more of that, while cutting down on other things - especially if they're lower on the Index. Of course, also as mentioned, make sure you're staying right around your Caloric goal. See how it feels. Are you full (or full enough)? Great. Keep those changes and maybe try another change or two. If not? OK, then definitely try something else. Go ahead and try new foods, if you like - but don't make yourself eat foods you don't like, just because they're supposedly highly satiating. That's another path to giving up.

Really, it's just about finding out what works for you. Finding out what's sustainable for you. And eating in a way such that, once you get at or near your goal weight, you can continue eating - maybe making a few small changes once you get to weight maintenance. Because if you don't keep up these sorts of habits - although the details can change some - you'll likely put a bit of weight back on.

As everyone else mentioned it is simple burn more calories than you bring in. That said the best "diet" (I use that term loosely) is something you can and will stick to. I would log what you eat and how much, increase your activity levels and make changes as needed.

Hello! I used to work at my local Sonic Drive-in like 7 years ago. I was definitely addicted to the tater tots, oops.

Countering what most people have said here already; don't go with a fad diet like keto. The word "diet" itself already implies that it's a temporary thing. Eat how you plan on eating for the rest of your life. The super low carb lifestyles work for some people, but unless you plan on sticking to it for life, I wouldn't suggest it right off of the bat.

Think of your current lifestyle, and how your current foods play a role in it. Track the foods that you're eating here on MFP, it's likely you're eating more than you think you are. Start making small changes, a little at a time.

Eat out often?
- Find the best sounding "healthy" thing on the menu [no, it doesn't have to be salad, it's probably a grilled chicken sandwich though]
- Substitute the fries/deep fried side for a vegetable side
- Skip the creamy condiments on the sandwich/salads/etc, but if you really "need" it, ask for it on the side
- Substitute cheeses/sour cream for healthier fats like avocado

Bad food in the house?
- Purchase a food scale [very cheap on Amazon]
- If you crave things like chips or ice cream, weigh out the serving in grams

Cook at home more
- Meal prepping on Sundays is my most recommended thing since you can cook everything at once, portion it out, and reheat it later in the week. Try your hardest to fit it in your schedule, even if you're "busy". If you are able to cook at home for one or two days, that's fine, it's still better than eating out. It'll be worth it.
- ALSO!!!! I know how it feels to be broke and on a budget, but if you have an Aldi or Lidl near you, you can purchase some great meats, fish, and produce for super cheap. I also highly recommend this site for recipe ideas: https://www.budgetbytes.com/

Move more, for sure!
- Have a break at work? Take a 20 min walk around the block
- Gym nearby? Some places like Crunch Fitness, Planet Fitness, and Gold's have very cheap memberships starting at $10 a month.
- "No time to workout"? Try looking up HIIT routines, all you need is 30 minutes, and most of the time, you don't need gym equipment.

It's really tough to make changes, and very overwhelming at first....but once you commit to those changes, you'll be really surprised how much you don't crave those "bad" foods anymore. I personally don't believe in calling food "bad", but if it's highly caloric/fatty/salty/etc, I just eat less of it now. These changes will take time. But if you keep sticking to it, you WILL reach your goals.

Best of luck! You got this!!!! :]

Basically agreeing with what other people have said here. Great advice!