Which diet/

[basil]

Argh, I somehow posted this before I typed it out...hazards of typing one handed in bed.

My mom and I would like to start a diet come Jan 1. We both eat relatively healthily, but have some weight to lose before my wedding in September. I want to lose 3-5 pounds and she probably wants to lose 10-20. Looking for something kind of organized, that's not calorie counting (I've already proven my inability to do that and still maintain a healthy diet).

She has had good success with South Beach in the past. My idea was to do reduced carb/low fat during the week, with one splurgey meal per week.

What do you think?

 

[Mara]

i did the lower sugar, low glycemic diet for 2 weeks and dropped 3 stubborn pounds. it's not that hard because you still get to eat a fair amount of stuff, but the jist is no real processed food, try to eat 'whole' whenever you can, way less carbs, no fruits or veggies with high sugars. lots of fiber, lots of lean protein. i still had to keep an eye on my calories because my nutritionist wanted me around a certain range, but it was actually really hard to reach that range based on how healthy i was eating. i was getting very full eating less on this diet which was interesting. so she wanted me around 1700 or 1800 cals a day and i was mostly around 1500-1650. doing this diet did translate into even healthier eating habits for me because now i have more 'staples' that i can eat when i want to be healthy and it's a no brainer. i would do something like 6 days on, 1 day off, keeping in mind that the one day off can't be like consuming 3500 cals. it should just be 'oh i can have these 2 slices of pizza today' whereas other days you shouldn't. (oh actually i see you said one splurgey meal, not day, that should be fine i'd think) OR do 7 days for a few weeks, i didn't find it that hard. when we went out i would just get fish and veggies rather than anything else. i don't think i could have sustained that kind of diet forever...because i do like my sugar and carbs, but it is good to know that i can do it if i need to and it's not really a 'diet' in my eyes...it's more like how we all should be eating more regularly, but it's so hard to because of how our culture is. good luck!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Also, be sure to measure your portions so you know you''re actually only eating one at a time.

 

[surfgirl]

basil, the only diet that ever has worked for me, and stuck, is Weight Watchers. You''ve gotta commit though! I found that it was counter productive for me to go to the meetings though because people who were barely mobile, morbidly obese, etc. (think on oxygen and in a wheel chair) would be there and I couldn''t relate to their issues. So I went to the first meeting to sign up and get instruction on how to do the Points System, etc. Then I never went back (except to get more food diary books). I found the easiest thing to do - because it''s a bit overwhelming at first - was to go through my entire fridge and pantry and take a purple Sharpie and write on each box/bottle the points for one portion, for half the box/bottle, and the entire box/bottle. That way anything I pulled out, I immediately knew what the points were. After a while you just can estimate and you know if you eat that thing today, tomorrow you''ll need to eat lightly, etc.

Really, it''s all about the math. You cant lose weight unless you burn off more calories that you''re putting into the ol pie hole! Good luck!