What's a GOOD diet????

[MsMariah 0]

Really, my best tip is to make yourself eat a serving of veggies with every meal. Not corn or carrots mind you and use only whole grains or things with fiber and lower starch. And try snacking on fruits and veggies. I like to make a ranch dip from reduced fat sour cream and slice green peppers, instead of chips and dip. But the best way to change your habits is to start a diary of every single thing you are eating and be honest! Even write down a nibble. You can easily find out how many calories things are online and make a little log to see the real amount of calories you are consuming. If you are not more than 30 lbs overweight and exercising then you should go with about 1700 calorie per day diet that is including your servings of fruits and veggies and not based on junk. If you do that faithfully then you can expect to lose 1-2 lbs per week.

[nowhereman 1]

First of all an effective diet is something you can live with long term. If you diet simply to lose weight & stop the diet, the weight will come back. For most people a moderate change in your eating habits, combined with exercise, will suffice. What I am talking about is portion control, not eating late at night, exercising more, etc. I know I am talking in very general terms, but if you base your diet on these guidelines you should be good.

[MsMariah 0]

BTW, if you want to do a diet diary online you can register at livestrong.com and go to daily plate for free. It's a real nice tool. Plus you can get fitness tips and goals.

[NickD 203]

With that treadmill we got, has a fat removing program, really quite a workout if you plug in loosing just 200 calories. Ha, the instructions don't say anything about being on the machine after you push the buttons. Disheartening to learn you have to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound, and only have to eat one small cookie to get those 200 calories back.

Wife has that problem, works with fat people always bringing in sweet things to eat, have some, have some, take another, like they are trying their best to fatten her up, she is learning how to say no. If I visit her in the cafeteria, I can't believe the amount of food stacked on their trays, how can they afford that? Also see that at the grocery store with all that junk they sell. Wife doesn't have that much to loose, but never easy.

Some of us are lucky, if we eat a lot, just have to use the restroom more frequently and never put on a pound. When I was glued to a drafting table for long hours, had to start an exercise program to put that weight back on, lost 25 pounds.

Also helps to be claustrophobic, dragging those extra pounds around can kill you if you can't get out in the event of some accident, should be able to do at least one pullup so you can carry your own weight. Falling off a stood or a ladder can be a disaster with that extra mass increasing the injury of that fall. Lastly, fat is highly flammable, you are a walking bomb. Such a problem in my neck of the woods, lots of fat people here, don't know why people do that to themselves. Saw a woman yesterday, so help me, her butt was three feet wide, had problems getting through a standard size 36" wide door. Doesn't she like herself?

[웃 910]

Try to drink water with every meal. No pop. A little milk and juice is fine. Then try to eat at least one or two servings of fruits and veggies a day. And keep up the walking. 3 miles every other night is great. This might sound silly but I played the Nintendo Wii for the first time two nights ago. It is basically an exercise machine. I was playing the Wii Sports game. Boxing was exhausting. Three 3 minute rounds of punching the air. I played 3 or 4 matches and I was dripping in sweat.

Another thing you can do is get a gym membership. You will want to go as often as possible. If you are paying $40/month and only go 2 times a month that means each visit cost you $20. If you pay $40 a month and go 4 times a week then each visit costs you $2.50. What I try to do is look at a gym membership as health insurance from future health problems. The more you work out the better you will feel, the less sleep you will need, the better you will look, the less sick you will get, and the more food you can eat without feeling guilty.

...I took my wife to McDonald's the other day and bought a large order of fries. I looked on the side of the box and you wouldn't believe how many calories they contain: 500!!

[britbird 4]

Some great suggestions so far

There are goofy things you can do also to fool yourself...

Smaller bowls and plates etc help you eat less...especially if you have already started avoiding the 'seconds' yearning. Use a smaller spoon/fork or even chopsticks...it'll make the meal last longer (very good if you are like me and just enjoy the process of eating!).

Cutting out soda altogether (diet and splenda is not good for you, sugar or no sugar) would be great...your teeth will like you for it. If you must have something in your water just try some lemon or lime, or an orange slice. I am a terrible cherry coke fiend, but I noticed cutting down on even that made a difference.

Cutting out the carbs is a good idea, though I found it difficult to cut them out in one go. Get whole wheat pasta and flour rather than the white stuff. Try subbing sweet potato for regular potatoes.

If you eat yogurt then get the plain stuff and add some fruit. If you eat apple sauce or canned fruit then get the no sugar added or fruit juice only ones.

And if you have a yard go do some gardening..that's an easy way to get active, and you can even turn into a hippie tree hugger like me and grow your own veggies. They are even more fun to eat if you've grown them yourself.

[Caladan 19]

It's hard to say without knowing your weight. Losing 15 pounds is a different task if you're 120 pounds vs. 200, or near a healthy weight or obese.

But, first things first:

1) Bye-bye soda. (Lots of empty calories.)

2) Bye-bye processed foods. (Ditto.)

3) Ignore fads, and try to eat unprocessed, natural foods. (Learn to cook if you need to.)

4) Exercise. Even if it's just a half-hour walk around the block at first.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Stay away from high carb foods.

Breads, Potatoes, Pasta (Anything that is white).

Stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar is ok in very small doses.

Eat: Lean Meats, Veggies, Fresh Fruits.

Limit how much you put on your plate, and try to eat slow.

Don't eat after 6pm, Do Not have desserts.

Try to exercise about 4 times per week, Make the exercise at least 1 hour long.

Make this a lifestyle and not just a phase and you will loose weight and stay lean........

This gets my vote.

I'm a fan of the South Beach Diet (which the above follows). The SBD is a lifestyle change..... not a fad.

I exercise 5 time a week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Beach_Diet

[46]

There is only one real diet: the eat less, move more diet.

Just eat less of the foods you usually do. Changing what you eat is fraught with peril.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

There is only one real diet: the eat less, move more diet.

Just eat less of the foods you usually do. Changing what you eat is fraught with peril.

But the food most people eat make them want to eat more. What you eat is as important as is how much of it.

People still think a 'low-fat/fat-free' label is a green light. Those can be packed with sugar and calories.

Exercise is key though.

[Caladan 19]

There is only one real diet: the eat less, move more diet.

Just eat less of the foods you usually do. Changing what you eat is fraught with peril.

But the food most people eat make them want to eat more. What you eat is as important as is how much of it.

People still think a 'low-fat/fat-free' label is a green light. Those can be packed with sugar and calories.

Exercise is key though.

[웃 910]

Stay away from high carb foods.

Breads, Potatoes, Pasta (Anything that is white).

Stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar is ok in very small doses.

Eat: Lean Meats, Veggies, Fresh Fruits.

Limit how much you put on your plate, and try to eat slow.

Don't eat after 6pm, Do Not have desserts.

Try to exercise about 4 times per week, Make the exercise at least 1 hour long.

Make this a lifestyle and not just a phase and you will loose weight and stay lean........

This gets my vote.

I'm a fan of the South Beach Diet (which the above follows). The SBD is a lifestyle change..... not a fad.

I exercise 5 time a week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Beach_Diet

Don't eat after 6pm. I feel sorry for anyone that follows that rule unless they are in bed and asleep by 9pm. All the other suggestions are really good though!

[Mags 112]

Tequila.

[justucia 0]

What's a GOOD diet????

no white flour

no white sugar

no white rice

no alcohol/soda/ "juice" with HFCSyrup

no meals from a box or a can

[Caladan 19]

I think "no meals after 6pm" is more of a guideline based on the typical American lifestyle, because it's likely to mean that the last meal is an additional meal.