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Old 05-18-2010, 03:36 AM
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Hi everyone I'm a newbie and I am completely fed up of trying diets and never getting anyway. I stick to them religiously but it is the same old story. I lose weight for the first two weeks, and then on the third week I gain 1 to 2 kilos back. For example I have been following the Atkins diet for a month now, and I lost 5 kilos to start with, I was over the moon, I thought at last something is going to work, however last week I put on 1.5 kilos and I dread to think what this week will do. So my last ditch attempt is to go on a low calorie diet. I do have poly cystic ovaries and not sure whether this has something to do with having problems losing weight. My question is please can somebody tell me what is the best way to lose weight. I have been trying for the last two years to lose weight and just keep ending up at the same place where I started. Any help or advice would be gratefully received. By the way, I do not pick during the day, I basically make myself have a breakfast as normally I would not, so therefore three meals a day and I watch very carefully what I eat. Please help a very desparate women.

Last edited by tscan64; 05-18-2010 at 03:50 AM.
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Old 05-18-2010, 04:57 AM
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Here is what works for me:

Log your food. Be honest. Measure until you have a realistic sense of proportion.

Don't think of it as a diet. Make a lifestyle change. Make it so you can stick to it. In other words, don't go so severe that you are miserable.

Eat healthy snacks so that you are not famished when you start your meal.

Find a way to have small indulgences. This will prevent big ones. Go for quality here, not quantity.

Exercise, exercise, exercise. Find something you enjoy or that motivates you to do the work out you don't enjoy. For example, I LOVE to play tennis. I work out so that I can be better at playing tennis.

Set small, achievable goals and work toward them. I think of it as 10 lbs at a time. If I think of it as 30, I'm screwed.

I hope this helps!
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Old 05-18-2010, 05:41 AM
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Originally Posted by tscan64
I do have poly cystic ovaries and not sure whether this has something to do with having problems losing weight.
Yes, it does. Obesity is commonly associated with PCOS.


As for a diet for losing weight, I suggest reading the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I found it very helpful and it's an easy read. It doesn't outline any specific DIET, per se, but shows you how to make eating a healthy activity by outlining how much you should be eating, as well as how to make decisions on what to eat and what not to eat.

Good luck!
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Old 05-18-2010, 09:14 AM
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Hi There! And welcome! It really is challenging trying to lose weight!

What I have found that's been helpful is, actually, Dr Phil's Weight Loss Solution book. Like already mentioned, he talks about a lifestyle change.

Honestly, a low calorie diet is the best idea. Making sure, of course, that you get all the vitamins and nutrients that you need. Couple that with daily exercise. Find something you like. I hate exercising. I hate sweating! So I go to Aquacize at the pool. It is working for me. I know you will find something you like to do.

You can do it! Keep your chin up and your spirits up!
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Old 05-18-2010, 09:25 AM
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Hi i do weightwatchers and im not saying its the best diet but it made me change my attitude to eating and gave me discipline in my routine. I know alot of people have had no success with the points plan but i think every diet needs willpower to achieve the results wanted. Be it Atkins.low-cal,low-carb etc. Each one will have different guidelines and the right one will be one that fits around your lifestyle that you can adapt to easily not the other way around!
You want a diet that doesnt take over your life in such a way that it will make you feel guilty if you ever go off track. After all you want to maintain your weight when you get to goal. Remember it isnt a race and no matter how long it takes to achieve you will get there! The most important thing is to lose weight in a healthy and steady rate!
Choose a diet that suits your life and works for you. Its important that you are positive throughout your journey to goal so dont do anything drastic that will make you unhappy. Good Luck and keep posted on your success
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Old 05-18-2010, 10:29 AM
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I've tried every diet too, and all of them worked for a few weeks, and just like you I would start gaining by the end of the first month. Sometimes because I already knew the diet well enough to cheat without technically "cheating" and other times because it simply was such a drastic change for me that I actually just got burnt out on it and blew it in an all out binge. I'm sure there have also been times that I started exercising at the same time I started dieting and didn't realize that by increasing my muscle tone I would actually be gaining weight because muscles are denser than fat.

Here's is what I suggest. For the next 3 days write down what you eat and when you eat it. Just track your intake, eat what you want and don't worry about any sort of diet. At the end of 3-4 days you should have some idea of your own eating habits and where the majority of your calories are coming from, carbs, proteins, fats and how many calories you're getting. So give all of that a look and pick a bad habit, maybe there is an afternoon snack that could use a healthier approach and work on fixing just that bad habit. Then go on to the next bad habit. So forth and so on until all your habits are good for you.

If you don't really find anything particularly bad in your habits, take a look at your nutritional levels, and see where you're low, then google foods with that nutrient and try to get more of them into your daily regimen.

Also you can do the same with your activities, track your burn and then start thinking of ways to get yourself moving more, because if you want to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you take in. You also need to take in a sufficient amount of protein in order to build muscle and you do want to build muscle because muscle burns fat! All the working out in the world won't get you into shape if you don't give your body the proper nutrients to actually build new muscle tissue. I look for a calorie pie that is roughly 40% carbs, 40% proteins and 20% fats, but everybody is different. You might find you lose weight more easily with a different breakdown, but you have to do a little experimentation in order to figure it out.
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Old 05-18-2010, 06:59 PM
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Many thanks for all your ideas, I have ordered the book suggested so I am looking forward to receiving this. For further information I have been writing down everything I have been eating for a long time and I very rarely go over about 1500 calories a day. The problem I feel is my exercise, I do have very bad bones and suffer with bone pain on a regular basis, I also had major back surgery a few years back so it isn't always easy to exercise and I work from home on my pc so I know this is probably the problem. I also (as I live in France) love the red wine so that is now gone and has been for about a month now. So it is a new lifestyle change completely for me. Any ideas on how I should start exercise, I do have the Nintendo Wii so I thought 30 minutes every other day should be a good start. Thankfully the weather is getting better and therefore my bones won't be hurting me so much. Thanks again for all your suggestions.
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Old 05-19-2010, 07:12 AM
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Welcome tscan. Did hyou know that in the first couple of weeks of dieting that you flush out a chemical that helps you process carbs, this chemical holds a lot of water which is obviously quite heavy - hence why dieters always loose well in the first few weeks and then plateau out before they actually loose 'fat' in the following weeks?

I know I have seen an artical on here about it and on the weight watchers site so have a look - if I can find the articles I will post a link.

So my advice is to just keep at it - get a diet that you can stick with and then go with it for a few months. I think an actual 'stall' in weight loss is when you don't lose any weight for a lot longer than a few weeks.

Hope that helps! I was just like you, would start a diet and see an improvement in weeks 1 and 2 and then nothing weeks 3 and 4 so I would get dishearted and give up but I have lost 10lbs using fitday so far.
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Old 05-19-2010, 09:31 AM
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Hello... I just wrote a really BIG reply and lost it. I can't remember what I said so I guess I will start over...

I certainly can understand the chronic pain you suffer from! I have fibromyalgia and I too have to deal with chronic pain. That is why I like exercising in the pool. The weightlessness keeps from aggravating my condition. I do both shallow water and deep water aquacize, but I prefer the deep water as it is no-impact! Even swimming is a great exercise. I lost 70 pounds a few years ago with swimming. Even treading water burns 5 calroies per minute! And like I said, you do not hurt from it. Sure you have the OH MY GOODNESS I JUST SWAM FOR AN HOUR kind of hurt but not the I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE kind of hurt that anything else causes.

The 1500 calories is great! Another thing that has worked for me in the past is making a chart to log your servings of fruits & veggies, dairy products, protien, and breads & cereals, so that you know you are getting your recommended daily servings. I also take the One-A-Day Weight Smart multivitamin. Amazon.com: One-A-Day Weight Smart Dietary Supplement (100 Tablets): Health & Personal Care

You are doing everything right. Just take it one day at a time, and remember we are here if you need us!

Bonne Chance!
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