canary52

I know the invent your own diet thread was a joke, Mike, so was some of my post. Then again, as another thread says, there's a lot of truth in humor.

Obviously emotions run high on this subject. l know I've ruffled some feathers in some posts. But my feeling is that at our best, we are here to help each other. Someone's way may not be our way but we can get ideas and inspiration. Then the rest is up to us. Your focus, no matter what others say and do, is what I'd like to emulate. And just by reading posts, I can tell others find it inspirational too. You stopped making excuses and put in the hard work necessary to get the job done.

01gt4.6

I figured that you knew it was a joke. Maybe I'm just guilty of reading too much into gallusgal's post. When she made the comment of people sewing their mouths shut as I diet, I thought she was referring to that thread... where I was referring to holding your mouth shut with a plastic pill. Which was obviously a joke. But maybe there was another thread about sewing your mouth shut and someone was being literal, who knows.

Hope, I've offended my fair share of people too, that's just life. I've probably offended gallusgal by posting on this but that doesn't mean that I don't like her. I do I think she'll cool, I just didn't understand the hostility and those that know me, know I come right out with it. That's how I am, I don't sugar coat it.

I also took her post as saying that if you did a diet and lost weight then you weren't a "real" success, when she said If someone goes on Atkins, HCG, Paleo, whatever and drops 20 pounds, am I going to look down my nose at them b/c I don't feel they are a real success? Nope.

It was only a few days ago that she reached her goal, and I'm proud of her for doing that... but you know what? I wasn't one of the people that asked her how she did it, b/c I didn't care how she did it. The point was that she did it and IMO that's what counts.

gallusgal

Good points all round. Thanks for the responses and yes, as someone who has been on the diet merry go round for years and has spent a fortune, I think I am entitled. WW, lost a lot of with in a eight week period, gained it all back on again. WW concentrates on Cals and sat fats, not sugar. Think of your body, it may need to reduce Cals and fats, but does it really need that much sugar?

Seriously, the list is endless, we need to feed our bodies with what they need, and no two bodies are the same. All I am saying is work on what's best for YOU.

I am sorry if I am coming across as loud and proud, but I have been on this merry go round for twenty years; I could write a book. Cabbage soup, WW, Atkins. etc etc etc..........they all have short term results, but does it matter if you can't sustain it?

Mike? I wasn't offended at all. I am sorry if my passion for the lifestyle commitment offends anyone, but I know from personal experience, dieting is easy, keeping the weight off is not if your mindset doesn't change too.

01gt4.6

I couldn't agree more. I'm glad you came back.

gallusgal

oh, and Mike? There's no hostility here, just years (a lot of years) of frustration with diets. My communication skillls may not be the best, but my message is heartfelt and full of good intentions. I am sorry if I get carried away, I feel so strongly about this.

01gt4.6

no need to apologize.

Primal-Lioness

I am not offended by your initial post as I am very passionate on how I feel regarding eating plans and such also.

Now with that being said.............

I have successfully done Atkins and maintained a 100 pound loss for years............Started in 2003 and lost 100 pounds in about 6 or 7 months. I maintained that loss until 2008 when I relocated half way across the country and had developed Thyroid issues. I was gaining weight then due to a medical reason, not over eating.

So Atkins does have more than short term results. Low Carb is a lifestyle that I can sustain and enjoy eating whole, natural foods and I know the number of carbs that I can eat and lose weight, maintain my weight and how many will make me start gaining again............

Now, fast forward to this past summer, my doctor put me on the HCG diet to line out my hormones. I have lost 38 pounds and have kept off 30 pounds. It has done more than make me lose weight. My monthly cycles are now occurring on a regular monthly basis.........The first time in my life ever.

So, until you have walked in my shoes or any other persons shoes that has partook or is partaking in an alternative weight loss program - do not judge as you don't know what that person is going through.

canary52

Maybe I read Gallusgal's post differently than others. I think it's great if people find what works and especially if they stick to it. But I know that people often do want quick fixes; I've wanted it myself at times. But then one day a former fitness instuctor I know said something to me that changed the way I looked at things. She said "You know, everyone wants to know how I got into the shape I'm in. They want to do this in months. It took me years.It's a long term commitment, not just two or three months." She made me understand what it takes -not that that knowledge changed things for me immediately. How could it? Change is slow sometimes; it's an up and down process.

Every time I started a new diet it was like I was starting my life over again. I was so excited every single time. But you know what? Once the newness wore off, so did my commitment to it. If you lost weight and got into shape on WW, Atkins, low fat, with HCG, whatever, then I appaud you. You found what works - for you. I couldn't necessarily walk in your shoes, even if I tried. They might not be my size. I have to walk in my own shoes.

I always liked to read writers' and artists' biographies. Each time I read about their methods, it sounded like the right way to do it. And it was - for them. What I am feeling might be right for me might not be any specific plan but just healthy food in reasonable amounts and given my physical limitations, the movement I can manage. Just like what SailorDoom described. And that's how I read Gallusgal's post. But I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last.

Primal-Lioness

She is basically condemning everyone for using a specific plan and thinks it is taking an easy way out.

Atkins and the HCG plan are anything BUT an easy way out. It takes a huge committment, dedication and hard work - especially the HCG plan.

The HCG plan has helped me out tremendously in the arena of lining out my hormones and my endocrine system - more so than the weight loss. At the point I was at in July, the weight loss was merely an added benefit.

Lizzycritter

The problem with BOTH HCG and Atkins is there are a lot of people who SAY they are following these plans, but they are not. HCG drops under the tongue are bullsh*t, you cannot absorb a hormone in this fashion, if you could then diabetics would not need to take insulin by injection. Atkins does NOT mean you eliminate all carbs from your diet, either. And I don't think Gallusgal is saying anybody who follows a plan someone else designed is lazy, I think what she's saying is "fad diets" are dangerous and stupid, which they are. You cannot lose weight without putting in the effort, period. No book or pill will do the work for you. Whether you follow a prescribed plan or "do your own thing", the results you get out will equal the effort you put in.

I have a lot of other opinions on the HCG diet but in the interest of diplomacy, I will agree to disagree, and keep my mouth shut. If Primal-Lioness is happy and healthy, more power to her. We're here to support one another, not belittle each other, and there's no "right" diet any more than there is one "right" religion.