Other Diets

[mamagruffalo]

Great thread:

I have been a yoyo dieter pretty much since my late teens.

Diet pills: this was back in the late 90's not sure whether it still goes on, but there was a "diet clinic" run by an actual doc, I lost weight, but the side effects were along the lines of having heart palpitations, unable to sleep, lots of manic energy.
Atkins: started well, but as a veggie felt v deprived and started to suffer dizzy and fainting spells, lost a lot of weight but gained it back in a few weeks.
WW: Done several times, always lost weight, but always reached a dead end around the 1 stone/1.5 stone mark. Always felt hungry and deprived of my staple potatoes/rice/pasta/curries.
Hospital Led very low calorie diet (approx 800cals): see Atkins but with more side effects, again put it all back on.
Lighter Life: lost about 3/4 stone, but ended up in hospital with severe stomach and bowel cramping and all sorts of digestion and constipation issues(still suffer from side effects to this day) swore I would never do a very low calorie diet again. Put it all back on.
Cambridge: flirted with it across the years as a quick fix even after lighter life, especially as my wedding was looming, lost weight but only did it as a quick fix and put it all back on when I got pregnant with my first child.

As you can see, I have pretty much done most of them. I am enjoying Slimming World and as I am trying very hard to see it as a complete life style change as opposed to a quick fix. I have set myself a goal of reaching my target weight by Jan 2014 so I am hoping a year of eating sensibly and healthily will change my eating habits for good. That's the plan anyway

 

[MissNix]

haha...it would not surprise me if that's what mine were basically?! I got them from one of those shops only muscle men go in on the high street.... All natural ingredients they said... Hmmmmmmmm!! I was a hot mess!!!
Only lost half a stone all in all just from water retention I think then it stopped and I had to come off them. Hideous. Never again..... Slimming world or nothing for me from now on.

How do you rate ww? I've never done it? X

Haha I'll be steering clear in that case!

I did WW years ago before they brought in all the new plans and just found myself getting too obsessed with what I was eating to stay within points and not really making any healthy swaps, just eating less but of worse food. I only lost about half a stone in my first few months, so quit after that and came back to SW, where I finally lost all the weight I wanted to and kept it off with minimal effort. Unfortunately last year was one of those horrible turbulent ones (as everyone experiences from time to time) and I turned to food for comfort and stability, and put everything but half a pound back on! But it's coming back off again now I've refocused since new year, and I plan to keep it off forever this time

 

[MissNix]

Great thread:

I have been a yoyo dieter pretty much since my late teens.

Diet pills: this was back in the late 90's not sure whether it still goes on, but there was a "diet clinic" run by an actual doc, I lost weight, but the side effects were along the lines of having heart palpitations, unable to sleep, lots of manic energy.
Atkins: started well, but as a veggie felt v deprived and started to suffer dizzy and fainting spells, lost a lot of weight but gained it back in a few weeks.
WW: Done several times, always lost weight, but always reached a dead end around the 1 stone/1.5 stone mark. Always felt hungry and deprived of my staple potatoes/rice/pasta/curries.
Hospital Led very low calorie diet (approx 800cals): see Atkins but with more side effects, again put it all back on.
Lighter Life: lost about 3/4 stone, but ended up in hospital with severe stomach and bowel cramping and all sorts of digestion and constipation issues(still suffer from side effects to this day) swore I would never do a very low calorie diet again. Put it all back on.
Cambridge: flirted with it across the years as a quick fix even after lighter life, especially as my wedding was looming, lost weight but only did it as a quick fix and put it all back on when I got pregnant with my first child.

As you can see, I have pretty much done most of them. I am enjoying Slimming World and as I am trying very hard to see it as a complete life style change as opposed to a quick fix. I have set myself a goal of reaching my target weight by Jan 2014 so I am hoping a year of eating sensibly and healthily will change my eating habits for good. That's the plan anyway

It must have been so disheartening doing all those extreme plans only to put the weight back on afterwards, well done you for pure perseverence!!!

I'm with you on the SW lifestyle, it's about coming to an acceptance that we are not blessed with unnaturally high metabolisms (like some very lucky people out there!) and therefore will always have to follow a balanced diet in order to stay healthy and slim. But when you can eat all this lovely food, it's not really too much of a chore is it!

 

[mamagruffalo]

It must have been so disheartening doing all those extreme plans only to put the weight back on afterwards, well done you for pure perseverence!!!

I'm with you on the SW lifestyle, it's about coming to an acceptance that we are not blessed with unnaturally high metabolisms (like some very lucky people out there!) and therefore will always have to follow a balanced diet in order to stay healthy and slim. But when you can eat all this lovely food, it's not really too much of a chore is it!

Thanks, I was pretty desperate to lose weight and really very desperate by the time I started vlcd's however ther eis no way I would ever do a vlcd now. I had my 2nd child in Oct 2012 and started SW in Jan 2013, I still have a long way to go, headwise and weightloss wise however I am feeling pretty good about my losses so far and how easy it has been to adapt to the sw way of eating. I am very much SW bore at the moment I fully accept that I am not naturally slim and staying slimmer and healthier is going to be acheived only through monitoring my eating and adopting exercise as a way of life eeek!

 

[MissNix]

Thanks, I was pretty desperate to lose weight and really very desperate by the time I started vlcd's however ther eis no way I would ever do a vlcd now. I had my 2nd child in Oct 2012 and started SW in Jan 2013, I still have a long way to go, headwise and weightloss wise however I am feeling pretty good about my losses so far and how easy it has been to adapt to the sw way of eating. I am very much SW bore at the moment I fully accept that I am not naturally slim and staying slimmer and healthier is going to be acheived only through monitoring my eating and adopting exercise as a way of life eeek!

It's the exercise bit I find the hardest to maintain! I'm on track for my gold body magic at the moment, and really trying to build it into my daily routine, but I hope I can keep it going forever this time - I usually do really well and then just let it slip again once I get to a place I'm happy with.

 

[S-L-W]

Haha I'll be steering clear in that case!

I did WW years ago before they brought in all the new plans and just found myself getting too obsessed with what I was eating to stay within points and not really making any healthy swaps, just eating less but of worse food. I only lost about half a stone in my first few months, so quit after that and came back to SW, where I finally lost all the weight I wanted to and kept it off with minimal effort. Unfortunately last year was one of those horrible turbulent ones (as everyone experiences from time to time) and I turned to food for comfort and stability, and put everything but half a pound back on! But it's coming back off again now I've refocused since new year, and I plan to keep it off forever this time

Happens to the best of us love I always turn to food in times of stress. But so good that you're focused and ready to do it this time. I really want to be a target member!!! We will get there!!

 

[MissNix]

Happens to the best of us love I always turn to food in times of stress. But so good that you're focused and ready to do it this time. I really want to be a target member!!! We will get there!!

We will indeed! In all the years I've done SW (since 1999! have probably rejoined about 10 times!) I've never actually got to that hallowed target member stage as I always quit once I start getting the "oh aren't you looking well?!" comments and decide to stick at that point, but this time I am getting to that 9st7lbs and I am going to go to group for free at last haha! Good luck with your journey, we're all in it together x

 

[S-L-W]

We will indeed! In all the years I've done SW (since 1999! have probably rejoined about 10 times!) I've never actually got to that hallowed target member stage as I always quit once I start getting the "oh aren't you looking well?!" comments and decide to stick at that point, but this time I am getting to that 9st7lbs and I am going to go to group for free at last haha! Good luck with your journey, we're all in it together x

We certainly are xxx target members to be xx

 

[londongirl12]

Interesting thread...
I have been on and off some form of diet or plan since I was about 15-16, which I now regret. I think if I had just waited till I was about 18 and got more focused and exercised a bit more things would have worked out better and I wouldn't have got stuck in this rut. I was probably only 2-2 1/2 stone overweight in my very late teens and most of my twenties but for me messing about with all these drastic plans just made me regain even more weight every time. Which is why I now have so much to lose :cry:

*I have done SW before and did pretty good but then probably went on holiday or something and that was the end of that.
*I did the Dukan diet a few years ago for about 2 weeks!! I lost close to a stone but felt ill and gave up.
*I did the Cambridge plan last year for about 10 days!! I nearly fainted on a packed train on my way home from work because the products were so disgusting that I just never ate anything some days.
* A couple of years ago I probably lost about 3 stone over the summer through a balanced diet and exercise, but this was mainly because I had a new boyfriend at the time who I was trying to impress, when he turned out to be vile I turnt to food once more.
* Up until 2 years ago I was still going to a 'clinic' to get slimming pills every now and then. I am ashamed about this, but desperate times aye! Like others have said they just made me feel hyper and shaky and they are bleedin' expensive too!!

Last week I was doing Atkins, which just made me fed up and feel ill. I am not a massive meat lover so this was particularly tricky for me.

SW is the best I think. Especially if you want to maintain some level of a normal social life whilst losing weight. I absolutely understand why others turn to severe low calorie plans. I have got to a size and weight now where I am embarrassed and self conscious so I attempted Atkins last week to try to shift some quickly. I ended up only losing 2lbs! even though I stuck to plan religiously.

I forgot with me even if I just lose about 10lbs over a few weeks I already feel much better. So I am now ready to do this properly and lose weight steadily.

I have a lovely, lovely fiance who supports me and I can't wait to treat myself to some new frocks in the summer.


Wow that was long...sorry :busted:

Good luck everyone xx

 

[fullprice]

I tried weight watchers last year and lost a little weight but found it hard to weigh all the food I was eating all the time, (pasta and mash etc) as we all eat the same food at home. It was just too hetic.