Nothing much gets by the old--less intake, more exercise.
One of my Canadian Japanese friends has had good success with the South African Hoodia herbal appetite repressor.
I think one needs to check with a Doc before trying that, too.
Changing outlook, self-talk, removing comfort foods from the house etc. are all important. Cognative Behavioral Therapy can be of some help in rewiring the self-talk.
I'm not aware of any magic diet.
Success requires a life-style change and a change in habitual thinking and other habits.
What is it, watching the movie Lost Horizon over and over and over until you puke?
-PJ
I do not know about this diet. However, I would like to pass on what has happened for me over the past year.In no way do I have any reason to think it will help anyone else nor am I endorsing it as a possible diet solution.
I am 56 years old and had always carried about 60 extra pounds. A year ago, I was diagnosed with Adult ADD. My doctor put me on Ritalin. The Ritalin helps me with my ADD but it has also had a side effect that has changed my life.
Since being on the Ritalin, I have more energy at the end of the day which has allowed me to get into a regular walking routine. Also, for whatever unknown reason, it has helped curb my appetite.
With the walking and eating less, I have taken off the sixty pounds that I have always wanted to lose. I feel good and seem more connected to life.
Good luck to you. I hope something works for you.
Morbidly obese people are usually directed to Duke University's Rice Diet. They move to Durham, NC and eat the Rice diet daily and pay thousands for the privilege. I bought the Rice Diet Report when it first came out . The book is now out of print but can be found on eBay.
A newer book, the Rice Diet Solution is not as interesting but will give you the guidelines of the Rice Diet. The initial phase is extreme but incredibly effective. You eat grains with absolutely no salt ... fruit is introduced slowly in the initial phase. The results are dramatic.
You may want to Google it or buy the original book. It is a fast way to lose lots of weight.
A few people have already said this but I'll reiterate it, fad diets are not worth it. Eat less and exercise more and you will lose weight. Start small and work your way up, It's much easier to make small changes than large ones. Best of Luck!
Sticking to that diet obviously works. Not sticking to it obviously doesn't.
I don't mean to be snide; my mother is practically on Atkins and has nearly eliminated insulin, and if anything can't gain enough weight. Salads, meats and cheese - go nuts, and the weight will drop. It's the carbs that do you in.
Eat all you want. Just never combine starches with proteins in a meal. Eat them at different meals, e.i., the combination of meat and potatoes is the enemy.
It works great. I've lost 20 pounds in a month! So fast that I can cheat on this diet once a week.
Every overweight freeper should try this. We have to look good for our FReeps, don't ya know?
Persistance is the key. Also lifestyle changes. Visualise yourself where you want to be and keep reminders of that end result handy at all times.
Don't do a "diet." There are no Magic Bullets out there; one needs to change the way they eat, how much they move, etc., to lose weight.
Try either Weight Watchers in a local group, or on-line. They helped me lose 40 lbs. once and it wasn't horrible at all.
Another nice spot is http://www.sparkpeople.com I use them when I need some motivation and some new ideas and strategies. I think you'll like them. It's fun, manageable, on-line, you can do it on your own, or sign up for a buddy or use their chat community for motivation. :)
I agree you should exhaust all other options before resorting to surgery. It works well for some people, but can also be quite risky. Not too long ago, another FReeper died from complications, a couple of days after this type of surgery.
My best advice is to make sure there is lots of low/no-calorie bluk in just about everything you eat. If you eat egg salad or tuna salad or chicken salad, make sure it's at least 50% chopped celery. Things like macaroni and cheese can have broccoli or onions added. Another favorite of mine is to sautee a big portobello mushroom -- first the fin side down, then flip it over and put a thin slice of cheese on the fins (Swiss is best IMO, and a bit of tarragon sprinkled on it is good) to melt into them while the other side sautees -- between the fat from the butter and cheese, and the bulk from the mushroom, you'll feel very full, but with a fraction of the calories of a steak.
Have you tried Weight Watchers Points? There are all sorts of sites dedicated to the points formula and lists of restaurants food pooints,so you don't even have to pay WW for the info.
I've never heard of the Shandri-La Diet, but thought I'd share what's working for me.
Due to a diagnosis of cancer, I started researching how to fight the disease with nutrition, and have radically altered my diet to one which I'm enjoying, and the weight is falling off -- and I'm one who always had trouble losing weight. It's not coming off due to the diagnosis. I have no symptoms.
I'm not doing a "diet," but eating healthy. My goal, obviously, isn't weight loss, but weight loss is a nice side benefit. Since my goal is not weight loss, I have NOT been limiting my portion sizes or worrying about the amount of olive oil I use, etc. All that fiber, though, does tend to keep portion sizes smaller because you get so full with a small amount of food.
No refined sugar. That's not as difficult as it sounds. There's always Splenda, which I do use in my iced tea and the bran muffins I make. Also, I use a little bit of honey (really take it easy here) to sweeten my smoothies and bran muffins. No carbonated beverages. That I do miss, but health is more important than Cokes, right?
Lots of fiber.
I try to avoid anything with a label. In other words, stay away from processed foods.
Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Salads, smoothies (not from a smoothie restaurant. Get a smoothie maker and buy frozen fruit from Wal-Mart or Sam's. Get the kind that has no added sugar. Put water or skim milk, ice, frozen fruit, half a banana, maybe a teaspoon of honey, some vanilla extract into the smoothie maker and process it. They're really delicious).
I snack on nuts (raw, unsalted).
I do a lot of cooking on this way of eating, but after a couple of months of it, I'm really enjoying it far more than the way I used to eat, which included a lot of convenience foods. At first it wasn't too enjoyable, but I've been experimenting with cooking and finding some good recipes, so it's getting better.
I don't limit the oil I take in, but I do limit the type of oil to unsaturated fats -- mostly olive and canola oil. No spread or cooking oil that is saturated. No butter or margarine. I do use a butter like spread called Spectrum that I picked up at the health food section at Kroger's. Again, take it easy here. I just use it on a slice of toast a couple of times a week.
For breakfast I usually either have a bran muffin (VERY filling -- I'll share the recipe if you're interested) or a slice of Ezekial bread toast. Ezekial bread can be purchased at Kroger or health food stores in the freezer section. It's a wonderfully healthy bread. I may have a boiled egg or a scrambled egg with tomatoes and onions(using either PAM or olive oil). For my toast, I make grape honey. It's from Biblical times, and it's basically just a delicious grape jam with no added sugar. Take fresh seedless grapes and run them through the food processor. Put it in a small sauce pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add water if it cooks down too quickly. That's it. And it's every bit as good as any jam or jelly you can buy that's full of added sugar and preservatives.
Lots of beans, brown rice. You can eat potatoes. Stay away from deep fried foods and "enriched" or white flour. For bread, look for whole grain (not necessarily "whole wheat"). Make sure the sugar content is low, the fiber content is high.
Cut way back on red meat. I don't eat red meat at all, nor do I eat the "other white meat." I pretty much limit it to chicken and fish. I use the G. Foreman grill a lot. It's a great tool for eating healthy.
Rather than limiting fats or carbs, just omit bad fats and bad carbs. The thing is you have to be consistent, otherwise you won't lose weight. I flirted with this way of eating before my diagnosis, but I wasn't consistent and lost very, very little weight.
If you're considering going under the knife, maybe that will be the extra willpower push you'll need to make you eat right. I know I needed the added incentive of wanting to heal my body.
You'll have an added benefit if you follow this plan: Great health! That's not always the case with people who undergo surgery in order to lose weight.
Good luck, whatever you decide. If you want some recipes or more details, freepmail me. :-) I'll pray for your success, whatever path you choose.
The problem with "diets" is that they're all temporary. The best "diet" is to eat a variety of things, in controlled portions on a regular basis. Agree with the doctor thing; you and your doc have to make the decision.
You might benefit, however, by hiring a personal trainer; someone who will force you to exercise if you're not doing so on a regular basis. If you're the kind of person who finds excuses not to go to the gym or get on a bike, a trainer can force you to get the work done.
I tried the beer and bratwurst diet.
My personal experience is that I lost 50 pounds with the "zone" diet... but, I also lost 35 pounds with a Pritikin diet. In the past twenty years I've seen the "low fat" camp (Ornish/Pritikin) and the "low carb" (Atkins, Zone, Protein power) concede points to one another and come closer together. My experience is that exercise is as important as what you eat.
ALL diets seem to agree on two points... eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. But to most people, "vegetables" means cold salads or bland steamed veggies. Almost all diets are missing two KEY ingredients: FUN & FLAVOR. Here's my personal story and what worked for me...
http://www.eleanorhoh.com/diets.htm