# Customized Diet?



## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

I wonder how many people choose a diet that has been designed by someone else - like the ones in the best selling books - compared to creating a diet for yourself based on your own self knowledge. Jared of Subway sandwich fame made up his own diet and look where it got him!!

The times in my life that I've been the most successful have been when I sat down and conscientously drew up a diet plan just for me, then stuck with. Of course, those old eating habits crept right back in over time so I've never made the successful diets into a lifestyle change. 

I think everyone who has battled with weight loss has some successes and some losses (literally!). What has worked best for you in the past? If it didn't last, do you know why the weight came back?


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## NativeRose (Nov 15, 2003)

I have probably been on every diet ever written. I finally learned my lesson and threw away the diets and the diet books and learned to listen to my body and what made sense. I at one time...I'm telling on myself...weighed 270 and for a 5'2" woman that is a lot of weight. I have managed to get my weight down to 190 and keep it off. I have hit a mountain though and my body and I are fighting a battle. I am determined to win.

The greatest lessons I learned in all my years of fighting this weight are portion control and exercise. I can't lose one little itty bitty ounce unless I get some form of exercise. Being diabetic is a challenge also. Carbs are the enemy they say but so is protein if you want healthy kidneys. So it is a slow learning process for me of what I can and can't eat without causing some kind of imbalance.

I am looking forward to this forum. Y'all teach me somethin' that will help me kick the last of my excess weight off.


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

Through the years I tried several different popular diets. Tried Jenny Craig and it worked for a while but it was a temporary loss. The problem was, every time I went on one of these diets and took the weight off, I regained it back with some extra. I finally decided I was gaining too much weight from dieting!  You're right about the exercise. The only time I was able to keep it off for any length of time I was getting a lot of exercise. I've been fighting a genetic tendency for stockiness my whole life.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Probably the healthiest "diet" isn't really a diet, but a way of eating. The American Diebetic Association (ADA) diet is really well balanced. It can be adjusted by portion size to make it an 1800 cal ADA, or a 2000 cal ADA, etc.

The only thing that seems to work for me is to be so busy doing other things that I don't sit and snack. Lots of exercise, eating breakfast, 6 small meals, etc. 

It's not like I don't know what I'm supposed to eat...had lots of training in nutrition when I was in nursing school, and I still deal every day at work with patients that are truly obese (we're talking over 400#). My problem seems to be eating when I'm bored, or when I'm reading (one hand to hold the book, the other to shovel in the chips :nono: ), or just because something sounds good right that minute. If I'd stop that, I'd probably be back to weighing 125#, which is where I was for years. I have 20-30# to lose...haven't ever weighed this much without being pregnant!

edited to add: BTW, Rosemary, I think you've done GREAT to take off as much as you have! :clap: You're definitely right about needing the exercise to help you lose weight when you're a diabetic. I'm sure you know that part of the disease itself is the insulin resistance (I'm thinking you're a Type II, are you on oral meds, insulin, diet controlled, or a combo?) which makes it harder for your body to burn calories, which are then stored as fat (grr). So, I just wanted to give you a cyber pat on the back for how far you have come. I think that's going to be a big part of how well we all do with our weight loss goals.


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## MelissaW (Jun 18, 2003)

I used the book The GI Diet to help get my hypoglycemia under control, but it didn't do much for weight loss. When I was in college, I dropped from 165 to 115 (over the years I've leveled off to between 125 and 130). What really helped fix my poor eating habits was soup. When I start to get fluffy (her not fat, her fluffy as my son used to say), I still fill up with lots of healthy homemade soup loaded with veggies and lean meats. Yesterday I made creamy veggie chowder (base is chicken broth and 2% milk), and today it's vegetable beef.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

I know you are all right about eating correctly, portion sizes and exercized. I am in the process of convincing my DH that he is loving me to death with food! Being the main cook and bottle washer he decides what and when we eat our meals. He seems to be into big I mean BIG portions! I asked him last evening who on earth could or should eat a pork chop that big or a potato that big....his answer was "honey, it's snowin so I know we need to put on some fat for winter! LOL But he was not laughing about it either! I know there are worse things than weighing 40-50 pounds more than your DH but geeze I sure am getting sick of it. I'm not giving up, I'm just going slow...good luck to all of us trying to kill the weight demon!


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## packratqueen (Aug 19, 2004)

I weigh 10 lbs. more now than when I had an 8 1/2 lb. daughter 33 years
ago!! A lot of my problem is portion size and loving to cook.
DH has a craving for dingdongs also. I can't keep him out of the goodie
section of Wallyworld.
I had a hysterectomy in '98 and stopping smoking at the same time compounded the weight gain also. I am 56 years old and can't run as
fast as I use to. teehee
I lost 7 lbs this week but I think a lot of that was fluids which I retain
very easily.
Even if we fall off the wagon, get up and crawl back on. Giving up is
a lot worse!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
Mary


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## Northumberland (Sep 17, 2005)

Hey Packratqueen:- Seven pounds is seven pounds, who cares what it is. Good for you and keep up the good work, I know we are all going to be successful.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Portion size is vitally important to sucessful wt.loss...America is the land of supersize and most people don't even know what a portion is anymore. A good scale and set of measuring cups is imparative. With arthritis I have to keep my wt. down and when it gets creeping up I know I've been over-filling my plate as DH and I really eat healthily. You can get fat eating veggies, you know! Three-quarters of our plates are veggies with 3-4 oz serving protein. My dad was diabetic so was raised on the ADA diet and still can't call it a meal without the right combo of foods! Think this forum will help us all. DEE


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## NativeRose (Nov 15, 2003)

manygoatsnmore said:


> Probably the healthiest "diet" isn't really a diet, but a way of eating. The American Diebetic Association (ADA) diet is really well balanced. It can be adjusted by portion size to make it an 1800 cal ADA, or a 2000 cal ADA, etc.
> 
> The only thing that seems to work for me is to be so busy doing other things that I don't sit and snack. Lots of exercise, eating breakfast, 6 small meals, etc.
> 
> ...


*Manygoatsnmore*
I am type II diabetic.
I am on 2 oral meds and lipitor and atacand for HBP and kidney protection. I do agree with you about the ADA "diet".


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

I want/need one of those diets that allows me to eat food normally found frozen or in cans, requires no cooking knowledge besides "heat". So far everything I look at has way lots of sodium and I am pretty sure that is not good for me! I bought some frozen diet meals YUCK--one actually made me gag. So hear is my question: If i eat heated "frozen veggies", canned fruit (heavy syurp) and peanut butter on crackers will I still be able to lose weight? I know it is odd but this is my normal diet plus all the junk food I can find around the house. Was wondering if I lose the junk food and double up on the frozen heated veggies if I might still lose a bit of weight. I will walk on days when the ice is not bad too.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

How's your blood pressure? If you have a normal b/p and no health conditions that would put you on a low-sodium diet, the salt in the canned goods isn't that big of a deal. There's probably at least as much sodium in the peanut butter and crackers, lol!

Your method would probably work. It may not be the MOST balanced diet, but if you are cutting out the junk food and keeping the good stuff, it should work. Make sure you are eating enough calories not to throw your body into famine mode, which will shut down your metabolism and keep you from losing. Are you going to be eating a wide variety of frozen vegies? That's good for you. A good variety of canned fruit is good, too, although a light syrup is better (all that syrup is empty sugar calories). Are the crackers whole grain, lol? I'm sure there are lots of different no-cook or heat and eat foods that could be rotated in to make a more balanced diet. Not the cheapest way to eat, of course, but sometimes simple is what it takes to keep you from hitting the chip bag. Make sure you also get your exercise and drink your water! Good luck, and let us know how it works for you.


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

I think any time you go on a diet you should take a good multivitamin/mineral supplement to make up for nutrients you might be missing. Also, if you drastically cut back on the fats in your diet and all you're eating is the veggies, etc., you might see some drastic drying out of your skin. I did that years ago when I went to Nutri-systems. The palms of my hands actually got so dry they were cracking. I'm wondering if taking the fish oil capsules would help prevent that.


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