Anyone got a diet plan that works?

[Rich Engelhardt]

When I stopped smoking, I dropped about ten pounds the first two weeks.
Probably because I stayed away from beer and some other food that I associated with smoking.

That was then & now is now.

I swelled up like a huge bloated toad in the last couple months!!

I've gotten enormous!

Anyone have any suggestions?

Re: exercise - - that's going to be a tough one.
I'm so overweight right now, I'm afraid if I overdo it I'm likely to have "the big one Elisabeth".

[Sean Troy]

When I stopped smoking, I dropped about ten pounds the first two weeks.
Probably because I stayed away from beer and some other food that I associated with smoking.

That was then & now is now.

I swelled up like a huge bloated toad in the last couple months!!

I've gotten enormous!

Anyone have any suggestions?

Re: exercise - - that's going to be a tough one.
I'm so overweight right now, I'm afraid if I overdo it I'm likely to have "the big one Elisabeth".

If you can find the time in the morning, start by walking normally for a half hour without stopping. Have a cup of coffee before you walk. Each day add a little speed to your walk as your body feels it can and then add time to your walk also. If you truly feel you're enormous as you say, let your body tell you how hard to push it. Don't drink soda or eat breads and you would be surprised how the weight starts coming off the correct way and stays off. After a few weeks you should be fast walking an hour a day. Your body and especially your heart will thank you. If you can eat 4-5 smaller meals each day instead of the "normal" 3 big meals a day, that would REALLY help you get in shape. Nothing to eat after 7pm is important. Lot's of water through out the day, every day. By spring time, you would be fit as a fiddle and look great also.

[Sam Murdoch]

It will take courage and effort Rich, and sadly it will take longer to go the other way to healthy. I think the best starter advice - WALK-WALK-WALK - away from the fridge and the cookie jars and to everywhere else. Walk upstairs, walk from parking spaces furthest from the store doors, walk on trails on the weekends if not every day, walk on a treadmill if not outdoors, walk in circles if space is small . You get my point. We'll cheer you on but onward you must go. Later you can start in on the Bowflex or some Yoga. Good luck.


Yeah, and what Sean says.

[David Weaver]

No bread, no sugar, no calories in any drinks.

No stuff like processed corn or wheat products, either, they are dense in calories and easy to eat in large amounts.

If you do the above, you're left with vegetables, fruits, meat, etc...mostly non-processed foods that are a lot less calorie dense. Takes about a week to get used to not eating the junk. If you still binge on food even with what you have left out of nerves or anxiety of being on a diet, literally go to counting calories and keeping a chart. Keep something around that eat that you can have unlimited, like raw broccoli or raw carrots.

By the end of the week that you're not eating all of that stuff, you'll feel better, too, and lose the urge to eat the junk. It's easier to cut it out 100% than it is to try to limit your intake of it. Once you've got a week under your belt and you have a normal energy level, then you can start doing stuff like walking, etc. Doesn't have to be walking 5 miles, start small and don't worry about what small is, sooner or later you'll have the urge to do more or faster. If you just sort of let it happen, you'll be better off than if you try to force it.

[Prashun Patel]

My philosophy is "everything in moderation (including moderation)."

Don't deny yourself any foods; just have half of what you normally would. Think European.

It's about learning how to stop, not how to prevent yourself from starting.

[Dan Hintz]

I don't exercise (though I know I should), so I had to find a way to cut down my growing belly size.

After taking a look at my eating habits, I realized I ate way more than I needed to... portion control. The first 2-3 weeks was tough as I felt hungry within an hour of eating, but after that my body didn't notice it. I dropped 15+ pounds in 3 months, and so far have kept it off without issue (going on a year now?). I still eat whatever I want (ice ceam, candy, fatty beef, etc.), but I don't gorge myself... if I walk away from the table feeling stuffed, I definitely ate too much.

When I go to restaurants, I'll order a hamburger and fries, with water or tea to drink (the water was tough to get used to, but it doesn't bother me now), no soft drinks... I eat half of the hamburger (take the rest home), sometimes all of the fries. When I'm feeling generous to myself, I'll order a shake. But I always walk away feeling satiated, not overly full.

It's slower to lose weight that way, but I didn't have to lose out on anything I craved, and I think that's what kills most diets... people get frustrated they can't have the things they really want, so they break their diet once, and then it's all down hill.

EDIT: To add to some of the comments above... the first 3 months I counted calories. It was tedious, but it let me know just how big a portion size should be for a healthy amount of calories. Once I had a concept of portion size, you can give up the calorie counting and enjoy life a bit. I realized I was putting close to 5k calories a day on my plate, rather than a more healthy 2.5-3k.

[Matt Marsh]

Shop at farmer's markets, and keep to the outside isles of the grocery stores as much as possible. I know you said it's a tough one, but you need to exersise. Just start out gradual and work your way into a more strenuous routine. Any exersize is better than none, even if it's just a few minutes to start with. I bought a good quality elliptical machine, and try to use it at least 4-5 times per week. I started slow with only 15 minute routines, and I monitor my heart rate. I fell off the wagon with all of this during my wife's illness, but now after she passed away, I know she'd want me healthy, so I'm back at it. I'm now back up to 30-45 minutes per session, and try to vary my heart rate between 100-120 BPM throughout the routine. Ask your doctor for assistance in setting up a routine. It's your life. Your health needs to come first.

[James Conrad]

As most have mentioned, you have to want to do it and be disciplined. One thing that helped(s) me is keeping track of what I'm eating using an app called My Fitness Pal, they have a website, Myfitnesspal.com, if you are not into mobile apps. You can look up foods, restaurant foods, make recipes, scan bar codes etc. and it will track your daily intake of more then just calories which helped me realize how much sodium I was consuming. Maybe it can help you, good luck!

[Phil Thien]

Have a cup of coffee before you walk.

Each of those things (coffee and walking) has a slight laxative effect. I'd encourage anyone knew to that regimen to wear some adult diapers the first few times they try it.

[Dan Hintz]

Athey have a website, Myfitnesspal.com,

My diet started because of an office bet between three of us (which quickly rolled into 15 people joining in with a buy-in of $20!), and most of us used that site for tracking.

[James Conrad]

My diet started because of an office bet between three of us (which quickly rolled into 15 people joining in with a buy-in of $20!), and most of us used that site for tracking.

It is really a great tool, forgot to mention that it is free.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Nothing else radical to offer, but will add that I went from getting lightheaded walking up stairs and weighing 295, to being able to run a 10k and weighing 230 in a little over a year. My wife took me to Deadwood on my birthday a couple years ago, and I thought I was having a heart attack. Scared me enough to take getting healthy seriously. Decided to change my lifestyle rather than diet. Diet sounds like something that ends at some point and you fall back into the old habits that made the fat.

I started out counting calories, I'm a math nut, so it was kind of fun calculating where I needed to be to meet goals by certain times. Turns out my hardest time is evenings after a hard day at work. I'd eat a couple thousand calories watching tv, then go right to bed.

Some basic rules that worked for me, eat what you want, but count the calories (I went with under 2500/day with exercise). Walk or run, which also makes you feel better quickly. Find something healthy you like to eat as much of as you want. Fuji apples and mint tea are awesome for me. Most importantly, every time you eat something, make a healthy choice.

Its a tough job, but the way you feel from succeeding sure feels good.

[Raymond Fries]

A few years back I started doing the six week body makeover and lost 70 pounds. The program is tailored to your body type. For me it was high protien, natural carbs, and fruit. I ate 6 times a day and was not hungry. Starting my day, breakfast would be 4 egg whites, a cup of oatmeal, and fruit. It worked for my wife as well and I would recommend it to anyone.

I have learrned that to lose weight and keep it off, it requires a lifestyle change. To give up foods and make choice changes to lose weight is great. But then, adding them back when you get to your target will only add back the pounds.

Good Luck on finding a lifestlye change that works for you and your family. Hang in there - you can do it.

BTW - Congratulations on giving up the smoking. I quit over 30 years ago. I too put on weight but lost it.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Michael Thurmond's 6 week program

(exercise is optional)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rich,

While you may have gained weight....Congratulations on quitting smoking!

As far as the weight? I quit smoking and put on 35 pounds. Late one night while working on a CT scanner, I bumped into a cardiologist in the radiology department. He said "Hi Ken! You are putting on weight!" I replied yes..I'd quit smoking and took up eating. He asked how much I smoked. I told him 1 1/2 packs a day for 41 years. He told me I could afford to put on 60 pounds before it had the same effect on my heart as smoking 1 1/2 packs a day.

Like so many things in life, find the right method of modifying your eating habits that works for you! There is no definitive plan that all can voluntarily stay on. Yes, starvation works for everyone but only if its involuntary.

Again....Congrats on giving up the smoking! It's tough!