Weight Loss

[RadioFanatic]

I will make this budget related. I knew I needed to lose weight and get healthy for my son but didn't have the money to join a gym or pay to join a diet group. So since May 1, I have lost 50 pounds by doing three simple things: started running, cutting out most carbs/sugars except on my cheat day of Saturday, and counting calories. I spent only $1.99 on the couch to 5k app for my phone and went from never running in my life to running 3 miles a day without stopping 5 days a week. I also got a free app which is called Lose it which helps me monitor food/calories, tells me how many calories a day I can have to reach my goal and how many pounds I need to loosely weekly to reach my goal, and keeps track of food and exercise to make sure I get there. And now I only have 25 to go!

 

[Traveliz]

I have been using the Sparkpeople web site and following their meal plans. In 4 weeks I have lost 18 pounds. Its free and its supportive, lots if forums and teams you can join. I love it. Check it out, but whatever you try, Good luck. Its a hard road but it is possible.

This is what my doctor recommended yesterday. She is using it herself and showed me how she set up her website. I am going to get on there later and figure it all out.

Liz

 

[fofinia]

I will make this budget related. I knew I needed to lose weight and get healthy for my son but didn't have the money to join a gym or pay to join a diet group. So since May 1, I have lost 50 pounds by doing three simple things: started running, cutting out most carbs/sugars except on my cheat day of Saturday, and counting calories. I spent only $1.99 on the couch to 5k app for my phone and went from never running in my life to running 3 miles a day without stopping 5 days a week. I also got a free app which is called Lose it which helps me monitor food/calories, tells me how many calories a day I can have to reach my goal and how many pounds I need to loosely weekly to reach my goal, and keeps track of food and exercise to make sure I get there. And now I only have 25 to go!

Way to go!!!

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

I have gone from 217 lbs to 128 lbs by counting calories and exercise. It really is that simple. I use myfitnesspal to track it all (free) and my user name is clintswifeymomof4.

The site has changed my life. If you told me a year ago I would be eating upwards of 2300 to 2800 calories a day, have cut abs after giving birth to 4 kids (youngest of which just turned 1), and wear a size 2... I would have called you crazy... but that is my daily life and I'm loving it!

A year ago I would be winded walking up the stairs. Today I ran 7.5 miles and did an hour of heavy weight lifting.

 

[cbg1027]

Check out 'The Fat Fallacy' by Will Clower:
http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Fallacy-French-Secrets-Permanent/dp/1400049199/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp

It's a 'diet' modeled after the way French people eat. Thing is, there's nothing revolutionary about it. It's just plain, simple, healthy, BALANCED eating.
You eat real food and cut out processed, artificial, and prepackaged foods.

The weight loss is very slow, but by changing your lifestyle, you KEEP it off.

I can vouch for it's effectiveness. I lived in France for a year and my diet and lifestyle were completely different. I was a live-in nanny so I lived with a French family. I did a lot of walking taking the children to and from school. We hardly ever ate out. No fast food. Each lunch and dinner had to have a protein, a grain, and a veggie, followed by green salad, a cheese course, and dessert of fresh fruit and yogurt (plain yogurt - no artificial sweeteners or junk in it - we would add honey, jam, or sugar to it ourselves). There was wine 95% of the time. And I lost about 20lbs in that year by eating the best I have ever eaten in my life. My cholesterol also went down quite a bit.

Of course, once I moved back to the states and my lifestyle became Americanized again, I gained it back. But I know that if I can make the commitment to that kind of lifestyle, It works.

 

[firstcruise]

Until you realize that changing your lifestyle and food choices is the right answer no diet will ever work. Not a single one! I have been up and down the scale too many times to post, but in April 2010 I decided that changing my lifestyle and eating habits was the way to go and set on a plan to lose 80 pounds at 2 pounds a week.

The first month was horrible going from eating fast food to fruits, veggies, lean meats, etc. Snacks consist of raw nuts or fruit, no more snickers bars or bag of chips.

December 2010 I reached my goal weight of 180 and today weigh 170 9 months after reaching my goal. The difference this time was that I was never on a diet, my food intake stayed the same and I exercise 6 days a week for 1 1/2 hrs. No more getting to your goal weight and then off the diet you go to gain it all back.

The problem I had with all these diets is they don't tell you how to eat. It's not likely you'll be on the diet plan (Jenny Craig, etc) the rest of your life, so you need to learn to cook for yourself. Once you get that down the rest is easy. I don't even consider fast food when making choices now and never crave it either.

Plan ahead when going out to eat so you know what to order that will keep you on track. It's not easy making big life changes, but doing so will take the weight off and you'll keep it off the rest of your life. It took me awhile to figure out there is no quick fix and that it was really up to me to make better choices. Once I got that down pat the weight came off.

You can do it too! Keep positive, give in when you have a craving and then get back to it. Find what ever motivates you and with your success you'll motivate others around you to do the same thing.

 

[DLW8]

I have asked my doctor and she said the best plan is WW. It's not a crash diet. It's food choices and moderation. You can eat what you want, but you have to track it.

I had done WW about 4 1/2 years ago and unfortunately gained it all back because I didn't continue to track what I ate and make good conscious choices. So, my friend and I re-joined 6 weeks ago and I have lost 13.6 lbs so far. WW will not give you huge losses each week like HCG, but I think it's a healthier way to lose the weight.

For me, I am better at tracking and following the plan knowing that I am going to weigh in at WW each week, so for me, the online version doesn't work, but everyone is different.

Whatever you choose, good luck. This is a hard battle that lots of us are fighting, so kudos to you for joining the battle.

As for budget-wise....I heard them talking at WW yesterday that they have a special on the monthly plan right now. Buy one month (I think it's $40-ish) and you get the second month free.

Also - check with your insurance. My insurance (BCBS) does reimburse for up to $150 in approved weight loss plans per year (and WW is on the approved list). It won't cover the entire year at $40/month, but every little bit helps!

 

[Hellothemouse]

So my DH and I have been looking at diets, we know that we both need to lose quite a bit of weight (due to health problems) anyway I just was looking at Medifast's website. Am I understanding this right, you "pick" which foods you want and that is all you eat for the 3 meals a day? Either soup, shakes or their snacks? I am assuming you add in fruits and veggies right?

I personally have done Nutrisystem and WW in the past. Both have worked for me until I stopped. This Medifast sounds really close to NS. So that is why I was wondering

 

[Hellothemouse]

I have asked my doctor and she said the best plan is WW. It's not a crash diet. It's food choices and moderation. You can eat what you want, but you have to track it.

I had done WW about 4 1/2 years ago and unfortunately gained it all back because I didn't continue to track what I ate and make good conscious choices. So, my friend and I re-joined 6 weeks ago and I have lost 13.6 lbs so far. WW will not give you huge losses each week like HCG, but I think it's a healthier way to lose the weight.

For me, I am better at tracking and following the plan knowing that I am going to weigh in at WW each week, so for me, the online version doesn't work, but everyone is different.

Whatever you choose, good luck. This is a hard battle that lots of us are fighting, so kudos to you for joining the battle.

As for budget-wise....I heard them talking at WW yesterday that they have a special on the monthly plan right now. Buy one month (I think it's $40-ish) and you get the second month free.

Also - check with your insurance. My insurance (BCBS) does reimburse for up to $150 in approved weight loss plans per year (and WW is on the approved list). It won't cover the entire year at $40/month, but every little bit helps!

Is this special for in person only? I can't seem to find it online only the buy 3 months get 1 free deal (We are looking at going back on WW DH and I so we would need 2 different accounts)

 

[IDoDis]

I would not recommend any type of diet plan that provides you the food. You will lose weight, but you can't eat this food forever, and you will only gain the weight back. Programs like Medifast say you need to follow a long-term plan after you stop eating their prepared food, so why not just do that yourself now and save your hard-earned money?

Studies show over and over and over again, that people who don't "diet" but change their eating habits as a lifestyle change, keep the weight off. Those who pay for the diet plans just bounce right back up to their high weight and then some.

If you must do a "diet plan" then do Weight Watchers. Any plan that is going to give you very fast weight loss will not be true fat loss. You'll be losing muscle too, which will ultimately result in you gaining the weight back faster later on.

Good luck! It's not an easy road. I feel like I can't buy 3/4 of the things I see n the grocery store anymore, and I can hardly ever use recipes I see (including threads here on The Dis) because the fat and calorie counts are just way too high for my body to maintain a healthy weight. It's a change I made 20 years ago. I still have a cheat day once a week, but for the most part, I'm a label reader.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

If you have a local gym nearby stop in and see if they have a personal trainer that has a background in nutrition. See if you can set up an appointment with this particular type of trainer. They will usually charge you a fee (ours charges around $50). How ours work: The trainer will take your weight, height and body measurements. They will take your life style into consideration (active, semi active or non active). They will set you up with a total calorie day intake. #of carbs, #of proteins, # of dairy, etc. They give a list of several types of foods that you can eat and those that you should avoid.

I personally like this idea because everyone is different we all have different activity levels (age, injury, illness). So this can be tailored to fit you and your lifestyle.

This is just my .02

Good luck in what ever you decide.

 

[tcarr5]

Wholly untrue.
Speaking from first-hand experience, hcg works and works VERY well.

yes it sure does i'm ready to start my second round!

 

[aladams2]

So my DH and I have been looking at diets, we know that we both need to lose quite a bit of weight (due to health problems) anyway I just was looking at Medifast's website. Am I understanding this right, you "pick" which foods you want and that is all you eat for the 3 meals a day? Either soup, shakes or their snacks? I am assuming you add in fruits and veggies right?

I personally have done Nutrisystem and WW in the past. Both have worked for me until I stopped. This Medifast sounds really close to NS. So that is why I was wondering

Through Medifast you are on a 5 and 1 plan. 5 meals that you buy from them and then you make a lean and green meal on your own. The lean and green meal is a lean portion of meat and a green veggie. There are no fruits during this phase. They have breakfast items as well. My DH is a Lifecoach for Medifast. So if you have any more ?'s PM me and he'll fill you in.

 

[bucket o' butter]

Ok, this really isn't entirely a budget question. Anyways, I'm in desperate need of dropping some lbs, I currently have a friend doing the HCG diet and a friend doing the medifast diet. The friend on the HCG is losing but struggling. The friend on the medifast loves it and has lost 26.3 lbs in 8 weeks, but I think it's expensive. A couple of years ago I did Weight Watchers and lost, but I gained it ALL back. I need to get some diet feedback....has anyone done the HCG or Medifast diet?? Or should I go back to WW?? Does anyone have any money saving tips on dieting?? Has anyone ever talked to their doctor about weight loss...what was their recommendations? I wonder if insurance pays for anything......

I began my weight loss journey on January 7, 2011. My goal is to lose 60 pounds. Thus far, I have lost 38. It is a long slow road, but I am confident I can keep it off. At least longer than if I did some fad diet. I haven't spent a dime on a gym membership or dues to a weight loss company. I use a website called My Fitness Pal where I track everything I eat and all the exercise I do. It keeps me accountable. I can pull up graphs to see the progress I have made and it changes my caloric intake automatically as I lose weight. My exercise consists of walking mainly, but for more strength exercises, I use "On Demand" on my TV which has a Exercise TV. I tend to get bored after doing one DVD several times. Exercise TV allows me to change daily if I choose. I love it. Don't get me wrong! I think WW is great. My mom and sister lost a great deal of weight on it. I just didn't have the money to do it at the time. I even got my husband on the bandwagon (he also needed to lose 60ish pounds and thus far he has lost 25 since June. His has been just from watching his caloric intake and using the My Fitness Pal food tracker. Just wanted to pass on what has worked for me. I have struggled with my weight for over 20 years and have tried it all. This is the first thing that I have stuck with for the long haul. When I went to the doctor in January, he informed me that my blood work showed borderline high cholesterol and diabetes. He seriously advised doing something - NOW! He said the bottom line is your caloric intake and making sure you are getting the proper amount of daily vitamins. I have taken his advice so far and am actually looking forward to going back in October for a recheck on my blood work. Good luck! If you choose to check out My Fitness Pal, feel free to "friend" me. My name is melly424 on the site.