One thing I have realized is that diets aren't one size fits all however most of them will get you somewhere if you stick to it and tweak the program to your body's needs.
Diet Center - 1997
The very first diet I was ever on in my life was Diet Center back in 1997 when I was 17 years old. That summer I decided I wanted to lose a few pounds before my senior pictures. I didn't necessarily think I was overweight, just that it would be nice to lose a few pounds before someone was taking a picture of me that would most likely hang around my parents house for a pretty long time. LOL!
It was a great diet, and if I am remembering correctly I was allowed to eat a certain number of carbs, proteins, dairy, and veggies. The number of carbs wasn't necessarily measured by grams but it was measured by a piece of bread equaling 1 carb if that makes sense. They also measured my body fat with this machine that hooked electrodes up to my body, took my measurements and weighed me every week. This was by far the easiest diet I have ever been on but not because of the diet itself but because of my will power as well as my physical activity.
I was extremely active back in High School being involved in sports as well as detasseling corn (click to watch a video of what this is). I would walk miles and miles and miles in the corn fields for about 8-10 hours per day and then I would go and play basketball or volleyball that night for the leagues I was in. It was insane but hey I lost about 10 pounds doing it as well as lots of body fat. I can't remember the details but I do remember feeling great after doing this diet.
Weight Watchers - 1999 to Aug. 2010
Good old WW. This was my go to diet for years and years and years. This diet worked while I was on it but it was the slowest weight loss I have ever had in my life. We are talking less than a pound a week and it was by far the most frustrating to deal with. Sure I got to eat whatever I wanted as long as I counted the points but it wasn't restrictive enough for me and well it wasn't the healthiest either. Sorry but boxed meals should never be in someone's freezer at any time in their life. They are full of crap and with ingredient lists longer than one can imagine they just should never enter the freezer.
When I started WW in 1999 my sophomore year of college I remember weighing in at 232 or 233 pounds. I had obviously gained a ton of weight my freshman and sophomore year of college (about 75 pounds) and WW seemed to be the it diet because it was "balanced." I tried it out and I would say 90% of the time struggled to stay on it. The cravings were horrendous and I don't think I could eat enough of the WW brand ice cream desserts!
I was in complete denial about my PCOS and I always said that everyone should be eating a "balanced diet" and that WW was by far the healthiest and best "lifestyle" diet out there. Boy was I wrong. I don't think I could ever bash one particular diet as WW has worked for lots of people out there but my views of a balanced have completely changed. Introduce the HCG Diet...
HCG Diet - Sept. 2010 to present
I was first introduced to this diet by my MIL who had been doing it for about a year off and on. She had lost a ton of weight specifically from her belly and she looked great. The only problem, I was still stuck in WW mentality and I thought she was absolutely nuts for only eating 500 calories. I thought there was no way someone could only eat that little bit and not be hungry AND keep it off. I was a major skeptic until one day I decided to book an appointment with a doctor and just go for it.
I lost almost 26 pounds in 35 days and I was sold. I couldn't believe how fast the weight was falling off, that I wasn't hungry and that I felt fantastic! I knew I was a carb addict and that I needed to stop eating them because of my insulin resistance but I never was able to kick them to the curb on my own. The HCG definitely helped with that and I highly doubt I would be 118 pounds lighter had it not been for the discovery of this diet.
The first round was a piece of cake and I kept all of my weight off for 8 weeks and that includes Thanksgiving and Christmas! What I didn't understand was what it would be like to try and change my thinking of never having carbs again in my life. I thought for sure I would be able to add them back in at some point because they are healthy right? Um no. I was completely wrong as I ended up gaining 8-9 pounds back between rounds 2 and 3 simply by eating crap and dabbling with a few carbs here and there.
I was in a complete panic at this point and I thought there is no way I am going to be able to keep this weight off. What do you mean I can't have carbs the rest of my life. How in the world will I live if I can never have pasta, rice, bread, etc.? Seriously I was in complete denial until I read The Paleo Solution (book is in my recommend book section with a link to the author if you click on it.) This was the eye opener that I needed to realize that I absolutely 100% never need to eat another grain or sugar ever again. Seriously. This is how I plan to keep the weight off for the rest of my life and it will be my new "lifestyle."
This book showed me that grains are pretty much pointless and do nothing for you nutritionally. Fiber? That would be from the veggies you will learn to love and adore especially with some delicious olive oil drizzled over them. :) Along with grains dairy is also pretty pointless except for the calcium and well because who doesn't love cheese. Okay my friend Allison hates cheese but she is the only person I know that does. LOL! I am still having a hard time with the idea of giving up dairy especially when I think of cheese and blue cheese dressing but what I do know is that I don't have to eat massive amounts of it nor do I have to have this on a daily basis.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being on a Paleo/Caveman/Hunger-Gatherer type diet and my honest opinion is that if you are overweight and have belly fat then you should be on it too. Most people who are overweight have some degree of insulin resistance caused by all of the grains and sugars in our diets. I bet that if you were to read the book mentioned above, you will completely change your views of carbs. I know it was an eye opener for me and it will be a struggle to cut somethings out but you know what, living is way more important than a piece of bread.
So there ya have it. My long history of dieting with my not so long list of diets. If there was one piece of advice that I could give to anyone that is overweight it would be to keep trying a diet and tweaking it until it fits you. I have a feeling most people reading my blog would benefit tremendously from reading about insulin resistance and the Paleo diet but I also understand what it is like to go against the grain especially when we have heard for so long that low fat is the way to go. Fat is not your enemy, insulin resistance is.
Paleo Diet - goal weight and beyond...
