Dieting woes....

[drloverde]

O.K. I need support here...

DH is 45 and I'm 33. Many years ago he read the book Fit For Life and tried their method of weight loss - they are the food combining people.

He was very successful in this venture both times he took it seriously - he lost weight, kept it off and during one of the times wasn't working out.

Now we are pretty serious about loosing weight - a cruise to Tahiti is in our future Memorial Day week and we want to be shadows of our former selves.

We've been following it pretty closely - I've not eliminated dairy totally, I don't want osteoporosis to knock on my door. DH is a vegetarian, so I cook a lot of meatless meat dishes.

O.K. here is my quandary...DH has lost 20 lbs since mid January. I have not gained any weight (I guess I should be happy with small favors) but haven't lost more than 3 lbs.

Question - has anyone read this book and has thoughts about the diet? While I've heard mixed thoughts on the 2 people who wrote the book - things that range from "it's hooey to "they're odd, but the diet works" it really seems to work for DH.

I'm too smart to know that nothing else will work other than augmenting my diet and exercising - which I am five times a week - and eating right - but watching what I eat together - I'm stymied.

Help -

Dena.

[JHolcomb]

I know nothing about this diet, but I just wanted to day don't gauge your progress against your husband! Men usually lose weight faster than women. If you put your start date somewhere in mid January then it's been about a month since you started the diet, right? Average "healthy" weight loss is like, 1-2 lbs a week (someone back me up on this), so you're probably losing something like .75 lbs a week, which isn't bad or abnormal at all. It also seems to me sometimes that it takes a little while (like a month) for my metabolism to catch on to the fact that I've changed my diet and exercise.

Otherwise, are you happy with the diet? Do you feel that you're getting adequate nutrition? Is it very restricive? If you don't like this diet, try another one. Many people on this board are on Weight Watchers, which looks at changing eating habits forever, not just for quick weight loss. It doesn't seem restricitve to me (though I'm not on it) and lots of people have had success with it.

[drloverde]

JH,

You post interesting thoughts - ones I have had myself. I know not to gauge myself agains my hubby (it's just unfair...but I know that's nothing I can do anything about).

The funny thing about this diet is that it is aimed at changing your eating habits - something I support wholeheartedly. I eat enough for sure, the most restrictive thing is that you aren't supposed to eat a protein with a starch and you are not supposed to have much dairy. The dairy thing I've learned to work with - and I've been a very creative cook for the protein/starch thing.

I guess I'd not feel so funky if 1. I was seeing quicker results - a problem with being older than 30 I've recently learned and 2. That I hadn't heard such wacky things about the authors.

Dena.

[vanillaheart]

Here's the thing. If you take in too many calories, then you're not going to lose weight. It doesn't matter (in my opinion) whether you are eating a protein, a carbohydrate, or a fat and whether you are eating them apart from eachother - you just have to eat fewer calories. Your body does not care if you eat a 300cal. sandwich that has meat and bread or 300cals of meat alone. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie.
It frustrates me that so many "diet gurus" out there have now begun to make dieting so difficult it has actually become a complete science.
Granted - if you choose to eat a 500calorie lunch that consists only of a piece of chocolate cake, you're going to feel yucky about 2 hours later and you may even crave more carbs, so I'm not saying that what you eat won't affect how you feel - I'm just saying that the weight loss aspect still has to do with calories - and only calories.
I'm willing to bet money that your husband is now eating less calories on this diet than he was before and that is why he's losing weight.
So, if I were you - to lose weight for that trip to Tahiti (lucky you :) ), I would be counting those calories and making sure to get lots of exercise.
This is all just my opinion of course, but I hope it helps!

[Laura B]

Dena, in addition to the HLSG threads there are the "Me I Want to Be" Weight Loss Support threads. Most of the people that post on those threads are doing the Weight Watchers program, but anyone struggling with losing/maintaining weight is more than welcome. You should check out those threads if you have not already!! They are very supportive and you may find that WW is a program that would help you. Good luck!!

[Leslie w]

Is Fit for Life the diet where you eat nothing but fruit for breakfast, a large salad with some lean protein for lunch and then a balanced meal at dinner? If it is my 70 year old uncle has been on that diet for over 5 years. He looks fantastic for his age, has a lot of energy, muscle tone etc. It seems to be a well balanced diet but I'm sure if you eat a lot of fruit the calories could be adding up. He's a very active man BTW, the guy never sits down so he burns a lot of calories. Anyway I tried his diet when I visited him for a few days last summer and while I had a lot of energy I had a hard time sticking to it. I'm not a fruit lover to begin with and found myself constantly hungry. I have low blood sugar and since I'm also active and exercise a lot I need protein at every meal to keep my sugar in check.

[drloverde]

Leslie,

It sounds close. DH is the resident expert on this diet. I tend to not eat all the fruit and eat lunch around 11:30 - noon. I've never been a big breakfast eater so it's not a problem.

I'm glad to hear that your Uncle has had such success with it.

Dena.

[funnybone]

I am by no means an expert, but I know that they say that after a certain age, diet alone does not work. Do you do any exercise or other physical activity?

[drloverde]

I'm exercising 5 days a week - aroebic (alternating running 2.6 miles and the precor machine) and weight training machines.

I know you need to do both...

Dena.