The low-carb diet. Wow. It actually works.

[AGGEMAM]

The only diet I have found to work is weightwatchers. Sure it requires that you change your diet for good but it's only natural.

The thing is that when we get around 30 yo (or there abouts) our metabolism starts settling at a lower rate than it was in our 20's and especially during the teen years. This is also the time when beer bellies appear out of no where, I know I had that problem.

The only solution that truly works is to change your diet for good, it sounds hard and it is.

So eat less fat and carb, but eat more greens that's the only long term solution.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

My wife's had tremendous success with Weight Watchers; I know people who are very satisfied with Atkins -- and all sorts of folks in between.

The common denominator seems to be lower calorie intake + higher metabolic rate = weight loss (also known as: eat less and exercise, in a healthy, balanced fashion). But if you want it to last, it's a lifestyle change, not a short-term fix.

Good luck and enjoy your results!

 

[DaveStebbins]

I lost 40 lbs. early last year on the Atkins, so definitely stick with it. But once I got off the diet, I gained the weight back fairly quickly, so you really have to be careful once you leave it.

I know several people at work who lost considerable weight on Atkins and similar diets. Unfortunately, like d20Dwarf, they all gained it back when they left the diet. For each of them it was extremely difficult to make that radical of a dietary change permanent. Eventually, they all went back to their regular, all-inclusive, diet and gained the weight back.

The only way I've had success keeping off excess weight was to set smaller goals, rather than large life-changing ones which would be difficult to keep up, and to be patient with them. A pound or two a month adds up and smaller changes are easier to incorporate long term. For me, it's no snacks in the evening after dinnertime and exercise every day (I live only two miles from work, so I've been either walking or riding my bike to work for more than eight years now). My building also has a fitness room in the basement, so I've been working out every day for the past couple of months too. I'll never be mistaken for a male model, but I'm in pretty good shape for a guy in his early forties.

I hope that doesn't sound too "doom and gloom," but that's been my experience. If you know the potential pitfalls, hopefully, it will be easier to avoid them. Don't think of it as a diet, because that sounds temporary. Think of it as actual life changes and you have a better chance of it being a long term commitment and a long term success.

Good luck with your program.
-Dave