This IS working....

[fatdave]

1) No bad carbs. (snacks, candy, etc..)
2) Limit bread as much as possible. When I do eat bread it's from a Subway sandwich.
3) I eat a good dinner everyday day that usually consists of something from these foods: baked chicken, fish, hamburger, sausage, pork, green beans, peas, rice (small amounts), salad, nuts, tuna, salmon (canned), fruit. As a treat I also eat a Subway sandwich 1-2 times per week for dinner. I don't worry with how much I'm eating, I usually eat till I'm full and then immediately stop. Followed by some water. I have stopped eating/drinking at the same time. This seems to allow me to eat more. I think the water lubricates the stomach and allows more food to slide in.
4) I also eat 3-4 other small meals a day from these foods: nuts, a salad, tuna, eggs, apple, orange, banana, some fruit, etc.
5) I'm drinking a gallon of water through out the day. I fill an old milk jug with water and sip it throughout the day.
6) Yes, I get carb cravings. I try to control them but when I have to have something sweet, a piece of fruit now totally tames my craving.
7) Very limited excersize so far. Walking 2-3 times a week for 20-30mins. I plan on increasing this as things progress.

So far I'm losing 10lbs per month. One thing I've noticed is I'm going to the bathroom more often. At age 41 I think my metabolism is working a little better now. I don't "think" I'm dieting because I'm not. I'm not counting carbs or fats, I'm not following some menu, etc. I'm basically just trying to eat right and do a little excersize. I'm sure I'll have to increase the excersize part in order to maintain the weight loss. I have around 70 more pounds to go.

I think not sticking to a "diet" or "chart" allows a little more piece of mind when trying to eat right. Perhaps this is the common sense diet???

I admit the first 2 weeks (a little over 2 months ago) were VERY hard. It was hard to give up the sugar, bad carbs, soda, etc. But it's weird now I don't even crave that stuff.

So far so good....

[LV40]

Your diet plan sounds about like mine

I lose about 10 pounds a month as well. And I too drink lots of water. I'm up and down all night going to bathroom. It's rather annoying, but I don't want to back off of my water, so I live with it. I eat low fat, low 'bad' carbs (white rice, pasta, sugar, white breads) I've upped my complex carb consumption (mostly to try and get adequate amounts of fiber) and I've completely cut out fried foods. I even avoid anything cooked in oil as much as I can, even though I only use canola and olive oil to cook with.

Works for me!

[jojo64]

If I drank a gallon of water I would have to live in the bathroom

Sounds like you're doing a geat job - keep up the good work, both of you! (LV40, what you are doing is very similiar to the South Beach diet - did you know that?)

[candyapple7]

Originally Posted by fatdave

1) No bad carbs. (snacks, candy, etc..)
2) Limit bread as much as possible. When I do eat bread it's from a Subway sandwich.
3) I eat a good dinner everyday day that usually consists of something from these foods: baked chicken, fish, hamburger, sausage, pork, green beans, peas, rice (small amounts), salad, nuts, tuna, salmon (canned), fruit. As a treat I also eat a Subway sandwich 1-2 times per week for dinner. I don't worry with how much I'm eating, I usually eat till I'm full and then immediately stop. Followed by some water. I have stopped eating/drinking at the same time. This seems to allow me to eat more. I think the water lubricates the stomach and allows more food to slide in.
4) I also eat 3-4 other small meals a day from these foods: nuts, a salad, tuna, eggs, apple, orange, banana, some fruit, etc.
5) I'm drinking a gallon of water through out the day. I fill an old milk jug with water and sip it throughout the day.
6) Yes, I get carb cravings. I try to control them but when I have to have something sweet, a piece of fruit now totally tames my craving.
7) Very limited excersize so far. Walking 2-3 times a week for 20-30mins. I plan on increasing this as things progress.

So far I'm losing 10lbs per month. One thing I've noticed is I'm going to the bathroom more often. At age 41 I think my metabolism is working a little better now. I don't "think" I'm dieting because I'm not. I'm not counting carbs or fats, I'm not following some menu, etc. I'm basically just trying to eat right and do a little excersize. I'm sure I'll have to increase the excersize part in order to maintain the weight loss. I have around 70 more pounds to go.

I think not sticking to a "diet" or "chart" allows a little more piece of mind when trying to eat right. Perhaps this is the common sense diet???

I admit the first 2 weeks (a little over 2 months ago) were VERY hard. It was hard to give up the sugar, bad carbs, soda, etc. But it's weird now I don't even crave that stuff.

So far so good....

What ever plan works for you , that is what counts, everybody is different, because you want something you wnat a lifetime change not a diet. If it it doing what you want it to do by getting results. you stick with it, be consistant, that is hard sometime but that is why we need each others support.

[LV40]

Originally Posted by jojo64

If I drank a gallon of water I would have to live in the bathroom

Sounds like you're doing a geat job - keep up the good work, both of you! (LV40, what you are doing is very similiar to the South Beach diet - did you know that?)

I don't know a thing about the South Beach diet, I just do what works for me

I think the key word for any eating plan is moderation. Although I've drastically cut back on pasta and white rice, I still eat it on occasion. I found that high 'uncomplexed' carbs messed with my blood sugar too much (not to mention it shot my triglycerides off the charts) and I felt tired all the time. The fewer carbs I eat, the more energy I have. As crazy as that sounds. If I eat a high-carb meal, I'm wanting to pass out a half an hour later and I drag butt all the next day. Yes, I know why it does that, I did some research to find out. However, I DO eat quite a bit of wheat bread and wheat tortillas and I love beans. Any kind of beans, except kidney. Legumes, barley, brown rice and whole grains.

I do much better staying away from rice and pasta. And my diet is low in fat because I've cut fat out just about everywhere I could. Fat-free dairy, no cheese, no fried foods, no fast food, etc etc etc. Anywhere I could cut it I cut it. Except I still eat regular salad dressings. Lite salad dressings make me gag.