[NeighborsComplaint]

Month two of my NutraSystem diet. Lost 17 lbs. (239 down to 222 on my 5'-11" frame) the first month. Hit 220 and am stuck there all week.

For those of you not familiar with NutraSystem, you get a month's worth of "meals", 3 "meals" and two snacks a day. A meal is about 3 bites and you're done (lasagna, ravioli, a slider sized burger, etc) and snacks are like eating 2 funsize candy bars, a half dozen quarter sized cookies or a drink coaster sized soft cookie. The food doesn't taste bad plus I'm divorced and cooking for one is like throwing your money out the window at 70mph anyway.

You can add lettuce, fruits and non-starchy vegetables to your meals.

Anybody else done the NutraSystem Starvation plan?

[DarthBubba]

My wife is on it now. She's down @30lbs and in her third month. It definitely works, but yeah I tend to chuckle (softly) when I see here "loading" up her plate.

[zeebo]

I have heard from friends that are in the medical field that out of most of the diets I can think of, weight watchers was said to be the most effective; for what its worth. im overweight, and don't do much about it..(I need to be about 200 lbs down from 280) but its a little hard to do. I just like to eat and drink too much when im relaxing. I will say this: if I ever won the powerball and didn't have to work, I would have a personal trainer and a dietician and I would work out 1hr a day every day. exercise and diet works..it really does and makes you feel like a kid again..but work and life get in the way of staying healthy and that's the long and short of it.

[NeighborsComplaint]

My goal is an even 30 lbs. I have hypokalemic partial paralysis (progressive loss of muscle tone) and lost all my quad muscle strength so exercise is out for me. I figured if I can stay on the diet to my goal and then keep it off, that's 30 lbs. less dead weight I am asking my quads to move.

[zephyrracer]

Friend of mine lost 60 lb by just eating until the hunger pain goes away then pushes the food away when hunger returns couple more bites.

[acgwinn]

A friend of mine's brother lost a bunch of weight by simple cutting bread and pasta out of his diet.

[tom s]

I have been heavy my whole life.I went on a low cal diet about 8 years ago and lost 72 lb.I ate virtually eveything I ate before except potatoes but way less of it.I have pretty much kept it off as it was a life style change.I was on 1800 cal.I counted calories and still do to this day.I have found at 1800 I loose,at 2100 I maintain and at 2300 I gain slow.I eat bread,still have hamburgers but boring burgers.No cheese,no mayo or ketchup.Mushrooms are free along with lettuce mustard.IMO you have to pick a diet you are willing to live with the rest of your life.The no carb diet had me loose weight but I made up my mind I could not live with it.Get a book,weigh the food,count them and you will loose weight and keep it off.Like wise Nutisystem worked also as they count the calories for you.Tom

[Half-Inch Stud]

Been thin all my days, and eat like a horse & fast. Still do butt hey my gut is trying to give out like the belly ball we all fear. Been cramming food in fear of losing my hunger signal before the food is gone. Older now, and hey we all see what is going on with our physical shape.

Hidden point here is....we all know that we can control our weight by eating slowly, very slowly so that the hunger signal goes to zero. Thus we would eat less. That 's it.

Eat nutritionally to avoid cancers.
Burn off the food energies to "avoid high blood sugars while you're asleep" again to avoid cancers.
Burn your food energies with your muscles to make/keep muscle mass.

Anything else is a prescription program.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Good points all. I try to avoid carbs but I never met a bagel I didn't like! Carbs are one of my triggers for the paralysis. If I have a steady intake pf pizza and beer, I am ready for a trip to the emergency room in a wheel chair.

Eating slowly is a big deal. You savor the food (even the small proportions like NutraSystem) and feel more satisfied when you are done.

The other trick is drinking lots of cold water. It kicks the metabolism up a notch plus keeps you feeling full.

[tom s]

KNOW what the cals are when you think about something.Slice of bread about 90,egg about 90,4 1/2 oz chicken breast no skin 130.BLT no mayo about 310 cals.etc etc etc.Tom

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by tom s

I have been heavy my whole life.I went on a low cal diet about 8 years ago and lost 72 lb.I ate virtually eveything I ate before except potatoes but way less of it.I have pretty much kept it off as it was a life style change.I was on 1800 cal.I counted calories and still do to this day.I have found at 1800 I loose,at 2100 I maintain and at 2300 I gain slow.I eat bread,still have hamburgers but boring burgers.No cheese,no mayo or ketchup.Mushrooms are free along with lettuce mustard.IMO you have to pick a diet you are willing to live with the rest of your life.The no carb diet had me loose weight but I made up my mind I could not live with it.Get a book,weigh the food,count them and you will loose weight and keep it off.Like wise Nutisystem worked also as they count the calories for you.Tom

That's pretty close to how I dropped 50lbs in 9 month. Little bread, no pasta, rice or potatoes. 1 glass of milk per week (down from 3 gals per week) and ZERO sugared sodas. My A1C dropped from 8.1 to 5.8. The human body has to have a certain number of grams of carbs per day to operate correctly. The rub is consuming enough carbs, but not depriving your body of the fuel (carbs) it needs.