Thursday, December 31, 2009

The No-Fail Diet - Final Results

Today is the last day on the No-Fail Diet by Leslie Beck. I have lost only 4 lbs for the entire month. It's been a struggle trying to get through the holidays on a diet. I was hoping for better results but I can't really blame the diet. I did find the results for the first two weeks disappointing - only a 3 lb weight loss and I stuck to the diet. The last two weeks I've been struggling with temptations and the poor results have been entirely my fault. However, I'm glad I lost 4 lbs this December as usually I gain a few instead.
Likes - the diet is healthy and I did not feel too hungry very often. Initally I was unsure the excercise plan would reap many benefits as it didn't seem too strenuous but after 4 weeks, I can definitely see an improvement in my strength. I went from being unable to do any lady's pushups to being able to do 30.
Dislikes - not many, really. My one beef is having to constantly refer back to the book and flip back and forth between pages on a daily basis i.e. - refering back to serving sizes, charts illustrating # of servings per food group, exercises for the week and pictures of exercises. I'm learning that this seems to be pretty standard for most diet books but it's still rather annoying.

Stats for the No-Fail Diet
Weight - lost 4 lbs
Bust - lost .75"
Waist - lost 1.5"
Hips - lost .5"
BMI - was 35.22 now - 34.47

Would I recommend this diet? Yes. It's healthy and doable!
My next diet is the Flat Belly Diet! by Liz Vaccariello with Cynthia Sass.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The No-Fail diet - Making it through the holidays!

As of December 23rd, I was down 6 lbs. I lost more weight in the 10 days that followed the 2 week "jump-start" portion of the diet which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. However, I'll take whatever weight loss I can get. The last week of December has been a real struggle. December 23rd - work Christmas party, December 25th - family dinner on Christmas day along with ample temptations of chocolate all over the house, December 26th and 27th - difficult to get back into the swing of dieting, December 28th - behaved myself, December 29th - into the chocolates again. I'm hoping my weight loss for January will be the 6 lbs I had taken off as of December 23rd. I'll be pretty happy with that, all things considering!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The No-Fail Diet - Phase 1 results

I've lost 3lbs in 2 weeks on The No-Fail Diet. I was pretty disappointed when I weighed myself yesterday. 3lbs didn't seem like much of a "jump start". I was hoping for a 5 or 6lb weight loss and after moping all day, I caved and ate another ice-cream bar. I didn't even try to convince myself that it counted as a dairy portion.
This morning I woke up and decided to have a different attitute. With the holidays here, most people by the second week of December have gained 3lbs. I fortunately have lost 3lbs. So the struggle continues. I am going to stick with this diet until the end of December. I'll keep you posted!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Yesterday I reached that crazy point. I convinced myself that a Breyers triple chocolate Klondike Bar is in fact a dairy portion. Boy was it good! I don't know why I watch cooking shows when I'm hungry. I'm just asking for punishment. New rule - will only watch such TV shows on a full stomach. I'm back on track today. Nothing like substituting spaghetti with spaghetti squash! Check in on Monday to find out how much weight I've lost on Phase 1-Jump Start on The No-Fail Diet by Leslie Beck.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The No-Fail Diet - Leslie Beck, RD

My first diet choice is The No-Fail Diet by Leslie Beck, RD. This diet has no gimmicks. It’s just common sense. Lots of fruit, vegetables, carbs low on the glycemic index, low fat protein and dairy products. There are four steps to the diet – eat every 3-4 hours, have protein at every meal, watch your portion sizes, and use a food journal to track your food intake.
There are 3 phases to the diet. Phase 1 – jump start your weight loss with fewer carbs. Phase 2 – here you will be until you lose all the weight you wish to. Phase 3 – maintenance.
Exercise includes 4 cardio and 3 strength training workouts per week. I’m not really sure how effective the workouts are. They are far from strenuous. I suppose time will tell.
I’ve been on the diet for 1 week and have not weighed myself since day 1. I'm going to weigh myself once I've been on the diet for 2 weeks. If I don’t see weight loss a couple of days in a row, I become easily unmotivated. Wish me luck!

Monday, December 7, 2009

I suffer from Diet Surplus Disorder!

Yes, I suffer from DSD (Diet Surplus Disorder) or at least that's what I like to call it. Too many diets to choose from...South Beach, Weight Watchers, Atkins, The Grapefruit diet, etc., etc., etc.,. One of my issues with sticking to a diet is that I get bored within a few weeks. So, I have decided to try a new approach. I am going to stick with a diet until I find I'm trying to convince myself that ice cream counts as a dairy portion and then I am going to move onto a new diet. During this torture...I mean process, I'm going to review the diet regularly and give updates on my progress. If anyone would like to join me or has any pointers or words of encouragement, I'd love the support! I have a fair amount of weight to lose (60lbs +) so I'll be on quite a few diets, I'm sure! Here is my selection of diets...

The No-Fail Diet, Leslie Beck, RD
The Flat Belly Diet, Cynthia Sass & Liz Vaccariello
The Beck Diet Solution, Judith Beck
The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start, Cheryl Forberg
The Eat Clean Diet, Tosca Reno
The Devil’s Diet, Anita Lover
The Maker’s Diet, Jordan Rubin (I thought I’d select this diet just in case I need to repent for any sins committed while being on the Devil’s diet)
So You Think You’re Fat & Ugly Diet, Donald Wayne Eaker (Can you tell that my weight has done a number on my self-esteem?)
YOU: On a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz
Joy's Life Diet, Joy Bauer

Diet selections are likely to be added and/or changed due to the availability of books or due to crazy anecdotes required by the authors. (i.e.-I will not eat wheatgrass or wrap myself in plastic wrap for weeks - Well, I might consider a few days.)