The most successful diet?

[lighterflyer]

I wonder if it would be possible to produce an analysis with a graph depicting which diet has been the most successful out of all the followers and contributors to this forum???? I started the 5:2 but didn’t stick with it. Before Easter and before lockdown, I lost half a stone on the Easter challenge just by giving up alcohol for 40 days. I put it all back on after Easter. I’m now thinking of following lchf but feel confused by all the different diets. A success chart of the various diets would be useful but I guess it would have to include percentages for how many people chose which diet. Complicated.

[Subtle_badger]

It's impossible to get what you want, because most people who stay here are going to be successful. If they are putting in the effort to be here, then they will be putting in a similar effort with weight loss, doubling down or changing up to make it work.

So your study will miss all the people who just gave up.

For me, there is no need to study. I am a study with one participant, and I have effectively done my own crossover trial.

Broadly the options are: low fat, calorie counting, fasting and low carb.

I got obese on low fat.

I tried calorie counting for 3 weeks. I found it onerous, I was hungry all the time, and I didn't lose weight. So to lose weight I was going to have to eat even less, and to keep it off I was going to have to weigh, measure and restrict food for the rest of my life. I did not think that was possible.

I have successfully combined the last two, starting by following Michael Mosley's Fast800. It's been suggested I would have had similar results without the fasting, but I am not going to argue with success. And fasting is a good weapon to have in my armoury for when I need to pull myself back into line (eg I can enjoy Christmas fully)

[BigRedDBA in reply to Subtle_badger]

It would be good if badges could be added to signify which diet people are following. I notice if I hover over the weight badge I see a hidden badge with my startdate, if a diet strategy was also shown it would be great, it would at least help people reply to posts in an appropriate manner.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to BigRedDBA]

I don't think so BigRedDBA.

For a start, we already have 109 badges that are changed as necessary, every day and there's a limit to what a handful of volunteers can do.

People sometimes start with one plan and move onto another, or combine/tweak different plans to get the right fit, so how would that work with badges? Half a dozen extras each?

The problem with mainstream advice, is that everyone is taught from the same book, so very few challenge it and the advice is treated as the gospel truth and rigidly stuck to, regardless of changing evidence. The beauty of the internet is that there's an eclectic mix of experience and advice, which enables us to make more informed choices. By only offering advice already heard/believed, we deny the opportunity for new learning.

[BigRedDBA in reply to moreless]

Ok, didn't want to create more work for you. Maybe people could update their profiles to describe what they are doing, entirely voluntary of course, and no extra load on the Admins.

[lighterflyer in reply to Subtle_badger]

Interesting. Thank you.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Until you stop thinking 'diet' and start thinking healthy lifestyle change, you will continue to have the same result. Find something that YOU can stick to (it doesn't matter what works for anyone else) and follow it for the rest of your life.

I, personally, found LCHF the best for me because:

1. I wasn't hungry

2. It stopped the cravings

3. The food was tasty

4. It was sustainable

You might find that joining in regularly on the forum would help too. Practice makes perfect when it comes to navigation

[stillaboveground in reply to moreless]

What is LCHF please.

[Subtle_badger in reply to stillaboveground]

Low carb, high fat.

You might find this helpful

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh....

[stillaboveground in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thank you for your reply. Stay safe.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to stillaboveground]

Low Carbohydrate High Fat. There's plenty of information here about it and even more on this forum healthunlocked.com/lchf-diet

[stillaboveground in reply to moreless]

Thank you for your reply. Stay safe.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to stillaboveground]

Sorry, stillaboveground, it's just occurred to me that you're new here and I failed to welcome you!!

Hi and welcome, stillaboveground

All of the information you need about the forum can be found in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and I hope you'll be joining all the Events, Challenges and Clubs that we run, especially a weigh-in and the daily diary.

We've found active participation to be key to successful weight loss and, of course, it's a good way to get to know people, find inspiration and share support and encouragement.

Wishing you all the best

[stillaboveground in reply to moreless]

Hi moreless, thank you for your very thoughtful reply. I have been on the forum for a few months, but I have not always followed what I needed to follow. I had a few health problems which resulted in an Heart attack 13 month's ago, not too serious thank goodness. I had a gall bladder operation in March this year just before lockdown, now I realize that my diet is appalling and my exercise regime seems to be non existent, and I must address this with the help and encouragement of the British Heart Foundation. There are some great people on this forum and they have helped me with advice and encouragement in the past few months. I am following a few more programs on this site in the hope it will help me. What I really need is a kick up the rear end. Take care. Ruth

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to stillaboveground]

I wonder if you've read any of the work by Dr Aseem Malhotra? He's an eminent British Cardiologist and one of many that also promotes a lchf way of eating. Have a look at this phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

[stillaboveground in reply to moreless]

Hi moreless, I have clicked on and had a quick peek at it and I will have a prper read when I have time later today. Thank you for your support. Ruth

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to stillaboveground]

You're very welcome

[lighterflyer in reply to moreless]

Thank you. I will try to think “lifestyle” instead of “diet”.

[Hidden]

Picking something which works for you and ultimately is sustainable over the long term is what's important, lighterflyer . For me it was cutting down portion sizes using calorie control, because for me, other diets which cut out certain foods are too restrictive. One thing I think that that everyone is sure of here though is that sugar is the devil, it's addictive and should only be for rare treats. Sugar addiction is the reason we develop cravings. The other thing is the importance of cooking from scratch, no ultra-processed or refined foods, no fast foods or ready meals.

You will hear lots of people extolling the virtues of their chosen path because it has worked for them, but as I said at the start, it's what works for you.

[lighterflyer in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for this helpful reply.

[SofaJockey]

The trick is to find something that works for you.

I've shifted ~8 stones on LCHF when low fat / calorie counting failed me, but I too am a sample of one.

[Jeffer262]

Hi lighterflyer, I've yo yo'd with my weight for many years having tried SW, WW, calorie counting, Rosemary Conley (I know it's Rosemary someone lol) and various intermittent fasting diets but always seem to give up and put on more weight than I started with.

This time round and hopefully my last time round, I have found that I can just watch what I eat, eat more fruit and vegetables, cut my sugar down (sugar is the devil!), cut my portion sizes but not restrict myself too far then I will succeed - especially with the help of this group. I am on a lot of medication some of which also put on weight and increase appetite which doesn't help

I am also moving more which in itself is a miracle, can't wait to go swimming again but just waiting a while.

I have a lot to lose (9st currently 19st 5lb) but also have an impending operation on my neck and feel if I lose weight it will help with my op too. Maybe a lil too late for the op but we don't know what the waiting lists are like now even though I've gone private.

[lighterflyer in reply to Jeffer262]

Thank you for your insight.

[MintTeaMascara Healthy BMI]

Hiya.

That's interesting.

I was struggling with the same confusions for a long time and found this helpful healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Might be worth checking out.

Someone mentioned they were disheartened that LCHF wasn't mentioned but I think it'd be just as effective if not the same in place of the recommendation for the low GI diet 🤷🏼‍♀️

I came out as a 'constant craver' and have since cut back on food 2 days a week. I'm also trying to notice my thought patterns and feelings I have associated with food and am learning to be kind to myself around food.

This is working really well for me so far. Wishing you all the best in finding what works for you x

[lighterflyer in reply to MintTeaMascara]

THANK YOU that’s useful to know.

[MintTeaMascara Healthy BMI in reply to lighterflyer]

You're welcome 😊

[Subtle_badger in reply to MintTeaMascara]

A low GI diet has little to do with a low carb diet. Even slow release carbs will keep insulin in circulation. When insulin is in your blood stream, you are not burning fat. The diets are nothing alike. Low carbs means you have little insulin most of the time. Slow release carbs means you have insulin most of the time.

I have lost around 11lb in the last 3 months, while my weight loss has really slowed down from it's peak on low carb, because I was below all my target weights and below my normal BMI at the start. If you have only lost 7 or 10 lb in 3 months while you have been overweight, that doesn't seem to justify sharing this flawed quiz.

[MintTeaMascara Healthy BMI in reply to Subtle_badger]

They recommend the GI diet to the catogory of people they define as 'feasters' (a group of people who don't produce enough of a hormone that sends the messages to the brain that they are full). I'm curious to know whether a LCHF diet would work just as well in that scenario as the GI one would.

There's flaws in absolutely everything if you look hard enough.

Hey, congratulations on your weight loss by the way 😊

[Subtle_badger in reply to MintTeaMascara]

That's not good enough.

Your weight loss is minimal. How can you recommend your approach to random strangers on the basis of what I see here?

This makes me seem like a bitch, but I don't want to undermine lighterflyer from the get-go, and I don't know how to balance those goals.

Maybe TeamAdmin can sort this out for me.

[MintTeaMascara Healthy BMI in reply to Subtle_badger]

Subtle sweet, re-read my post. Hopefully, you'll see I'm not recommending any approach.

[TeamAdmin Administrator in reply to Subtle_badger]

MintTeaMascara 's reply here is just making a suggestion, as are all the other replies. lighterflyer will be able to read through the replies and make her own decision about the road she wishes to take.

[Subtle_badger in reply to TeamAdmin]

Yeah, I crossed the line there.

Sorry MintTeaMascara

[MintTeaMascara Healthy BMI in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thanks. No worries.

[lighterflyer]

So grateful to everyone for their views, advice and good wishes. THANK YOU.