The “Salad Only” Diet That Made Me Gain 15 Pounds More Instead Of Losing Them!

March 312008

I have been overweight since I turned 10 years old; eating Mexican food three times a day will do that to a person. I’ve also been dieting since I was about 14 years old.

In that time I’ve experimented with many diets; some of them worked and others failed horribly. One of my failed diets actually consisted of eating salads twice per day and working out for 30 minutes five times per week.

The reason that this diet failed is because the salads I was consuming were more filled with fat than the normal kinds of foods that I usually ate. While on that diet I’d put chicken and beef into most of my salads and then add low-fat dressing, however the calorie amount per salad was usually over 600. Since I was working out only 30 minutes per day running on the treadmill I was only burning up about 120 calories, thus making me gain weight instead of losing it.

When I started this diet I weighed 172 pounds and when I finally ended it after 2 months I weighed 15 pounds more. Doing this diet has taught me that just because you’re eating salads everyday, doesn’t mean that you’re eating healthy enough to lose weight. I was always getting the right amount of nutrients in my body, but there was a lot of fat going in as well.

As a person whose probably tried most of the diets out there, my recommendation is using the Medifast program. Instead of continuing to fail miserably, try something that really works AND is healthy. It’s hard to always find a combination of the two…you can lose weight and still not be healthy or eating properly.

The Medifast diet is the perfect balance.

I Am A Sugar Addict

March 302008

 

I am a sugar addict. There I admit it. Admission is the first step towards dealing with any addiction.

While many people look to diets to lose weight, for those with a sweet tooth, simply eliminating sweets from your diet can be a major step towards weight loss.

I decided to go cold turkey and was warned about the difficulties. Going cold turkey all depends on keeping it up for long enough to quell the definite withdrawal symptoms you’ll feel - and believe me, you’ll feel them!

Sugar creates a fast rush in the bloodstream that a person gets addicted to, it also triggers the release of other addictive chemicals in your body. But it’s not just chemical, there is also a definite psychological addiction for people who use sugar to comfort themselves. Whenever I feel depressed the first thing I crave is cake.

But, I decided to try it and prepared for the worst. I threw out all sugar, cakes and candies in the house and I made sure not to go out to any restaurants or cafes where I knew sugar was lurking.

The first days were agony, it was a physical pain. I kept a diary and noted that it was seven long, long days before I didn’t feel those terrible sugar cravings. But once I reached the first week, I actually found myself a little sickened at the thought of sugar.

Each day I felt my resolve grow and the cravings diminish. I soon found I had more energy, turned to healthier foods that actually sustained me through the day, and gasp, I started to lose weight.

But for this tale there is no happy ending. About six weeks into my sugarless diet I went to a friend’s for dinner and they offered me a taste of the cake they’d baked. I thought, what can one little bite hurt? One bite, turned to two, and soon an entire piece. Before a week had passed I was back to the same sugar intake I’d had before I started.

Sigh, but where there is fat there is hope, hope to lose those pounds. I decided to turn to the Medifast diet.  The Medifast program seems about the best solution I’ve seen or tried.  It’s just different and you still get to eat good.

If you’ve had failures with your food addictions like me, try the Medifast diet program.  I’m pretty sure you’ll find it’s better than the other diets and methods you’ve tried.

Diet Gone Wrong!

March 292008

I have tried many “fad” diets in my lifetime. I have tried everything from the lemonade diet to a raw food diet and cereal diets. They all work for a few days until I get bored and miss eating my regular food.

I would have to say that the worst diet I have done is the grapefruit diet. This diet consisted of eating just grapefruits. That’s all. Sure, you lose weight on this diet, but it is extremely unhealthy and  it left me feeling hungry and weak!

I stuck to the grapefruit diet for a few days and lost a few pounds, but eventually I cracked and ate normal food. The worst part was the binge eating that came with the end of the grapefruit diet.

Those days of suffering to lose a few pounds all went to waste when I couldn’t stop myself from eating everything in sight afterwards. So not only did I gain all the weight I had lost on the diet, I gained some extra pounds along with it! The grapefruit diet was, by far, a failure and a waste of time.

I decided to try the Medifast program and it’s much healthier.  You don’t have to starve  yourself and you don’t get bored with the food because of the Medifast recipes.  If you have gone through the same things as me, I would suggest the Medifast diet program.  It’s so much better, healthier and you get results.

Will I ever stay on track?

March 282008

My experiences with a failed diet. Lets see, I have been on Weight Watchers, South Beach and a bunch of other “Fad” diets. The main problem with them is that our world does not let us eat healthy. Yes I can grab a salad instead of a Big Mac, but in all honesty it is faster to eat than a salad on the go.

Also you would think with health care costs on the rise - I think that our government should not make healthy food so expensive, we all don’t make millions a year. I try to buy fruits and veggies, but come on - we all know what it’s like to eat healthy. It is easier to grab something on the go or in a box rather than take it, clean it, peel it and then eat it. And then you have the processed foods and the high sodium.

When I do fail a diet, I feel more like a loser than when I was losing weight. It really takes a toll on you. I beat myself up over these diets all time. And you have those people that are size 2 staring you in the face.

Frustrated with failing all these diets, I saw a Medifast review and decided to check it out. If you’ve failed diets too, try Medifast. It’s different and more successful.

Now I pretty much eat what I want to eat. And guess what I am very happy, not wondering what I can and can not eat.