Need to lose 20 pounds according to dr.

WendyK

Hi all, I had my annual exam this morning and weighed 170 ( I am 5 ft 7). My Dr. wants me to lose at least 20 pounds. He encouraged me to use a high protein diet. The only ones I know are Atkins (no way), or South Beach. Any thougts?

MelandJeff

Well, you could just watch what you eat, limit carbs, decrease calories and increase your protein intake. No reason to do a particular low carb/high protein diet.

Weight Watchers is the best one that I know of, I love it.

summerbrideDC

Did he actually recommend Atkins or South Beach? ?Perhaps he just wants you to get more protein in general? ?I would be very wary of any doctor who actually recommended one of those fad diets to their patients.

goodheartedmommy

I'm an inch taller, but weighed 180. I'm down to 150-155, depending on the day! I lost the weight by just limiting portions. I didn't go hungry, but I trained my stomach to not be able to eat any more than I needed. If I overeat, I feel very sick now. I lost the weight in just a little over 2 months, really.

WendyK

No he actually told me to try South Beach. I am weird I might be 170 but have tons of muscle mass due to exercise, the nurse actually could not believe my weight and made me weigh twice this morning. I wear and 8-10.

Mrs.JLC

Diabetes runs in my family and I started having some issues with my blood sugar before I had DD. My Dad swore by South Beach to control his blood sugar. I dropped 16lbs in the first week and didn't feel hungry but was a wee bit irritable. I was a carbaholic though. My doc said I only needed to lose 10-15 lbs so it worked a bit too well for me. I now loosely follow the diet and excercise a ton (triathlons) to control my weight and blood sugar. The high protein diet is good for my blood sugar and my training. It just helped me jump start healthier eating habits.

WendyK

good, can you give me more information. Here is what I typically eat:

Breakfast-Oatmeal

lunch-sandwich, fruit, yogurt

snack-fiber bar

dinner-This is what gets me in to trouble...really varies..

WendyK

Awesome advice ladies!!

snickerdoodle27

I did south beach once and liked it. I lost weight quick too. There's a book which is a great reference tool, and recipes in there as well. After #2 is born, I think I'm doing it again too. I never felt hungry on that plan. You don't eat many carbs at all for the first 2 weeks. Then you gradually reintroduce healthy complex carbs (not simple ones like sugar and flour).

EliseB0323

High protein/low carb diets are especially helpful for people who are diabetic, have insulin resistance, or PCOS or are more than 50 pounds overweight. If you have one of these conditions, Atkins or South Beach could work well for you.

The most effective "diet" for the majority of people are those that focus on fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and "good" fats like olive oil. Weight Watchers is considered one of the best weight loss programs because it teaches you how to eat properly. What I don't like about Weight Watchers is that they advocate using their own foods, which I don't think are as healthy as other alternatives. For example, they have their own ice cream and snack chips, which are lower in points than other snacks, but obviously not as healthy as say eating fruit.

kittycarr

goodheartedmommy:

I'm an inch taller, but weighed 180. I'm down to 150-155, depending on the day! I lost the weight by just limiting portions. I didn't go hungry, but I trained my stomach to not be able to eat any more than I needed. If I overeat, I feel very sick now. I lost the weight in just a little over 2 months, really.

Ditto!  Patrick and I will ocassionally take the kids to McD on Fridays and this past Friday I ate Big Mac (13pts).  It felt so good at the moment but an hour later, I wanted to throw it up...voluntarily.  Sunday, made the WW blue cheese chicken burgers.  They were so good and I was so hungry (6pts each by the way) that I ate two.  MISTAKE!

Learned twice, wont' do that again.

WendyK

I do have a few small health issues which I rather not go into detail. I totally agree about weight watchers! I don't like their food, but love the points system. Did it a few years ago with a friend who is very obese, lost a few pounds but it was not my thing (I was also only 145).

Mrs.JLC

WendyK:

No he actually told me to try South Beach. I am weird I might be 170 but have tons of muscle mass due to exercise, the nurse actually could not believe my weight and made me weigh twice this morning. I wear and 8-10.

 

Did they check your BMI then because I would say that you do NOT need to loose weight if you are a size 8/10 but that's just a guess. I am 5'2", a size 4 on the bottom and XL (thanks to the Fs) on top. I weigh about 125lbs. You'd never know it to look at me though. I have a lot of lean muscle due to my training. I was actually up to 132lbs at one point and my Dr was concerned until he took my BMI. Muscle weighs more than fat.

 

ETA: I am actually trying to put on more muscle now. I was on bed rest with DD and lost quite a bit of muscle. Wanted to lose my baby belly first and get my cardio back. During winter I hope to add more lean muscle. (Low weight, lots of reps so I don't look bulky).

WendyK

No they did not check my bmi but I could lose 20 pounds.

shopgirl_07

WW isn't a diet, it's a way of life. It's pretty simple, eat smaller portions and make healthier choices.

I've used WW and I've never eaten any of their meals, it's not about that. I don't like processed food. I think you might have the wrong impression.

WendyK

shopgirl, I know people rave about ww, it just honestly isn't my thing. Don't like the meetings (honestly the one's I went to were horrible!). I was in a different place when I did go, only needed to lose 5-10 pounds so who knows maybe I would like the online version.

EliseB0323

shopgirl_07:

WW isn't a diet, it's a way of life. It's pretty simple, eat smaller portions and make healthier choices.

I've used WW and I've never eaten any of their meals, it's not about that. I don't like processed food. I think you might have the wrong impression.

Of course you don't HAVE to eat their food. I just noticed when I want to meetings, I was bombarded with it. It was like "eat our chips for 1 point, not regular chips." How about just cutting down on the chips and having an apple instead?

I like the WW program. I just didn't like the "delivery" if that makes sense.

EliseB0323

shopgirl_07:

WW isn't a diet, it's a way of life. It's pretty simple, eat smaller portions and make healthier choices.

I've used WW and I've never eaten any of their meals, it's not about that. I don't like processed food. I think you might have the wrong impression.

Of course you don't HAVE to eat their food. I just noticed when I want to meetings, I was bombarded with it. It was like "eat our chips for 1 point, not regular chips." How about just cutting down on the chips and having an apple instead?

I like the WW program. I just didn't like the "delivery" if that makes sense.

WendyK

And that was the reason I did not like meetings. In all fairness, I think some meetings are worse than others. I was the victim of little old lady meetings, no one was my age.

shopgirl_07

I understand. I've actually never gone to their meetings, I've only done it online. I think I would hate meetings too.

 

Zenya

I would run screaming from a doctor who recommended SB or Atkins!

EliseB0323

Zenya:

I would run screaming from a doctor who recommended SB or Atkins!

Interesting. A lot of endocrinologists recommend South Beach for diabetics and people with insulin resistance and PCOS. I think the American Diabetes Association recommends it too.