whats the best diet you've been on?

[Marshmellow]

Considering a diet and am rather confused by all the different types. Slimming world, weight watchers etc etc, whats the best? whats the one that doesn't feel like a diet but is effective?

clubbing 3-4 times a week

having an 18 month old. Blimey that uses energy I did not know I have, keeps the pounds off!

Best diet I've found is from a book called The China Study. It's about how Western diet, (ie - animal-based), is causing most of the serious, life-threatening diseases in Western society. Read the book and switched to a plant-based diet. Not all the time, but most of the time and especially at home. Ate thoughtfully when in a restaurant, but not strictly vegetarian or vegan. If I wanted animal products then I had them in small portions, but mostly at home I didn't want them.

Long story sort of short, since August I've lost 2 stone and kept it off. DH lost 2 belt holes and kept it off. I don't feel like I'm on a diet as it's a life-style change so I don't feel any cravings. I'm not depriving myself of anything, I'm just making different choices because I want to, not because someone else or some counter is telling me to. It's very easy to maintain.

Look into the book and see if some of the information makes sense.

Read a book called "French Women Don't Get Fat" - it's all about how learning to really enjoy your food and stop worrying about it. It's about reconnecting food with hunger rather than habit, and reading it was a real wake-up call for me (ignore the daft bit about the leek soup detox at the beginning).
Also, a book called the Diet Survivors Guide (or similar) was helpful as a follow up - had many of the same messages. Neither book is perfect - the first is a bit too prescriptive and the second is a bit too right on, but the message is the same - eat exactly what you want, when you are hungry and stop eating when you're satisfied, rather than clearing your plate or having seconds out of habit.
After reading these books I vowed never to diet again and instead just eat whatever I really crave - if I want pizza or choc I eat them - not a low fat or low sugar version, but I also often crave fruit, bread etc.
By reconnecting my eating with the natural feelings of hunger and satiety I lost 15lb in a month and then another 5lb over the next two months without feeling like I was trying. I'd hoped to lose more, but felt that as I was now eating in a normal sustainable way rather than restricting myself it made more sense not to cave and starve myself for the sake of 10lb. It was the right decision. Six months later I was exactly the same weight and it's only since I became pregnant that I've put on weight again - 9lb at the half way mark, which is pretty normal.
The concept of giving up dieting was a hard one to grasp at first, but it made me happier about food than I have been for years.
If you want to count points on Weightwatchers or do food combining on Slimwatchers go for it, but I guarantee it won't work permanently (have so been there...)

Rosemary Conley... is just a case of eating healthily - ie low fat (anything below 5% fat) and calorie-counting. Has made me very aware of how much I eat, and I've altered the way I cook - hardly with any fat.

If you go to the classes, you do an exercise session too, which helps the weight loss and gets you fit. More productive than sitting around talking about food! Also, you can carry on going when you've lost your weight, when you're on "maintenance".

I don't work for them, honestly! Just sooo glad I joined.

If you have personal will power, buy a calorie counter book and do it yourself. i lost 1 stone in 1 month doing that and it was dead easy (re-educating myself that 1 pork pie = 1 huge whole plate of fish & veg plus some chocolate). Haven't ever been to any slimming clubs, so can't comment on which are best. Can appreciate that they work well if you need weekly applause for doing well/humiliation for not doing well. might be off to one of those soon myself.

GI
lifestyle change not a diet
Has been super for us

10/10

See relevant thread.

If you eat 10 portions of fruit & veg a day, you don;t have much room for anything else.

But you can eat chocolate. And cake, if you like.

Weight Watcher - Core Plan (not points system which is mega faffy). SO SIMPLE and easy lifestyle change.

My BF has lost 2 1/2 stone in 3 months and I lost 10lb in 6 weeks.

Should add, Rosemary Conley diet is now low GI too; I joined before that idea came out, but newcomers swear it is very easy.

Message withdrawn

GI diet worked a treat for me - plus sorted out my fertility! Avoiding sugar highs (including from refined carbs e.g. pasta, white bread) stops the insulin interfering with oestrogen or something... Agree with previous posters as it was a lifestyle adjustment so didn't feel like a diet as I wasn't hungry.

I agree with MinkVelvet but if you need the motivation & help with balancing your food intake, Weight Watchers is the best.

Healthy eating and exercise

I liked the Food Doctor diet, lots of chick peas and seeds. Think it's based on the GI diet. The only downside is that it's expensive to buy all the stuff at the beginning.

I lost weight on Weight Watchers but it doesn't really enforce good habits, e.g. "hmmm shall I eat lunch and dinner or just have a huge piece of cake?"

Weight Watchers diet, where you do the counting, is the only diet that I have been on which has been consistenty successful. I have never been to classes though. I do it myself at home. About to start counting again, been a while and let things slip.

I can't do low carb diets at all - I just end up getting bad shakes.

And I like the freedom to be able to choose my food and to be able to drink still as well.

having a bad tummy bug! i lost a stone and a half when i had one a few years ago. unfortunately its not stayed off. !!

Running has helped me hugely. I can eat quite a bit and not get bigger. My waist and belly seem to stay slim. But having found that low carb works for me I use my own version of Atkins induction if I feel that eating is getting out of hand. I tend to try and eating a low-GIish sort of diet generally.

low carb really works

Prozac.

Yes, low or even no carb does work but it's torture, especially at the beginning & then you have to be super careful about introducing carbs again. Very easy to gain everything back & more besides.

That's what everyone says cariboo, but having eaten low-carb on and off for about 3 years I've found that isn't the case. I can have quite a bit of flexibity without problems.

I agree once you have done the horrendous induction which I am doing atm you can be fairly flexible but do have to stay low carb to maintain.I find i look better on it too my skin eyes etc seem more alive whereas just cutting calories is knackering ime.

i am on the cambridge diet which is a very low calorie diet with low carbs. between 24 sept and 13 december i lost 3 stone and 3 lbs and i am now continuing post christmas. the only hard bit is going without carbs at the beginning and then i found it great. i have another 3 stone to lose so think if you have a long way to go then this sort of thing is really good. it also changes the way you think about food. lighter life is similar but in group sessions with cognitive behavioural therapy thrown in (but at twice the cost of doing cambridge).