Liz 's Blog: So, here's a little list for you: 3 Diets I've Tried

2) The Diet Solution
    by Isabel de los Rios

The Diet Solution is like the Holy Grail of diets to me....it's super healthy, focused on organic, whole foods in perfect combinations of protein, carbs, and fat...but it is completely depressing and boring.  All right, I suppose I'm being dramatic.  I'll start at the very beginning (a very good place to start): after you purchase and download the e-book, you can carefully read the whole thing, or like me, you can skip to the end and take the 25 question quiz to determine your metabolic type.  You will find that you are either a Protein (like my mother-in-law), a Carbohydrate (like me the first time I did the diet) or a Mixed (like me the *second* time I tried the diet).  After you know your type you find your activity level and do some calculation-y type things to find out what calorie category you fall in.  Next you look at a chart to see what your allowances are for each of your 5 meals every day.  For example, Protein types get something like 3 proteins and 1 carb for breakfast...which is equivalent to 2 eggs, a piece of bacon, and a piece of (dry-yuck, but how do I *really* feel about it?) sprouted grain toast.  The other piece to this is that Protein types and Carbohydrate types have different recommended foods.  Protein types should have dark meat poultry and Carbohydrate types should have light meat poultry; Protein types shouldn't have buffalo, but Carb types can (where can you get buffalo anyway?); Carb types should avoid carrots, bananas, and all varieties of beans while the Proteins can have all of those but should refrain from partaking in elderberries, figs,and potatoes.  Obviously, the lists are much more extensive and the whole recommendation/avoid list thing always seemed really random to me.  I'm sure there is some science behind it...or not...    So, my main problem with this diet is that there is hardly any fat in it at all!  I think I was allowed one fat at lunch and one at dinner.  One fat is equivalent to one teaspoon of olive oil, coconut oil, or flax oil...not even butter was on the list.  I'm sorry, but just don't bother me with one teaspoon of oil...please, what's the point?  As you can see, I'm not the best dieter....   The best part about this diet is that the first time I did it and was totall committed I didn't really have a desire for sweets (totally a foreign concept for me....my mouth is full of sweet teeth) and my brain always felt sharp, but getting to that place was not easy!

In a Nut Shell:
Simplicity of Diet: Getting started is a little confusing if you don't like figuring stuff out, but once you are in it you can just eat the same stuff over and over (and over blah) so that's pretty easy!
Variety of Food Choices: Not great unless you are already a pretty healthy eater and avoid fat and sweet treats (I used to be there and that's when starting this diet was easiest)
Daily Time/Preparation Required: No more than just "regular" eating...but you do have to eat five times a day, which I guess can be tricky and more time consuming if you are on the go all the time
Long Term Use: Fine if you like eating the same things over and over (and over blah), not so great if you like trying new things all the time


3) The Idiot Proof Diet
    Google it, you'll get lots of hits and lots of sites to buy it from

The Idiot Proof Diet promises that you will lose 9 pounds in 11 days.  Let me start by saying I don't generally fall for the gimmicky diets (gimmicky gadgets are another story entirely...I'm a total sucker for gadgets!), but I learned about this from a trusted source (Chet Day, a guy who is passionate about health and natural-type stuff), then I Googled it and, back when I got it a couple years ago, didn't find any negative reviews on it.  The basis of the Idiot Proof Diet is "calorie shifting", a theory that says a person's metabolism burns calories based on past eating habits and that it assumes these habits will stay the same and if people eat different types of calories everyday they will trick their body's metabolism into burning all the calories they consume."  I don't know if this theory is legit, but at the time, the vain and impatient side of me didn't care!  If I could lose 9 pounds in 11 days, I couldn't see a problem!  What you get when you buy the Idiot Proof Diet is access to (among other barely noteworthy things) an Online Diet Generator.  Load up the generator, pick 7 to 15 food items from two different categories (protien, carbs in the form of fruits and veg), then click "Generate Menu".  In seconds you will have 11 days worth of "menus".  I say "menus" in quotes because there are some super weird combos...think chicken, milk, and oatmeal in one meal...huh?  The rules of the diet are that you eat as much as you want until you are satisfied but not full, you can eat the meals in any order, and that you don't have to eat each item in every meal (so, really, you could have a bowl of oatmeal with milk...totally normal!)  So anyway, you eat like this for 11 days then eat whatever you want for three days.  The first time I did this diet, I absolutely loved it.  It was no problem to pass up birthday cake or what have you because I knew the days of deprivation were limited....no problem!  I actually stuck with this diet for a long time....big mistake!  After a few rounds (about 2 - 3 months) I got really down and in a funk...depressed, even.  One of my best friends even mentioned that it seemed like my spark was gone (and I'm a pretty sparky person by nature!)  Well, lo and behold, when I looked the diet up recently I saw a few disclaimers that were definitely *not* there when I did it a couple years ago: "not good for long term use" and "the diet is low in nutrient density and people who stick with the plan are in danger of becoming nutrient deficient."  Oops!! 

In a Nut Shell:
Simplicity of Diet: Pretty darn simple....just eat some weird combos (like pinto beans and peanuts...I don't know how they come up with this stuff!)
Variety of Food Choices:  Not bad, even if the combos are a little odd (how can I complain when frozen yogurt is one of the options?)
Daily Time/Preparation Required: Negligible...just the same amount of time it would take to eat any other food....no special recipes or complicated or exotic foods
Long Term Use: Not recommended unless you are already kind of a downer....  totally kidding!!!  Don't stay on this one for too long!


 

So there you have it...a small sampling of diets or eating plans or whatever you want to call them that I've used in the past couple years. They all have their merits and their flaws like anything else in life.  Regardless of what plan you choose to use...whether it's is one of the above or one of the many many other diets/eating plans/lifestyle changes/whatevers out there, you must remember the following (look out, here comes another list...it's small, but it *is* numbered after all!):

1) Use common sense - if it seems to good to be true, it probably is!  A person can't realistically and healthily lose 9 pounds every 11 days for the rest of his or her life!

2) Consistency is key - when you find a safe and sound diet that is compatible with your personality and makes you feel good, you've got to stick with it.  Don't do what I have found myself doing in the past, which is get complacent as soon as you start to see results.  Remember your goal, and keep charging towards it!

3) Don't beat yourself up if you find you have strayed from your plan - just start again ASAP.... make sure the next food decision you make is one that will support your effort for a thin and healthy you!


I'd love to hear about any diets or eating plans that have worked (or not) for any one that may be reading this!  Give me some info, and I'll give your diet a try!!