Ugh. Is this what a diet feels like?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m female and 26, and have gotten this far in life without ever going on a diet. For one thing, I like food. For a second thing, I dislike discomfort. For a third thing, I believe all those people who say that diets are just a way to gain weight in the long run.

Yesterday, though, I tried to diet for the first time. So, I followed Slim-Fast’s plan, which you can see on their website.

I got a headache. Right in the center of my forehead.
I felt tired. Usually I can’t wait till it’s time for the exercise bike–yesterday I couldn’t even sit up straight on the sofa.
My stomach hurt. Not hunger rumblings, but more like a steady, unceasing cramp.

When I went to bed, I lay awake for three hours, both too tired and sleepy to read or get up and do some work, but too uncomfortable to drift off. Finally, at 2 am, I ate half a sandwich and went back to bed and fell asleep.

This morning, I woke up feeling really sick. Still tired, still with a stomach cramp, still with a headache. I thought, screw it. If this is fitting into a smaller size, it isn’t worth it.

All day, I’ve been trying to eat normally, but my stomach won’t uncramp, so I can’t tell if I’m hungry or full or what–the end result is that I’ve probably eaten less today than I usually do.

Um, is this what a diet is supposed to feel like?

2

I have not looked at the website, but this sounds wrong to me.
You might try checking out Perricone’s books and eating plans instead. They are low in carbs and low glycemic, but high in protein, and also allow afternoon and bedtime snacks. This will keep away the awful feeling of hunger pangs and the need to gnaw.
I tried it for about a month or so, last year, and ended up losing ten pounds, lowering my blood pressure, and stabilizing blood sugar and triglycerides.
It’s not bad. Just hard not to eat bread, cookies, pizza and so on.

3

Maybe you’re just sick. Slimfast shakes don’t fill me up the way solid food does, but they’ve never made me sick.

4

Don’t go on a diet. Toss the SlimFast. What you do if you want to lose weight is change your eating style permanently. Start incrementally. Diets are pointless, leave you miserable, and don’t work in the long term. There are something like 788695764 studies [/hyperbole] proving diets don’t work.

What you do is drop eating fatty stuff. Quit fries and fried things. Move towards eating mostly veggies, fruit, whole grains, and meat that’s not fatty. Research portion sizes and gradually lower the amount you eat until you’re eating proper sized portions. Drink more water and quit drinking pop. But make the changes gradually.

If you do it right, you can still eat to satisfaction and be healthy. Have a look at the ‘Picture Perfect’ books by Dr. Shapiro - he illustrates how to substitute plentiful low-cal food for the high-cal food you eat so that you don’t go about with aching belly and head.

5

Slim Fast sometimes gave me intestinal cramps, especially when I first started using it. It might be the fiber.

6

That is close to how they always feel to me. Wait until the dry heaves start for real fun.

I think you are better off to try to eat healthily and exercise a bit more.

7

I might not be the best person to take diet advice from, but if you ignore it long enough, it goes away…

or you get used to it and can’t really tell anymore. Either way, it’s easier to deal with if you just push through.

8

The Slim-Fast plan does strike me as pretty stupid. Let’s replace 200 calories that could be solid food, with liquid. And let’s replace two 120-calorie snacks, that could be filling food, with a tiny candy bar.

Here’s the frustration: I don’t eat mindlessly. I don’t eat much junk (fries maybe once a month). I don’t drink soda or any kind of beverage with any calories whatsoever. I do the 30 minutes on the bike every day. And still manage to be about 20 pounds overweight. Big sigh. It’s so frustrating to read the joyous threads written by people who lost thirty pounds by–gasp–cutting out Coke! I mean, for pete’s sake. Who drinks full-sugar soft drinks!!! Who can afford to do that!!!

I think there’s no way for me to lose weight without going hungry. I just hope that hunger isn’t necessarily as awful as I felt yesterday and today. That’s what I’m asking.

9

Hell, that’s not even what Slimfast felt like - even with lactose intolerance, Slimfast (basically skim milk three times/day) felt better than you described. My “this diet feels like crap” has always been mental annoyance, not physical pain.

I have heard that some people have a very negative reaction certain chemicals in those shakes - you may be one of the people. Slimfast may not be for you.

10

I started dieting at the age of 15 when I thought I was “fat” at 140 lbs. For me, dieting was always restriction. I thought if you could cut some calories and lose some weight, I could cut MORE calories and lose more weight faster. Dieting met restriction, ice berg lettuce with some lemon juice, plain baked chicken, “frakenfoods” like Snackwell’s and low fat this and sugar free that. Everything I ate was bland and tasteless and I didn’t eat very much of it. I hated dieting (and I tried all of it, including Slimfast), I just wanted it to be OVER and I could go back to eating nachos and muffins and pizza.

I could always lose weight. I lost the same 20-30 lbs over and over again. I always lost some weight, but 2 things always happened.

  • I dieted until I binged, felt like a loser, gave up and started eating normally again and regained the weight.
  • I reached a goal weight and started eating normally again and regained the weight.

I dieted for 20 years, going from a 140 lb 15 year old to a 200 lb 35 year old. I finally realized that I was crazy to think that a short term diet would have long term results. I finally had to accept that my “normal” way of eating was terrible and I needed to change how I ate forever.

In July 2004, I started eating as many nutrionally powerful foods as possible while avoiding foods with limited nutritional benefits. I switched from white bread to whole wheat, from white rice to brown rice. I switched to whole grain pasta, whole wheat tortillas, quinoa, sweet potatoes. I got serious about 5+ servings of vegetables everyday and made sure I got 100+ grams of protein and at least 25% of my daily calories were healthy fat. I hate being hungry, so I made sure I ate something around every 2 hours. I combined whole foods with calorie counting and exercise with dramatic results.

I found out that I love the taste of healthy foods. I love fresh blackberries, I love baked sweet potatoes, I love grilled salmon and natural peanut butter and sugar snap peas. I gave up fast food, sugary soda and packaged baked goods forever - I changed my normal but I don’t feel like I’m missing anything, I look forward to everything I eat. It’s a lot more planning - I go to the grocery store a lot. I pack lunches on Sundays for the entire week. I cook. I look up restaurant menus online and make decisions before I’m sitting there tempted by the smells/plates around me.

I ultimately lost around 70 lbs, going from a tight size 18 to a size 6. I lost 10 inches off my waist. The best part - in February, I will have maintained my weight loss for 2 years. Maintenance is exactly like weight loss - I still food journal, menu plan, pack lunches, eat every 2 hours, eat 5+ servings of vegetables everday, eat whole foods, just allow myself more calories per day.

I feel amazing :slight_smile: so much more energy. I am such a happier person. So…overly long post to say I think Slimfast, restriction and starving are complete and utter crap and don’t think it’s a good idea if you want long term results.

11

I feel your pain. I recently broke my foot and seriously damaged my ankle. Two months off my feet followed two months (with many more coming) of walking with a cane and limited mobility. I haven’t done anything different in how I eat, but suddenly becoming sedentary has caused me to gain 15 pounds, and I’m not getting anymore active any time soon (I’ll be having surgery). My only option at this point is to eat less.

I just hate the hunger (and the headaches, and the tiredness). All the same symptoms, down to not being able to sleep because my stomach hurt. I did this once before-- blew my shoulder out in college and gained 30 pounds when I stopped swimming. Convincing my body that it no longer needed the the 3000 calories a day I’d been feeding it in full training mode was rough, but my body adjusted and then it got easier.

My suggestion is filler food. Think about stomach space vs. calories gained. Slimfast is pretty bad for this, as it doesn’t fill you up. A cup of popcorn is very low call but will absorb the stomach acid and take up space. I also ate a lot of brocolli. I find it also takes up a lot of space, and is slow to digest. Eating something warm in the morning helps stave it off (I like oatmeal for breakfast), as does hot tea.

12

I compare dieting to quitting smoking.

If you tell yourself you can’t have any of it, you’re going to want all of it.

It’s going to be all you can think about.

If you let yourself have some of it–if you tell yourself that nothing is totally “off-limits!”–you’ll go further in the long run.

So no, diets shouldn’t make you feel ill. Reduce but don’t eliminate. Nobody ever woke up in the morning craving a liquid diet shake in a can. That isn’t any fun, you don’t consider it “real food,” and you don’t get any tactile “chewing” satisfaction out of consuming it.

I don’t own a scale but I would guess I’ve lost about 40 lbs–and I say that because I know I’ve lost four sizes–in the last six months (right after I dumped my boyfriend, who was the chef/taco-hunter/let’s eat! guy) just by eating whatever I want first thing in the morning, and THEN eating the yogurt/salad/fruit/whatever’s healthy meals. I don’t tell myself I can’t have whatever I want.

I just eat it first thing. If I want tacos, fast food, burgers, doughnuts, waffles…you name it. If I want that, I eat it within two hours of waking up. As much as I want.

When I get hungry later, that’s when I choose the smaller healthier options. Salad, veggies, fruit, baked chicken, etc.

That way I’ve got all day to burn off the “crap” I ate in the morning. Because nobody loses their mind over healthy “good-for-you-diet-food,” so if that’s all you eat later in the day, you’re going to eat just as much as you need to satisfy your hunger. You’ve already satisfied your need to eat something you really love, so why not wait til tomorrow to do that again? It’s not like you’re denying yourself anything. You’re just delaying it a little while.

I’m not advocating this as a healthy “diet plan!” or anything.

I’m just saying it’s worked for me.

And what I also find is that once you know you can have whatever you want, as long as it’s your first meal of the day, you don’t have this crazy urge to stuff yourself silly. You know you can have more tomorrow, so there’s no need to lose your mind over it today. Whatever “it” may be.

13

I’m glad for you, Glory. In self-defense, though, I have to re-iterate. I don’t drink soda. The only packaged baked goods (aside from bread) I’ve ever eaten in my life were the few that I received as lunchtime swaps in elementary school–just not something I eat. I do eat whole-grain everything, and was raised eating whole-grain everything, and only rare desserts, and only rare junk food like the pizza, nachos, and muffins you mentioned. My diet is healthier than 90% of Americans, I’m sure. I’m just apparently eating too much, and not exercising enough. I’ve got stocky family heredity and an underactive thyroid working against me, too, but I had those working against me when I was twenty pounds lighter, so I know I can get there again. I’m just wondering how much it’s going to hurt to get back there again.

Here’s today’s menu, for example:
Breakfast: a very small bowl of Cheerios with skim milk, one square of 85% cocoa chocolate
Lunch: sandwich made with two slices wheat bread, light mayo, shaved turkey, and a sliced tomato
Mid-afternoon: a big mug of tea with a splash of whole milk, one crumpet with about a teaspoon of butter, one banana
Dinner: soup made with boughten broth enriched with ginger, and white meat chicken, soba noodles, carrots, radishes, and scallions; probably a couple of dried figs as a dessert; probably about 4 oz. of red wine
Evening snack: one Yoplait light yogurt (I’ve done plain yogurt, too, but right now I’m doing fruity yogurt), possibly by itself but probably with either an apple or a 100-calorie bag of popcorn

14

The best diet is simply not to count anything, but to add fruits and vegetables. (Not rice, potatoes, or other starchy vegetables)

15

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable amount of food for one day to me. That’s pretty much how I eat all the time. (in terms of quantity and type of food).

Are you saying you typically eat more than that? If not, then I’m guessing the thyroid and lack of exercise are the issues rather than the amount of food you eat and that you should talk to your doc about how to deal with them. OTOH, if this is your ‘diet’ menu for a day, then you’ll have to adjust such that it becomes your template for your regular food intake.

16

This is my “normal day” intake, not my “diet” intake.

I guess the obvious thing to cut out is the afternoon snack.

17

I know next to nothing about underactive thyroid - could yours have become even less active over time? Is that something you can get checked?

There was, recently, a weight loss program on TV where they showed people trying to lose weight. One of the women was going behaving perfectly (ate nearly perfectly, worked out like there was no tomorrow), and the scale didn’t move. They eventually had her thyroid checked, and according to the doctor, her levels were so low that there was no way she could lose weight without addressing that problem first. So they put her on medication of some sort. It helped.

If what you listed is your typical diet, you’re not at a place where you need to worry about what you’re eating. Assuming those are really the portion sizes, you’re not eating too much. You probably need to look somewhere else.

18

You seem to be eating a healthy amount of food. Have you thought about upping exercise rather than lowering food intake? How much weight do you need to lose? I have a hard time believing that someone who’s daily meal is like the one you describe is all that overweight.

19

Woah, I really feel for you now . . . Maybe there’s a “thing” about girls lifting weights (? I’m a guy), but if this is a typical day, I’m thinking there’s probably got to be a way for your body to start burning more calories throughout the day (and night). Muscle burns calories, for example. Varying your exercise routines might help – swap the exercise bike a few days a week for swimming, and/or the eliptical machine. Don’t be afraid of some low intensity (low weight), high repetition weight lifting… like, even carrying those little dumbbells around while you walk or jog . . . ?

Just some thoughts. .

20

Oh yes, it is monitored. I take medication that keeps my T4 within the “normal” range (though frankly, I still sleep 9 hours a night and have a scalloped tongue, and that doesn’t sound like “successful thyroxine replacement” to me!)

The suggestion to eat one indulgent meal in the morning and light stuff for the rest of the day is very interesting. You definitely sound like a morning person–I dunno if I could face real food first thing in the day. And being hungry at bedtime is my biggest fear, because it keeps me awake.

Upping the exercise is probably the thing to do, yes. To be honest, sometimes I do about 30 minutes of calisthenics instead of the bike, and when the weather is nice, I take 1-2 20 minute walks instead of the bike. Exercising more increases my appetite, though. Is it okay to eat a little more, then?

I’m 5’6" and currently weigh in the 177-180 range, size 14 or 16 (eeek! I hate admitting that). I carry the weight well, but in the last few months, my clothes aren’t all fitting like they should. I’d like to weigh 160, which I did, about five years ago. I maintain my weight very well on a daily, weekly, monthly basis–then an occasional binge adds 3-5 pounds that I can’t work off. For example, about a year ago someone gave me a bottle of Bailey’s. I drank it over the course of about 2 weeks, and my weight went from 173-176 range to 177-180 range.

I’d put all this into the Doper weight loss club threads, if I started to actually lose weight…