How many diets have you been on??

 Hey, that Saran Wrap thing might actually work!  You'd *have* to run pretty fast if you're wearing nothing but Saran Wrap!

Tami

Tami ... thanks so much for posting this question.  It made me stop and think back to all those years of dieting, losing weight, and gaining it back.

-  At age 11 I was on a very strict doctor supervised diet.  The diet was healthy and was successful until I no longer stuck with it.  During the summer between 7th and 8th grade I gained all the weight back and then some.  Returning to school in the 8th grade was very emotionally painful.
- From that point until 12th grade it was a series of silly diets ... anything anyone said worked.  I lost and gained repeatedly during these years.
- As a senior in high school I lost weight, down to 180 lbs.  I was not small and could not seem to lose more weight no matter how little I ate.  I did manage to maintain that weight for a couple of years and then became pregnant.  I had 20 lbs. to get off at that point.  I signed up at a gym and managed to take it off before becoming pregnant again.  This time the weight stayed and continued to climb.
- From this point I will just list all the different diets that I can remember.  I tried so hard to get the weight off and keep it off, without ever reaching that 180 lbs. again.

I tried ...
The Cambridge Diet
Weigh****chers ... too many times to count ...lost and gained
Adkins
TOPS (had to take that pig home many times)
Neighborhood diet get togethers (none of us ever lost very much weight)
Low Carb
Diebetic Diet
Heart Diet
Cabbage Soup Diet
Grapefruit Diet
Rotation Diet
Slim Fast
Dexatrim
Stackers ****il they were taken off the market ... that was scary)
Optifast ... liquid only for three months
AIDS Candies
High Protein

That's enough ... there were more, but this should illustrate to anyone that I did try very hard for a lot of years.

I was banded in October and have lost over 30 lbs.  I, being the weakling I have always been, gave in to temptation during the holidays and ate lots of things I knew I shouldn't eat.  I really was nervous that I had gained a lot of my weight back and when I weighed I had only gained a half pound.  I would have gained a lot more than that without the band.  I am back on track now and I only have to lose that half pound instead of 10 or more.  I am really falling in love with this band ... I am so glad I made the decision to get one.

Your willingness to share your success really helps as we journey toward our goal.  Thanks again.

Carolyn

 Aids!  Forgot that one.  (Actually spelled Ayds)  I suppose the Aids crisis in the 80's put Ayds off the market.  

I share your pain remembering those overweight adolescent years.  I don't think you ever really get past that kind of emotional pain.  

I'm glad you made it through the holidays in good shape.  I wish I could say the same.  I gained 8 pounds during November and December!  But 5 of them are back off already, and I'm gonna really try to get off the 10 lbs. that I've held onto for the past 3 years!

Wishing you continued success,

Tami

I want to hear more about the Chardonnay and Oatmeal diet --- sounds like a snow-bound weekend idea (I would skip the Oatmeal part).

LOL ----  too many to count -- so many of the same ones you tried
Proof positive that DIETS DON'T WORK

 True, diets don't work, nor does deprivation.  The Chardonnay and Oatmeal Diet was my way of justifying drinking all I wanted while trying to lose weight.  Trust me, starving yourself all day and then splurging at night on *anything* is no way to lose weight!  But a glass now and then?  Sure!

Tami

The Cambridge Diet
Weigh****chers ... too many times to count ...lost and gained
TOPS (had to take that pig home many times)
MEDA fast
Low Carb
Diebetic Diet
Heart Diet
Cabbage Soup Diet
Grapefruit Diet
Rotation Diet
Slim Fast
Dexatrim

Optifast ... liquid only for three months
High Protein

Cambridge Diet,
Ayds,
British Heart Foundation (sounds official but turned out to be crank!!)
calorie counting
calorie counting
calorie counting  - more times than I can be bothered to count or write down!

Then there was the crazy diet I went on when i was 19. I was a size 10/12 and felt fat. So I went to a private doc who gave me injections (what of??) and tablets (what sort?? - think with hindsight they may have been amphetamines!!). All I was allowed to eat was raw, unsweetened citrus fruit and lean meat! Healthy stuff! But boy did I lose weight!!!

Now just after I left that doc (went down to size 6 - just so WRONG for me), a newspaper "outed" him as a total scumbag, money grabbing, unethical quack!

But mainly i just counted calories, regained, counted calories, regained etc. etc. etc.

Well I have tried many of the ones listed here too.  This morning when I was discussing the lapband with my boss and he said " but have you REALLY tried dieting", that got me thinking.......  Why, yes I have REALLY tried diets and have REALLY lost weight on them.  There is just always something that brings back old habits.  Weddings, Funerals, Vacations, Birthdays, shopping trips, always something.  I hope to have a lapband withing the next few months. 

My list isn't as long..

Weigh****chers ( about 5 -6 times)
Physicians weight loss - took the phen -fen pill
Slim Fast
and took numerous diet pills over the years and tried all the home remedy type diets like cabbage diet , a hot dog diet ,Atkins . etc.

SO MANY!!!!!
I was always chubby growing up and my mom was overweight so when she went on a diet, she'd have me "dieting" with her. I remember my first real diet was at 10. I've done the following:

Weigh****chers
Jenny Craig
Nutrisystem
Healthy Start
LA weight loss
Adkins
South Beach
Slim Fast
Optifast
Metabolife
Redux
Dexatrim
Several doctor supervised diets
Grapefruit diet
Prism
Richard Simmons diets
Starvation