Forget fad diets - cutting down on fat will keep you slim

I bet someone will come up with a thyroid medication as an excuse as why eating less fat does not work.

Eating less calories is what counts.

@JapanGal I do not follow your meaning about someone coming up with a thyroid medication as an excuse... I take an anti-thyroid medication as I am usually hyperthyroid. If I become hypothyroid, I need to switch to taking thyroid hormone. Taking excess thyroid hormone will make you lose weight, but can increase your heart rate, body temperature, anxiety levels, cause tremors, damage your heart, and can lead to shock and death.

The other theory going around is that fat is good for you and carbs are bad. It is the white refined carbs that people now (over) eat that is causing the explosion in obesity in recent times. I am giving this diet a go to see if it works.

My mom is 77, in great shape, is 5 ft tall and lives with my husband and me. Her secret to maintaining a healthy weight is not allowing herself to weigh over 115 lbs. I cook most of our meals here at home and she will eat plenty of whatever I prepare, but once her weight hits 115, I eliminate bread, white rice, sweets, juices, milk, and we eat only oatmeal, brown rice, lean meats, low fat yogurt, fruits and .veggies for a week. Mom loses 3 lbs, and we go back to eating our fairly healthy, usual diet. We only have to repeat this eating cycle once every 4 months or so. Pretty painless. My husband has never noticed a "dieting" week, just as long as you feed him, he's happy.

So, why eat white bread, white rice, milk, too many sweets, at all? Can't you see it is just putting on pounds? Stick with the good stuff that keeps your weight and mom's too in check.

@Ranger_Miffy2 My weight is just fine, thanks, at 5'4" and 110 lbs, I'm lean enough. Mom is Japanese, asking her to give up white rice forever would not go over too well. Dieting for one week, three times a year, works for my mom. How do you keep your weight in check?

Silly. You need fat - good fat. Get rid of the nasty sugars and carbs that are not needed - like gross white rice, nasty white bread and horrible starchy pasta. Watch your calories and your blood sugar levels. It really isn't rocket science. Those who are fat are fat because they eat crap. Simple.

Well, I do not eat white rice, very little bread, about a stick of butter a year, and basically low fats and sweets hardly. No chips. I eat a lot of salads, chicken and fish, and vegetables. And I work out at the local sports club a lot. My weight is now fine and no need for crash diets. Tmarie has the right idea, too.

Congrats to you, Ranger, for eating only healthy food and for working out often. We all know that your method is the best way, it sounds easy to follow, but few of us are able to sustain the effort over long periods of time. Good for you!

If the healthy food were cheaper than the unhealthy food, I think it would be easier to sustain for pretty much everyone. Unfortunately it is completely the opposite.

Get rid of the nasty sugars and carbs that are not needed - like gross white rice, nasty white bread and horrible starchy pasta. Watch your calories and your blood sugar levels.

I totally agree. I did this a few years ago, limiting carbs to one meal a day and I found my overall health improved dramatically. My energy levels skyrocketed, and I no longer had that drowsy feeling after lunch. I take plenty of fats in the form of olive and grapeseed oils, which I use for frying and in salads.

By the way, this year I started taking a barley leaf supplement (popularly known as aojiru in Japan, and widely available from various manufacturers). In about six months I dropped 10 pounds without even trying! No change in my diet or exercise habits, just drinking the juice twice a day. Aojiru is very popular in Japan, and there are dozens of good brands available even in the supermarkets.