What's The Best Diet Plan?

My doctor advised me to lose 25 or 30 pounds to help reduce the pain from my sciatica.  I have tried Atkins diet before but was unsuccessful.  What do you think the best diet plan is?   Donna L.

Dear Donna,

If you're looking for a weight loss plan I'd have to say weight watchers is the way to go.
You might also see if you would like planning your own diet using the food guide pyramid at http://www.mypyramid.gov/. This site shows you how many servings from each group you need, based on your height, weight, activity level, and weight loss goals. Then you make your own meal plan to support that.

If you feel you would benefit from ongoing support, consider working with a diet coach.
A coach will work with you weekly on an individual basis to help keep you motivated, update your weight loss plans, and remain accountable.
Weight watchers offers weekly support on a group basis, both in person and online.  It's up to the individual what works best for you.  Some people prefer groups and some like to stay at home!

The very best plan would be altering the eating habits that have lead to your weight gain, instead of going on a set "diet" or meal plan. Slowly work to reduce portion sizes, become more active (like taking a flight of stairs instead of the elevator), choose lower fat foods, drink more water, and eat more fresh fruit and vegetables--especially instead of sweets and snacks.

The weight won't come off at a rate of five pounds a week, but once you reach your goal you'll have healthy new habits and the weight will stay off  for good!

What's the Best Diet To Follow?

This solution is going to be different for everyone, but basically the answer is "the one you can stick with". Studies show that people successfully lose weight as long as they are on any regimen that is helping them eat fewer calories than they burn. If you start a program and you're not ready to devote the time and energy to stick with it; if it's too difficult to continuously be calculating; or if it leaves you starving all day, you're not likely to remain on it for more than a few days.

Think about giving something new a shot: learning to eat a healthy and balanced diet every day! This means you don't have to give up anything forever. You can still have snacks, desserts, even chocolate :) You just have to set your mind to eating all things in moderation and putting some attention to planning ahead. This means simple strategies such as having only one dessert a day; eating smaller portions at meals; making an effort to include plenty of fruits and vegetables and adequate servings of dairy products to meet your nutrient needs; and planning meals ahead of time so you don't end up ordering pizza night after night because you have nothing in the house to cook!

Some helpful tools to use are the food guide pyramid website and the Healthy Eating, Healthy Weight six week program.

Please post your comments here: we'd love to hear what you tried and what worked for you!