There is a lady that I work with who is desperatley over weight. The other girls in the office with me have sugested that we "all" diet to try to be a support system for her. However we want something that is pretty easy to follow..
What diets have you all tried and what were the benefits/pros and cons??
Thanks~

__________________

GO TONY!!!!!!!!!!! # 20!!!

I;ve been doing the 3 hour Diet and I've lost 56 pounds. It's pretty easy to follow. You eat every 3 hours as follows
Breakfast - 400 calories
Snack - 100 calories
Lunch - 400 calories
Snack - 100 calories
Dinner - 400 calories
Snack - 50 calories (can be eaten right after dinner)

I've had a lot of success on this diet. At the beginning I was weighting and measuring all of my food and now I just eyeball it. Good thing is that if you cheat you can start right back up in 3 more hours.

HTH!
Lori :}

Lori, That is amazing! Congratulations!

I think Weight Watchers is the easiest diet to follow. It works and it teaches you better ways to eat.

__________________
Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

That's what I was thinking too. Counting calories is important, but nutrition more so.

Weight watchers does great on teaching you HOW to eat. Their program is so successful (when followed, of course!) because the knowledge they give you lasts a lifetime.

I really think that if you have that knowledge the "counting calories" part of it just naturally follows.

OP, it's so NICE of you to want to do this for your co-worker! Y'all are sweet for helping her out this way - Best of luck to all of you!!

__________________

Is anyone watching TLC show I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna?

I had a doctor tell me once to eat raw vegetables before you start your meal. Then you won't eat as much during the meal. Really helped me. I think exercise is the key to any diet.

I've been watching Paul, have you been trying it?

__________________
Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
http://bookcrossing.com

My other favorites
www.paperbackswap.com
www.wheresgeorge.com
www.geocaching.com

I am just watching the second part tonight missed it Sunday night. Very interested in the tapping. I am trying to chew my food more and not eat everything.

Ok I have been doing the Paul Mckenna way since his first show 2 weeks ago. I have lost 2 lbs and found that if you chew every bite at least 20 times you do get fuller faster , I also have found that I eat 1/4 of what i use to at each sitting. Also I put my food or fork down in between bites. I really did not think too much of it at first but it works. I also do not feel the need to snack all day long like I use to. I really do eat a whole lot less on this method.

hashbug

Unless your "desperately overweight" co-worker has asked for your "support", I think you should MYOB.

I realize you believe you are trying to "help" her, but unless she has asked for your help, you are going to end up embarrssing and alienating her.

Are any of you "supporters" overweight? If not, it is an obvious ploy on your part. Someone who has 50-100 lbs to lose is not going to be amused by people whining that they need to lose 5 lbs.

Please rethink this before you do something that will hurt her feelings. I can assure you, she is well aware that she is overweight and when she is ready to do something about it, she will. THEN support her if she asks for it.

I just LOVE the new Weight Watcher's commercials that say Diets don't work. A diet has a beginning a middle and an end. What this person needs is a complete life change. She needs how to eat correctly in the right portion sizes and the right combinations of foods. I highly recommend that if she is morbidly obese the Dr be consulted first. And like it or not for any weight change to take place and stick lots of excercise will be in store for her. A good combination of aerobic like walking or biking and some weight training to turn fat to muscle because muscle is not only healthier and more compact it uses more oxygen and energy than fat thus the more muscle you have the faster the fat falls off.

Drink water, cut out sugar, HFCS, excess salt, hydrogenated fats, don't eat anything with enriched flours, hydrolized protein (a form of MSG that causes headaches and other illness). Eat lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains with a bit of lean protein.
Make sure she goes to the Dr to rule out any thyroid or other issues as well as for a good eating plan.

Weight Watcher's has done wonders for many people so maybe you can get a copy of the manual and eating plan and have your own support groups which as you know she will need lots of.
Congratulations to all of you everyone should have friends like this.

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I totally agree. Your heart may be in the right place but if she has not asked for your support you could really hurt her.

__________________

Nutella,....
proving some of the best things in life come in a jar.

Lori, can you give me examples of the meals you're eating for lunch and dinner. Especially dinner....I'm very curious. sounds like a great plan.

I completely agree. As someone that could loose a few, ok several, pounds I would be offended.

__________________
My MySpace Page

To Leave Me FeedBack Click HERE

Does the overweight coworker WANT to lose weight?

I have been fat forever and if you aren't ready to try then nothing anyone else is going to do is going to help. If she doesn't want to diet, maybe you could all start walking on your lunch break and include her? Activity is good for anyone and that could be a catalyst for her to take better care of herself?

DH and I just started weight watchers yesterday, I have had enough. We like WW because we can eat anything we want, I don't want to hear what I can't eat, that doesn't work for me we just have to limit portions. We figured out that the other day DH ate enough in the day to cover almost the ENTIRE week! No wonder we're overweight! (at dinner he had a DiGiorno pizza and for dessert a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies, not to mention what he had for lunch and snacks at work, all of that was almost a weeks worth of "points").

__________________
"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

For the most part, I agree with Anna. I would not say I'm on a "diet" (meaning a weight loss diet), but, I am careful about what I eat, and how much. I have lost 6 lbs so far, and it has been pretty effortless. I do work out and try to drink lots of water. Some days it's only one bottle,others it's more. I read labels more, too. I call it my healthy eating plan. I still eat whatever.......last night we had KFC for dinner.....2 biscuits for me, and a thigh WITH THE SKIN ON!!! I could have done w/out the 2nd biscuit, but, oh well. I have cut out desserts at night, and cut WAY back on the coffee. I feel so much better, too. I would like to lose a few more pounds......Summer's coming, and those skimpy bathing suits are screaming my name

Also, I have found the book by Drs. Royzen (sp???) and Oz to be wonderful. It has a red cover and talks all about your body. They also have one that talks specifically about being on a diet.

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

This sounds like how I was able to lose a lot of weight a few years back. I think I did more like the 2 hour diet though! LOL. My body seemed to have these natural 2 hour cycles and I always felt best if I'd had 600 calories before lunch... I also like that you can have an ice cream cone... a cupcake -- a calorie is a calorie no matter the source. Doing it this way really teaches your mind about 'moderation'.

Exercise is KEY. Minimum of 45 minutes of cardio a day for weight LOSS and 30 minutes of cardio a day for weight MAINTENANCE. This from really getting in tune with my body and finding what works for me -- might vary for others?!

I like the suggestion of walking during lunch hour -- start slow and work your way up until the walk *is* cardio. Some people who are in better shape may have to carry hand weights to get their heart rates up... Eat lunch afterward.

That is an excellent place to start and will be good for everyone. It is so refreshing too!

As others have posted, your hearts are in the right place but maybe if the whole office is trying to be *healthy*, the focus will be taken off of her struggles.

We just started a group at church to lose weight. We just let people know we were doing it and whoever wanted to join did. We ended up with 15 ladies. If the rest of you have weight to lose, you could do something like this and if she joins, she joins, if she doesnt I would not ask her.
We all gave 10.00 and put it in a pot for a prize, We are weighing in every other Monday (at a friends house) We also drew for teams and are in teams of 2. I had lost 8 lbs after my second weigh in. I am supposed to weigh again this Monday, but we will have to see, I have pneumonia and have been eating what ever sounds good, although not much does.
When we get together, each team has a week they are assigned to bring a healthy snack for everyone to try and we exchange recipes and tips. We do say outloud what every one's starting weight was and their new weight, but we took a vote on that ahead of time and if even one person said no, we were not going to say actual weights outloud. We voted on paper so noone would know whos vote was whos. We are all following our own diet plan.

I have done both South Beach and WW. I managed to lose weight on both. But, I slowly gained back some of the weight. So, I started cutting back to 1,200 calories a day, and exercising six days a week. When I decided to try this I knew that I would have to be patient. I managed to shed 20lbs, but it took me over four months. The one thing I did do that helped me maintain my sanity was to pick one day a week as a *free* day. It gave me something to look forward to and gave me the incentive to be good all week. When I lost weight before I didn't exercise as much. This time I do cardio six days a week and lift weights at least twice a week. I really feel the key is exercise. I make sure I get at least 10,000 steps a day in. A pedometer is cheap, and makes you accountable for your daily exercise! I also eat more fruit, vegetables and nuts! My weakness is popcorn. But I make sure to eat the 100 calorie bags, that way I can't get carried away.

I personally think you need to mind your own business, unless she has asked you to organize this "weight loss challenge" then I think you are over stepping your line as a co-worker or friend. A few years ago, when I was very overweight, I would of be mortified if I found out or thought my friends and co-workers were conspiring behind my back and talking about my weight! When I was ready to lose weight I did.......the weight isn't the problem it's just the effect. Until your co-work figures out why she uses food as her "drug" of choice, there is nothing anyone can do for her, except her. I believe you have said in the past you are a nurse, so that leads me to believe that this co-worker is also in the medical field....so I am pretty sure she knows how unhealthy being overweight is....you planning this is not going to make her feel any better....just yourself. Plus, how do you know she doesn't have a medical condition? I had thyroid cancer, which contributed to a lot of the weight gain, the rest was over-eating from being depressed from gaining weight (vicious cycle).

When or if she asks for help I would recommend Weight Watchers, helped my lose well over 100 lbs....but it only helped, because I was ready after 3 yrs of feeling sorry for myself.

__________________
Chicago Bears!!!!
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start no trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.

One reason I love the way McCartyJJ and her crew are doing it is that they are all following whatever plan works and feels right for them. BUT when they get together they share tips.

__________________

Nutella,....
proving some of the best things in life come in a jar.

This is kind of what I've been eating:

Breakfast - Coffee, bowl of Cheerios, banana
Snack - Some type of fruit or 100 calorie pack (depending where I am)
Lunch - Bowl of soup, salad or fruit and popcorn OR frozen meal and salad
Snack - Some type of fruit or 100 calorie pack (depending where I am)
Dinner - Usually grilled chicken, salad, veggie
Treat - ice pop (Philly Swirl has ice pops that are sugar-free, only 10 calories and REALLY GOOD)

Plus I make sure and drink A LOT of water. I also do the treadmill almost everyday. This hasn't really been a diet for me anymore, just a way of life. It's been great! I know it may not be for everyone but this is right for me :}

Good luck!

Thanks for the info....sounds like a good plan. For me diets don't work because I always have the idea that a diet is not permanent, there will be an end to it. But a way of life works much better for me. I try to eat healthy, watch sugar, carbs and all that bad stuff but sometimes I like hearing what others do, it gives me great ideas, great tips.

So what happened when you guys told her you were going to diet with her?

__________________
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

We brought it up this morning and she is all for the idea. She did say how hard it is to be in an office with 6 women and have 3 of them come in with MCDonald every day. So we have all taken a step towards healthier living. She needs to do this or the next step is bypass surgery and she does not want to walk down that path.

Now we just need to find a plan and stick to it!@!

__________________

GO TONY!!!!!!!!!!! # 20!!!

Well what in the world did you expect her to say when it was obvious that you had all discussed this in advance!!

Good grief - I'm glad I don't work with you. In my office we accept each other as is, flaws and all.

"Well what in the world did you expect her to say when it was obvious that you had all discussed this in advance!! "
She is the kind of person who, if she was offended she would have told us... We did this to HELP her not embarrass her or humiliate her. She is complaining about knees and hips that need to be replaced from weight.. she has been to see a byapss doctor on three different occassions... She lives alone and has no other support to help her through this. She has realized that being lonley and having no one to walk through this with her has hindered her progress...

We are accepting of each others flaws. She wants help. If she didnt I dont think this would have been approached.

__________________

GO TONY!!!!!!!!!!! # 20!!!

I think it's wonderful what you are doing. I don't know what you said to her or how you said it but if she is morbidly obese you could be saving her life. And if not that just the fact that you are all willing to do it together with her shows that you guys care.

Don't pay attention to the criticism. I'm not sure where it comes from maybe people who know who they have work to do on themselves resent it when others try to improve their lives. I don't know.

I do know that unless we start CARING about each other and HELPING each other in our own ways done with love and concern this world will go to hell in a handbasket.

If I was doing something self destructive I pray that my friends take a proactive step like you girls did.

God Bless You!

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I think that a diabetic diet is relatively simple to follow--and it's based on portion control, healthy lifestyle changes (more veggies, complex carbs (multigrain, whole wheat, etc), low fat, higher protein. It also encourage the whole aspect of exercising more. I had to follow a diabetic diet due to gestational diabetes and ACTUALLY weighed less after having the baby, than I did when I got pregnant.

Regardless of what "plan" you decide to go with, for it to "stick" it will have to be something that makes sense to the person doing it and something they will follow through with. Maybe you guys can exercise/walk as a group--it always helps when you have exercise buddies to encourage and support.

__________________
Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I just joined the biggest loser club online and find it the absolute BEST plan I have seen. I did Weight Watchers a few years back and lost 45 pounds. I gained it back and then some. On WW I ate a lot of empty calories. On the biggest loser you learn how to really eat the way you are supposed to. Natural foods, fiber, fruits, veggies. Plus on the website there is a community message board with lots of support. It is hard to go to work and be tempted by all the goodies people eat there. One day at work there was cake, donuts, and candy. I chose one piece of chocolate candy and left the rest alone. It's easier when it's not there.

__________________
Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you've never been hurt, and
Dance like you do when nobody's watching.

MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

I think more important than a diet plan is the exercise. That's the HARDEST part, not the food. If you guys could walk/exercise w/ her, that would be the best thing you could do.

__________________
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus