Fun Monday # 100 Diets!!!!

Today Grace is our hostess with the mostest and this is what she is asking of us:

Many people make resolutions during the month of January and they usually include diets/eating healthy/losing weight and all that good stuff. I myself decided to try the Weight Watchers. My assignment is to tell us about a diet or two (Atkins, Sonoma, Weight Watchers, South Beach, the You on a Diet, Best Life, The Abs Diet etc) that you have tried and what you liked or did not like about it. You can tell us about one diet that you had so much success with, or another that was a torture to follow or both.

My weight problem started from birth so I blame my mother-I was fed on cows milk from a very early age-yes straight from the cow. Plus I'm told my grampy used to wake me up to give me chocolate when he came home from the pub late at night. I didn't stand a chance...

Like many people I have tried a few diets such as high protein, cabbage diet, but none were very successful because, of course,as soon as you ease off the weight just piles on with interest (a bit like a loan really).

The best diet for me was when my first husband walked out on us (not that I'm suggesting this method of slimming). However at that time, I just didn't feel hungry and I couldn't eat much for ages and the weight just dropped off me. I dropped a couple of dress sizes in no time at all. I managed to keep it off for quite a few years, it helped that I played tennis, I used to exercise and, quite often, walk 4 miles to work. Then I changed jobs, I was sitting around a lot more and we often took in baking for coffee time and you've guessed it the pounds crept back.

One thing I have tried that really does work is detoxing and completely changing the way you eat.
I think it was back in about 2002 that I tried my first Detox retreat mainly because one of my friends was keen to go and she wanted some company. We went to a farm in Devon and followed a very strict regime for a week, that included this. We also learned about food and how eating raw food was much better for the body to process. I followed all the preparation advice for the month before we went. It was not nearly as difficult as I imagined to not eat for a week. We went swimming everyday and I took walks, although lots of the others did not have the energy to get out of bed. We could also book treatments and I had a couple of lovely massages.

It was having the first small meal of raw fruit and veg at the end of the week that made me realise how delicious tomatoes could be-before this I did not like raw tomatoes. I felt incredibly healthy and my skin and hair had improved. I had lost quite a few pounds as well. When I got home I was determined to keep up eating only raw food. I managed it for a few months but then came Christmas and that was my undoing. I did go on another retreat the following year but second time around I was less enthusiastic.

Dieting really doesn't work it's sensible eating and cutting out all the rubbish that has to be a way of life. For the last couple of years I've not been strong willed enough to stick to sensible eating. Doing this post has really made me think that I need to take myself in hand and make a determined effort to eat a lot more raw food and no junk.

For Photo assignment, Grace asks that we post a photo of something/someone that makes you feel good about yourself.
No prizes for guessing it's my family who make me happy.

Archives:
2008: I nearly didn't join the party + Keepng Sam Company

2007: A huge Thank you +Sleeping Beauty