The School of Hard Diets

The opinions below are based on my personal experiences. Please work with your doctor or registered dietician to find a plan that will work for your individual needs.

Like most Americans who have struggled with maintaining a healthy weight, I’ve embarked on countless diets. I started early, when I actually was not overweight but believed that I was. Here are some of those plans: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

Some of my plans were actually good though I was unable to follow them long term. I probably wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time I tried them, with the exception of the Mayo Clinic Diet.

• The Mayo Clinic Diet, 2022 to present. This has been my most successful plan. Lesson learned – you have to find a balance between flexibility and rigidity, and include healthy doses of exercise and behavior modification.
• Weight Watchers, in the 1990s. At this time we only had in person meetings and I did lose some weight but regained it over time. Lesson learned – if you go back to your old habits, you will go back to your old weight plus a bit more due to hormonal changes (for more info on hormones involved in hunger, see post Coursework: Understanding Obesity Unit 2 https://lindawbrowning.com/2023/01/19/coursework-understanding-obesity-unit-2-of-3/ )
• Weight Watchers, twice more in the 2010s on line. It didn’t work for me as I ate too many free foods. Lesson learned – there are no free foods.
• McDougal Diet, 2000s. This diet is extremely healthy and extremely restrictive. Lesson learned – it’s hard to cut out everything you love in the long term.
• DASH Diet, 2010s. I was uninspired and made only a feeble attempt. Lesson learned – you actually have to work to be successful.
• Vegan/Vegetarian/Pescatarian Diets, multiple times 1970s to 2022. Lesson learned – skipping animal products won’t make you healthy by itself. There are some delicious substitutes that are unhealthy or high in calories.

The (not so) Bad

These were not optimal diets for me. As you can see, many were old versions of diets and there have likely been improvements. Please let me know if you have had a different experience!

• Nutrisystem, multiple times over the 1980s to the 2000s. It never lasted. Lesson learned – takes a lot of repetition to teach me anything, but it’s hard to eat mainly prepackaged foods and stay healthy.
• SouthBeach Diet, early 2000s. Not awful, but the weight was quickly regained when I gave up. Lesson learned – adequate fruits are needed in my case.
• Jenny Craig, 1990s. I did lose some but regained it plus a few pounds more. Lesson learned – by relying on specialized prepackaged foods, you won’t learn how to maintain on whole foods.
• SlimFast, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve fallen for, “Give us a week, we’ll take off the weight” (1). Lesson learned – you can’t fix years of unhealthy eating in a week or any short-term schedule.
• Plenity, 2022. I tried these prescription fiber-type pills briefly but they caused temporary weight gain. By the time my digestive system returned to normal, they no longer helped me to feel full. Lesson learned – if (generally) only an on-line doctor will prescribe them and only one or two pharmacies in the country will fill the prescription, question the efficacy.

The Ugly

Tell me why I tried these! I hope you haven’t fallen for similar plans. Please don’t start now.

• Prescription (amphetamine) diet pills prescribed for me as a teenager, 1970s. Yes, a physician really gave me diet pills at age 16 when I was not truly overweight. Of course I lost weight and of course I gained it back. Lesson learned – in most cases, diet meds provide a temporary fix at best.
• AYDS, 1970s. Before the disease AIDS, we had diet candy-like chews with a similar name. The company which made them refused to change its name which didn’t help their business survive. Ayds were eaten before meals to help fill you up. Lesson learned – don’t use candy to fill your belly.
• Dexatrim, 1980s. An ingredient in this early formulation was found to cause hemorrhagic strokes in women and Dexatrim has since been reformulated. (2). Lesson learned – over-the-counter pills can be dangerous too.
• The Cookie Diet, 1980s. This was the rage in my office – we were all eating these instead of, or in addition to, whole foods. Lesson learned – subsisting on cookies does not set a good precedent for maintenance!
• 350 Calorie Diet, 1970s. If you starve yourself you will lose weight quickly in the short term. Lesson learned – you will gain it back even more quickly!
• The Grapefruit Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet, and similar plans, 1970s – 1980s. What I, and many others, wouldn’t try to get thinner! Lesson learned – if you are a human being, these diets will be unsustainable.

(Dis)Honorable Mention

I wasn’t sure how to classify this one. I’m sure there will be some disagreement about this diet:

The Atkins Diet, several times, the last in 2015-2016. Notice how I remember the exact year of this diet. It’s easy to recall as it’s the year I had a transient ischemic attack, also called a mini stroke, at age 54. Its also the year I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol despite the fact that I lost 25 pounds and was very active. I can’t say that the Atkins Diet caused these changes, but I feel it was a contributing factor.

On the positive side, I never regained the weight lost, perhaps due to my fear of having another stroke. Not recommended! Lesson learned – it is unwise to abuse your body as you age.

I was definitely schooled by these diets. Many more are part of my personal school of hard knocks. I’m sure you have others to add to the list. But rather than feeling like a failure, we can learn from our experiences and move forward to maintain our healthy weight!

Have any diets to share that were losers, in all the wrong ways? Please share in the comments. Thanks!

(1). https://youtu.be/4bCg5kaoY6s

(2). https://www.livestrong.com/article/277639-original-dexatrim-ingredients/