[Closed] iDiet is like giving up smoking

A lifestyle consultant will be with you shortly. 😉

Id settle for a chippy chippy
bdum tish

😀

Like it.

I'm not. I tried, failed, tried, failed. Lost 5 or 6 lbs in the first 2 weeks then slowly re-gained it. Virtually impossible with my schedule to make enough food to take to work so I'm stuck with what's around or boring myself to death with diet compliant misery food (not saying it's all like that, just that what's about and easily prepped in work is) and I can't live like that.

Currently sticking to it quite well. Like you I give up smoking, some 7 years ago now! I'm using the same bloody mindedness to stay on track. However I'm quite handy in the kitchen so it helps when it comes to making varied meals and it doesn't bother me too much cooking different food for my good lady wife. I'm quite enjoying coming up with different houmous recipes and bean salad recipes. Dirt cheap too with dried beans. Just time consuming!
I know white carbs are off the menu but I've been using sweet potatoes as they are used in Paleo dietes. Are they "allowed" on the iDave plan?

how are you coping?

I'm eating porridge with chopped banana and golden syrup.....so badly, I guess.

It gets easier. Sort of... I've stuck to it for four months now. Planning seems to be the trick for me. The hardest moments are when you're looking to grab lunch and all the sandwich shops just become a seething mass of out of bounds temptation. As long as I know what I'm doing in the middle of the day evenings tend to be ok. Like people have already said, cooking can turn into a real voyage of discovery. Also stopped smoking a few years back and the feeling is similar.

Or you could reach for the Book of Kate Moss: "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Not quite sure about that but for me lighter = faster and admiring attention from my younger partner.

I would say you're doing it wrong.

[i]I've been using sweet potatoes as they are used in Paleo dietes. [b]Are they "allowed"[/b][/i]
I'd say they're Ok, two or three times a week.
See if your weight increases, then decide ?.

While in a Hotel for lunch yesterday, I had some sweet potato chips along with steak, grilled toms, mushrooms and veg, green beans, carrot, broccoli and cauliflower.
All washed down with a glass of red.
Sweet potato chips were very nice, possibly better than the usual chip ! 😯
If, thats possible...

[i]but for me lighter = faster and admiring attention from my younger partner[/i]
Aye, while I'm not interested in setting any new speed world records.
Being sub 80Kg has translated to feeling, being slightly quicker on the bike.
And the Ladeez don't seem to object either.
😉

all the sandwich shops just become a seething mass of out of bounds temptation

It's frustrating. There are whole branded chains that sell nothing iDave compliant. I think iDave should write to these people and get them to up their game! 😉

Ive tried gram flour - it's foul. Quinoa is OK, but I bet you cant make Nigri Sushi out of it. Im getting bored of beans, and lentils arent doing it for me. So generally Im eating plenty of meat and lots of veg: mashed parsnip & carrot, spinach, stuff frozen from the garden this summer. Im sure Im eating worse food replacing plain carbs - I eat more bacon, because I cant have toast with my eggs for example.

lost a stone and a half loosly following it early this year....now poor meal planning and a few other things (poorly knee and no running/riding) meant ive slipped back into bad eating habits and beer consumption..back up to full lardiness now!
I find as the mrs can eat what she likes without so much as putting on an ounce (biatch) its hard in these lean financial times to be looking at mucho salad and meats/fish when the rest of the family are eating rice/pasta dishes which are cheapo and last a few days....

going to ditch the sandwiches next week in favour of soups for lunch and get back on the no cereal brekky and loads of dhaal in the eveings! parp!
for me the hardest thing is stopping reaching for the crisps or choc.... no will power at all..im doomed!

[i]for me the hardest thing is stopping reaching for the crisps or choc.... no will power at all..im doomed[/i]

Why so ?, isn't that your [i]day off[/i] food ?.
😉

I have never followed the plan in absolute detail but I have understood the general principles and as a result my weight and waistline have gone down, my fitness has improved and I have mostly lost the cravings for the food I thought I would miss most.

My main exception is that my off day is from Friday evening through till Sunday night. Plus mid week beer and wine are good, and a packet of crisps with the beer is allowed. Furthermore sugar in coffee (just twice a day is OK and Branston baked beans are on my allowed list too.

Yesterday I was fairly energetic all day (doing carpentry etc.), fuelled only by an espresso first thing and glasses of water until about 6pm when I had a big spag bol ready for the usual Thursday night ride. That 70g of pasta really gets you up those first few hills.

Tried and failed, the thing that really killed it for me were the breakfasts - I really missed a glass of juice and some toast or porridge...

I just do it in the week, apart from drinking beer during 2 night rides a week (yes during). Weeekends I eat much better than I used to do, less bread and pasta, more rabbit food.

Has it been working Stoner?

As for the other stuff, I think there is a huge variety of possible meals that are on the allowed list. The meal that most people who struggle, struggle most with, is breakfast, but it's also probably the most important one to 'fix'.

I would suggest eating whatever you want, whenever you want and accepting with good humour how fat/slim you become. It's your choice.

And of course you just could do lots of fitness activities and then complain about hunger instead of lack of choice.

Personally I'm to busy worrying about some oak parquet flooring..... if only I had a floorstyle consultant 😉

EDIT: I am looking into solutions to the most common issues that are raised about the diet. Personally, I love food, I like haribo, snickers, toast dripping in butter, mugs of tea with heaps of sugar and sometimes I have those things. But everything has a consequence.

It's frustrating. There are whole branded chains that sell nothing iDave compliant. I think iDave should write to these people and get them to up their game!

I hear what you're saying... Even the independents around me are complete no-go areas. I need blinkers every time I nip in to grab a coffee.

Some gram flour stuff is grim but we found some pretty good dosa recipes: they're great with curries or chillies and that kind of stuff. Mashed swede and celeriac is great and you can still go all out with the roast vegetables on a Sunday.

I'm down two stone since mid-July.

Still can't wait for a burrito and some beers and the Cinnamon Club in London tomorrow though...

Why are you wasting so much time and energy on the things you can't have rather than the things you can?

On the gram flour thing, I've found salt, caraway and paprika as the best additives to use to make flat breads for savoury meals, and I always add an egg to the mix.

I've been doing this idiet thing since march and I have completely stopped losing weight in the last 2 or 3 months despite being about 15-16% fat still. I don't care too much, it's just how I eat now.

I am now completely used to ibreakfasts so it's eggs either on their own or with some meat of some description. Yummy

This morning I didn't fancy anything so I have skipped breakfast rather than eat the porridge I was making for the kids (and really really wanted myself too).

As with the lack of options, if there really isn't anything available, then don't eat anything. It probably won't kill you and if you think it will then grab a bag of cashew nuts (better than peanuts because there are fewer in a bag!)

I don't understand why my weight loss stopped, but it doesn't really matter that much because it us the off season and I am happy to be in better shape than I was at the start.

The meal that most people who struggle, struggle most with, is breakfast, but it's also probably the most important one to 'fix'.

My wife's doing Slimming World rather than iDave, but that essentially rules out having a cereal/milk breakfast so what she's been having is iDave-compliant.

Usually, it's smoked salmon with tomatoes, chopped spring onions and a boiled/fried egg followed by some fruit. Quick, easy, tasty and fairly flexible.

On days when I have a similar breakfast (usually baked beans and ham and egg), I notice that I'm far less inclined to snack during the day.

As bread's pretty much out on SW too, she's been thinking a bit more about lunches too and so isn't just grabbing a sandwich.

Our evening meals have barely changed from before and we still eat pasta, etc.

Even with beer and chocolate, I've dropped from 11.5 stone to just under 11. She's dropped about 2 stone since the start of July.

Like iDave says, eat what you like, but accept the consequences. It seems that people who stop iDieting fall right back into pies and chips and beer and crisps and chocolate; so why not just make small changes instead?

Start with breakfast, then change the snacks and so on.

[i]Personally I'm to busy worrying about some oak parquet flooring..... if only I had a floorstyle consultant[/i]

So, life's not treating you too badly then..
😉

I'm down to about 75kg.

I've eaten a tub of Haagen Dasz and a whole Grand Mange Blanc loaf and a load of satsumas. iDiet is going great for me.

having followed it pretty well for a few months and lost 2 sotne, ive lasped a bit

and am now on a half arsed winter pseudo diet

small porridge in morning
soup for lunch ( I run a small nursery / garden centre) - so warm it up on a barbeque outside
dinner is some meat with lots of veg, some beans perhaps, no pots etc

trouble is Im intermittently addicted to mince pies it seems!

I've eaten a tub of Haagen Dasz

Do they not stock Ben & Jerry's in Waitrose?

They do Jamie, but it was twice the price and had loads of silly names... phish food, pffft... whatever... I just wanted something with loads of sugar and fat in it... and it was good.

I haven't tried keeping to it and so far I've been pretty much 100% successful. Wasn't as hard as I thought.

Stoner
I saw some chickpea spageti in Waitrose the other day, in the fridge pasta section. Wasn't cheap (about 1.60) but might help with one of those cravings.

I did quite well earlier in the year, lost 10kg or so, but now I'm really struggling. I've got worries, I'm away from my family, the exercise is really patchy and being generally miserable makes it far far harder for me.

My basic problem is that food treats really make me happy. I LOVE THEM. So it's hard to give up. The other issue is that now I'm away the only iDave meals available are often veg and meat. This can be okay, but the actual amount of carbs available isn't very high so I start to feel really quite grim, especially when exercising at the same time.

Before I was working away I was doing lots of riding to work, which meant more carbs were needed. So then I could eat some sweet treats as long as I'd ridden to work that day, and that helped a lot. It was a great motivator to ride.

I dunno what the solution is really, apart from really MTFUing. I feel crappy, and I assume this will pass if I tough it out. But really, I think the issue is that I am stressed.

I'm maintaining weight though at least, rathe than gaining it. Although I think my bf is noticably more than it was previously, looking in the mirror.

Personally I'm to busy worrying about some oak parquet flooring..... if only I had a floorstyle consultant

So, life's not treating you too badly then..

That was some Friday morning satire.....

bread was the hardest thing not to eat, esp as I love and make really well, italian bread and cakes...

Midweek I rely on soup (tomato or mushroom are both really filling and very low calories) but once or twice a week I do have a wrap with fried beans and spring onion.

Although I think my bf is noticably more than it was previously, looking in the mirror.

I think it's hard to judge your own BF%... you become too familiar with what you look like and don't notice the change.

An online peer reviewed picture however...

it's worse that giving up smoking. at least when you give up smoking the first cigarette tastes shite.

first haribo jelly baby tastes like heaven. 😈

Stoner I would suggest more beans, and also sweet veggies like carrots, peas, green beans.. which aren't in season though...

I would also suggest disconnecting your past views on what a meal actually is. For me it can be a steak, a handful of almonds, half a raw cauliflower and so on. And yes I also make 'proper' meals but there are few rules that have to be obeyed.

Like iDave says, eat what you like, but accept the consequences. It seems that people who stop iDieting fall right back into pies and chips and beer and crisps and chocolate; so why not just make small changes instead?

Not personally true for me, but then I never ate much of that lot to start with. Apart from beer. Mmmm beer <homer/>

giving up nightly alcohol is harder i think. for about a year i've really struggled, following idave religiously as i did in the spring/early summer was not hard, but damn alcohol and a boredom with cycling really negated any loss so to speak and a disatrous stressed late summer autumn saw me totally throw in the towel and pile it on.

anyway, hopefully managed/managing to lose the school nights alcohol habit figuring i'd tackle the hardest issue first. think this last week was my 6th off so pretty pleased and still without totally sorting food/excercise i'm losing weight again plus have more get up n' go about me.

breakfast is easy imho, two eggs scrambled. quick n' cheap!

[i]Personally I'm to busy worrying about some oak parquet flooring..... if only I had a floorstyle consultant

So, life's not treating you too badly then..

That was some Friday morning satire.....
[/i]

Glad you noticed.
😉

Grips. Sorry to learn that you're not enjoying it at the moment.
As you say, hopefully you'll turn the corner.

It seems to have come easy-ish to me.

Like eveyone else, I know [i]temptation[/i].
But now, when I find myself having thoughts about eating the rubbish.
I just laugh at myself, and change to another mental track.
Without scoffing anything I'll later regrett.

I've absolutely no idea what my BF is, but I'm down now to a small amount of abdominal fat, which apparently, is difficult to remove.
Regardless of whomever you might e-mail...

Don't think I'll be going for the 6 pack, I did a bit of reading on Leangains and that place worried me abit.
Not sure I'm into that scene.
But it was interesting to read about the different approaches some people have taken to answer their questions on body weight and composition, etc.

Nope !, it would seem that Nature insists I keep some fat on my body and probably for good reason.

Still, I've lost about 5-6Kg and my 32 waist jeans are slack on me now.
Being sub 80Kg seems fine and easy to maintain.

Come on !, this is Friday.
Life's no so bad.
Think about me, I may have to drive to Glossop later today.
😀

I'm currently giving/have given up smoking, and seem to be loosing weight anyway, to the point some of my jeans are too big even with a belt 😀

If you try to do anything using only willpower you will fail. Simple fact of life.

Solo - what is leangains?

[url= http://www.leangains.com/ ]Martin whatshischops.[/url]

**** that! The Mrs was doing her own version of that for a little while... I broke her and she now eats properly (although has become a vegetarian this week 🙄 )

[i]If you try to do anything using only willpower you will fail. Simple fact of life.
[/i]

I'm aware of the fact that I am a bit web-slow.
But even I can spot the Troll-tastic value of that comment.
😉

[i]Solo - what is leangains?[/i]

I thought you didn't read any my posts, if they contained more than four letters.
😉

Anywayz.
Its a website I stumbled across during some reading.
TBH it lost me a bit with its BCAAs and fasting, blah, blah.
Some of the stuff I read on there seemed quite obsessive.
Ok, if you want to go there, but it seems more focused on a narrower set of goals.

Rather than lifestyle change, begining in the Kitchen.
Which is more what I'm interested in.

🙂

Leangains also seems to be motivated more or less entirely by vanity which was never (a great deal of) my motivation.

I just want to go fast 😈

I thought you didn't read any my posts, if they contained more than four letters

It looked like a poem, so I thought I'd give it a go... didn't get much past leangains though if I'm honest.

If you try to do anything using only willpower you will fail. Simple fact of life.

Damn straight.
Take constipation for instance. Just willing out that poo won't work, you've got to really really squeeze too.

I thought you didn't read any my posts, if they contained more than four letters.

For the record, I usually stop after the second emoticon.

If you try to do anything using only willpower you will fail. Simple fact of life.

Care to elaborate on that? I quit smoking several years ago, using only my steely determination.

[i]It looked like a poem, so I thought I'd give it a go... didn't get much past leangains though if I'm honest.
[/i]
😆

Excellent !.

If ever, back pedalling becomes an olympic discipline.
I nominate you to win gold for the UK.
😀

Breakfast this morning was bacon, scrambled egg, and a fried egg with a generous splash of worcestershire source.
Followed up with a small black coffee.
All at the Library cafe onsite at Warwick Uni.

Now sitting here listening to music, chewing the phat with you lot.
😉

[img] [/img]

sighs contentedly

6 months or so here. I've had no problems and I love bacon and egg, chorizo omelette, smoked haddock and poached eggs etc for breakfast!Lunch needs planning - I usually taking in a mixed salad. I do cheat a bit on the beer alas - couple of pints during the week.

I've plateaued weight wise, and my long lost abs have made a re-appearance - not bad for an old 48 yo!

[i]For the record, I usually stop after the second emoticon.[/i]

Would it help if I told you that they are manualled (is that a word ?)

[i]Care to elaborate on that? I quit smoking several years ago, using only my steely determination.
[/i]
Oh, don't, just don't go there.

It was all going so well.

[i]6 months or so here. I've had no problems and I love bacon and egg, chorizo omelette, smoked haddock and poached eggs etc for breakfast!Lunch needs planning - I usually taking in a mixed salad. I do cheat a bit on the beer alas - couple of pints during the week.

I've plateaued weight wise, and my long lost abs have made a re-appearance - not bad for an old 48 yo!
[/i]

Excellent !.

Bakey, I like your style.
😉

I've started smoking again jsut so I've got something to use my steely determination on.

I have to force myself to smoke, so even getting addicted is a challenge.

[i]I quit smoking several years ago, using only my steely determination. [/i]

Did you forge your wok in your crucible of white hot steel ?.

[img] [/img]

Having embarked on my iDave adventure in July, with an initial zeal that lasted a couple of months, I've got down from around 14st to around 13st, and stayed there.

Briefly touched my target weight of 12.5st in September but have since got back up to around 13 stone.

Had done a fairly good job of habitually steering clear of the verboten stuff, in general terms. Have cut out milk in tea/coffee, butter, bread, have largely replaced white carbs such as spuds and rice with lentils, other root veg mash, or spinach.

However, beer and cake consumption is on an upward curve as winter sets in. I'm doing an increasing amount of backsliding in the run-up to Christmas.

Will probably reset in January and have another go at sticking to it. But having lost a stone quickly, that has stayed off, it's worked better than any other food regime I've tried.

I still loved what I learnt off the iDave but the day I nearly fainted up Coniston Old Man was enough of strictly following it for me.

Taught myself a lot about what I'm eating for the sake of and what the other options available are.

Also like Dave said what you class a "proper" meal as is different as well.

Biggest change for me - moving to a lifestyle I was happy with... a lot easier I know when your a bit gung ho and young but living in the Alps and having climbing, biking, skiing so accessible means the weight takes care of itself just seem 50 quid down each week on £2.50 demis!

Winter is coming though.. so maybe those wheels of cheese and potato stodge pots will break me! who knows

Not sure I understand the fainting thing Alexx?

Were you not eating carbs at all or having small portions? That's not the iDave diet...

Also when actually [i]doing[/i] exercise and immediately after you can have simple carbs.

Not sure what happened really I'd been doing it fine for a few months but hadn't done much strenuous (downhilling) but after going up the hill i felt weak as hell and very light headed out of nowhere.. got to the bottom and flapjack sorted me out but the feeling was enough not to want to repeat it somewhere that could be more dangerous.

I've been flying up 3000 meter mountains here no bother even without any food in the morning since eating a shocking amount of carbs.

[img] [/img]

lunchhhhtimeeeee

But the temptations are worse and manifest!

Panetone

😆 middle class dilemma of the year

in all honesty, once you work out what you can eat then idieting is really easy and really tasty, in fact i don't really see it as being a diet at all.

the hard bit is not snacking but let's be honest, for most of us it's snacking for years that has got us into this mess.

I'm not sure about the specifics of the iDave Diet but I guess it's a low GI type diet from what people have said. I've been trying largly sucessfully to ellimanate white carbs from my diet for the past 7 weeks and have just got down to 14st (6'3").
Elliminating the starchy food has been easy but I've got a terrible sweet tooth so cake and some sweets have snuck in on a few days. I also haven't managed to stick to it for breakfast where porridge or shredded wheat is often had when time is short.
Homemade soup has been the tastiest and most filling change the diet.
Here are my weekly weigh-ins (the variations are largely due to travelling with work where staying to the plan is difficult / impossible):
95.7kg
91.3kg!
91.1kg
91.1kg
89.4kg
91kg (after a weekend of being fed by my mum)
91.3kg
89.1kg

I'll be happy if I stay at this weight undtil spring where I want to drop to 85kg. Less that that and I look too lanky and unhealthy.

Sounds like torture !I eat/drink whatever I like,it does err on the healthy side I suppose but it doesn't cut anything out either.What I do is exercise it off, as for me it's far easier to go for a 30 minute run than to walk away from a Mars bars........

Yeah emac calories out > calories in = weight loss.

Where calories out is wildly variable and subject to loads of different factors that are not necessarily related to the number of miles you cycle or run...

hmmmmm may have to give this new fangled diet thingymebobins a go

I'll get my lardy arse on it on Sunday and see if I can find my inner waif

in fact i don't really see it as being a diet at all.

Another one converted. Ch-Ching. 🙂

looks to me like the diet is just a structure for weak willed people to make them eat less crap.
not a bad thing in itself but staying slim is easy if you eat well and exercise, it's not rocket science and can be done without buying books, pills, going to diet groups or asking somebody called Dave on the internet.

staying slim is easy if you eat well and exercise,

bit of a bugger with no structure to a working week and up to 90 hours a week with only grabbing what food is available on the go though. 😕

Excuses, excuses tazzy 🙄

🙂

DD I'm still a massive 73kg, but hoping the magic of dave will get to high 60's

MrSmith, it's easy for some people but not others. If you are one for whom it is easy you will not understand of course, so don't assume that your personal experience is the same for everyone.

Unless you are trolling to appear arrogant, in which case carry on.

For the record I was never obese or what anyone else would call fat. But thanks to iDave I now understand a lot more about how the body works. More than you it seems.

For the record I was never obese or what anyone else would call fat. But thanks to iDave I now understand a lot more about how the body works. More than you it seems.

well done you, glad you know how your body works, it can only be a good thing.

don't assume that your personal experience is the same for everyone.

quoted so you can read it back to yourself

MrSmith - Member

looks to me like the diet is just a structure for weak willed people to make them eat less crap.

[img] [/img]

so don't assume that your personal experience is the same for everyone

don't assume that your personal experience is the same for everyone.

quoted so you can read it back to yourself

Thanks, but that wasn't necessary.

I would like to know why you act like such a c*ck on here though. I mean why be so negative? Really?

just because it's a polar view doesn't mean it's negative it's just a difference of opinion. i just suggested a diet was just a structure for common sense that those lacking in self discipline needed as a crutch to help implement a healthy eating regime.
name calling isn't necessary either.

i'm not a big enough cock to report it though. 🙄

Went IDave dieting last year and lost nearly 10KG.

I did have it too loose though.

After a bad time this year where I ate and drank too much when workign away and too many hotels, I put some of it back on (not all) and went back IDave dieting this September.

It shifted 4kg's but it was very slow at coming off.

Now on the Dukan Diet and its dropping off quite rapidly but I have stayed on the (protien only) attack phase for three weeks now due to unnavoidable hotel nights where its virtually impossible to eat the Dukan way.

Nearly at the weight I was last year (1kg to go) and I am hopeful that I'll loose another 4 KG's before sacking it off for Christmas for the festivities.

But MrSmith - it's not about unhealthy food vs healthy food. I could eat beans on toast, a roast chicken sandwich and some nice pasta or potatoes in the evening, with snacks of fruit and glasses of milk - that would be very healthy, but would not necessarily help weight loss.

It's not about finding the willpower to kick junk food.

Remember the traditional advice to athletes is eat lots of carbs.

that would be very healthy

if it was wholemeal bread/pasta. if not it's a lot of high GI refined white flour and potatoes (with some nice protein added)
my point is you don't need a written diet guide if you have a basic grasp of what's in food and don't eat like a pig.
obviously some people need that written down and something to follow to do this.

remember not all carbs are created equal.