American H---- Association Diet

The first diet I ever tried was the so-called American Heart Association diet. I heard later that the diet, exchanged by word of mouth in the form of a typed sheet of paper, was not created by or endorsed by the American Heart Association in any form.

As I recall, it consisted of specific serving sizes of grapefruit, cottage cheese, hot dogs, and one-half cup of vanilla ice cream. (Those were the highlights.) Oh, and I think pickled beets were on the menu, and green beans. It was a strange combination of flavors, and it was a specific menu of meals for three days. Then that was it. There was a note on my copy that said you should not attempt to do this for more than three days at a time, but that you could easily lose ten pounds by following it exactly.

I don't believe I lost more than five pounds, but, more importantly, it had no lasting change on my eating habits or lifestyle. Going on that diet was like going to jail for a long weekend. You know it's a short sentence, so there's no reason to worry. You'd soon be eating normal again anyway.

Fit or Fat

Covert Bailey wrote a series of books about sensible eating, nutrition, and exercise. He parlayed those books into an endorsement deal for the Health Rider equipment, and appeared in infomercials.

Everything he wrote, I think, was dead on correct, and had I had the intelligence to follow his advice, I would have been fine. Well, it's not really a matter of intelligence. Fit or Fat doesn't effectively deal with the cravings, and so those are what eventually did me in, as they always do.

Fit or Fat had one clever gimmick that the key to losing weight was as simple as taking a pill. However, it took twenty minutes a day to swallow the pill, and you had to do it while exercising. (Get it? He wanted you to exercise twenty minutes each day.)

I wanted to believe that so very badly, and exercised dutifully, but I always found ways to eat more calories than I could burn. I could not reach a weight that I was comfortable with. Eventually, I gained weight.

Atkins -- High Protein, Low Carbs

When I tried Atkins, it was during its second surge of popularity in the 1990s. My older brother had tried it during its original craze.

I sort of liked Atkins. I enjoy meat and cheese, so, for me, this was the Viking meets Dairy Queen diet. One of my greatest weaknesses has always been bread, so having a simple decree that I could eat none at all had a significant impact.

I lost 20 pounds in a matter of weeks. Everyone noticed, and it wasn't that difficult to maintain the diet so, at the time, I thought it was a success. I know a few people that still swear by it, but I have heard other, anecdotal evidence against it. (As always, talk to your doctor about diet and exercise.)

What failed me was the transition back to eating carbohydrates. I couldn't find the correct balance. It's not a question of following the program because the program is simple and easy to follow. You add a little bit in until you notice your weight returning, then ease back. Where it fails me is that I just wasn't that good at meal planning. I had a hectic life with two small children, and there were far too many temptations to eat unhealthy food. The diet didn't teach me how to deal with the urges and cravings for sweets and carbohydrates. So the weight crept back on.

The Rest of the Diets

To learn about the rest of my history with dieting and weight loss, read on.