Lost 3 stone after finishing my BA and MA on the Atkins diet over a 6 month period and managed to keep it off during my PhD using the same diet; I know it isn't supposed to be good for you but I justified this as I had so many other things to worry about concerning the thesis, via etc. I am now working as a chippy again and getting the muscle tone back too. SO this diet and exercise worked for me (I am a 40 year old male).

Hey Jojo,

I'm in medical science, so I'm very wary of most things in this area. However, there's a book called "Waist Disposal" by Dr John Briffa (a medic). It's aimed at men, but would do for women too (eek, I'm presuming you're female from your name but you might not be. oh dear). Anyway, I've been using it for about 11 weeks, and have lost 21lbs in that time (241 down to 220, although bear in mind I'm 6'6 tall!). It's a bit like the Atkins diet, but with more fruit and veg (within limits), and with far less chance of the headaches, bad breath/ketosis that you get with Atkins. Also, it's far more sustainable, and I'm going to carry on with it even when I'm down to my ideal weight. You can buy it from Book Depository for about a fiver I think, or maybe your local library will have it. Anyway, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Hey Jojo! I have also got significantly fatter during my PhD, and am just going into third year now (about 2 stone heavier!). One thing I would do if you're serious about losing weight is to get a health check done first- I have quite a serious ongoing thyroid problem that is no doubt accounting for a lot of my weight gain, and had no idea about it until I had routine blood checks for something else, although I had been feeling pretty bad (but just put it down to tiredness). It's good to know about your blood pressure and cholesterol levels too if you're going to be exercising. I would also recommend seeing a personal trainer or a dietician too- I started seeing a personal trainer about 6 weeks ago and have learnt so much from her, especially about my diet. I thought I had a pretty healthy diet (I get my 5-a-day etc) but my trainer said that it was really bad due to a lack of protein, too much sugar and not enough fat, and since I have changed my diet I have a lot more energy and feel much better, and have lost some weight too. Finally, do exercise you enjoy! I mix mine up quite a lot (kickaerobics, aerobics, gym, swimming, personal trainer, squash) and I really enjoy what I do. One other thing I did recently which has really worked well has been to join a different gym (a nicer one, although not that expensive!) where there is a pool and jacuzzis etc that I can relax in after a workout in the gym, and a cafe etc. It really turns a workout into something quite relaxing if you have a soak at the end! I have tummy issues too- my personal trainer says sit-ups are pretty rubbish and she has me doing a lot of plank work, including moving planks, long arm planks, plank press-ups etc, which are supposed to be the thing for tummies! It's hard work though! Good luck! KB

Dukan.

It's THE celeb diet of the moment if you believe all the magazines and papers (even the non trashy ones - I keep seeing it mentioned all over the place). French women get fat it seems and when they do they turn to Dukan.

:O I'm getting lighter! I had to weigh myself for a health form thingy dodah and I found out that I'm the lightest I've been in a long long while. I did it again a week later (now my fear of scales has been softened somewhat) and I've lost a bit more too! I'm heading in the right direction.

I kinda want to open excel and start making charts.

am definitely buying that book... and trying it out. hope its easier than the dvds lol.

i've recently started this job doing stock refilling to help me get by til i get a decent phd job. apart from the fact that i feel a little bad that i should be doing such a silly job when i've done a phd - which no one at work knows about because they all think am in college, which i've played along to - this job is really working my stomach and back muscles..... hopefully that with the book is a perfect combination. am spending today recovering from a yesterday's shift. its not so much the lifting at the job that's an issue. its the number of times i bend to take records of stock on lower shelves and stand up..... sigh. but am not complaining for being to work out. lol.

I'm bumping this thread because I weighed myself yesterday and OHHH LORD!
I've put on a stone in a year. Not good.
Makes it even more horrible when I've achieved nothing with work knowing that I'm also getting fatter, less healthy, more spotty.... sigh.

I wish my PhD was in..fitness training or something. (I'm sure such a thing exists somewhere...)

I know the feeling! I got married at the end of my first year so managed to keep the weight off as I wanted to fit in my wedding dress. But since we got married I put nearly 2 stone on (in less than a year, oops!)

Anyway, I recently joined slimming world and have lost nearly a stone in 8 weeks. It doesn't really feel like a diet, just healthy eating, so I'm sticking to it!

Wow Button, that sounds amazing! Well done you! I've read further back in this thread and laughed out loud when I read Sneak's post about having starved herself for her wedding then starting eating during the reception - that is totally what I've done! I'm too scared to get on the scales and see how much weight I've put on! Is the food expensive for slimming world or is it just like doing a normal shop?

The only issue with slimming world is that you really have to make meals from scratch. For example, rather than buying a shop bought lasagne, I make a home-made lasagne.

It does take time BUT I cook all my meals in advance and freeze them all. Last Saturday was cooking day so I made about 6 portions of lasagne, 4 portions of cottage pie, and about 20 portions of soup! It means that it actually takes less time making lunch and tea, because I just defrost it and then chuck it in the microwave!

The good thing about it is that me and hubs can eat the same thing as it's not really a diet (unlike weightwatchers). Buy a slimming world pack off ebay, I don't go to classes or anything (up)

Ooh that sounds good, thanks Button! :-)

Wow, congrats on your weight loss! Inspiring :) I was thinking of joining weight watchers but it seems like a waste of money. Will check out slimmin world...