Martin Katahn's Rotation Diet?

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Thank you both, MaryanC and Starsnfire, for posting! If I weren't so terribly tired (2:17 am EDT:) I'd love to chat -- you both had so many wonderful comments :) -- but, I'll have to check back when my ole brain is actually working! :) (Had to stay up due to a sick family member tonight) Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated what you had to say -- Thank you!!
 
Lost 78 lbs on Rotation Diet 10 years ago. I have since modified the Rotation Diet to fit me better. With my modified Rotation Diet, I can routine lose 20 to 30 lbs each 4 week rotation.


Here's my Diet Diary: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/t/50356/50-lbs-down-50-to-go
 
Greetings to Momma, Mary, Stars, and Free - glad I'm not the only one that thinks the Rotation Diet (even with variations)

is a good plan. My reasons: it's the only thing that has ever worked for me, I'm a dieting wimp, I like the limited time frame. Time for my fall shape-up - starting at 176, hoping to reach goal of 172 in a 2 week time frame.


I began last Friday (after trying on clothes!). Calorie levels thus far - 1400,1300,1400,1850,1700. As you can see this is somewhat high but I told you I was a dieting wimp. Yesterday and today I am trying something new. An article in a women's magazine featured a diet where you limit carbs just 2 days a week (to 50 grams per day) and lose up to 8 pounds a week, eating normally the other 5 days. I didn't want to risk trying that alone but I thought I would work it into the rotation. Reading up on low carb diets they are supposed to prevent cravings and I do feel satisfied today. It's a nice contrast to low calorie dieting where you might try to fill up on radishes and celery. Even those small amounts of carbs add up but you can have meat, fish, cheese, eggs and not worry about it. Even nuts are low carb. So it's fun to eat plenty of those things you would usually limit. I do miss my fruits, veggies, and grains but 2 days a week is doable. I shall report on Friday the results from the first week - I'm at 174 today.
 
Hey Aloe - sounds like an interesting plan , kind of a blend of low-cal vs low-carb...

keep us posted how it goes . :willy_nilly:


cheers,

Maryann
 
Free, have you really lost 50 lbs in 11 weeks? That's amazing!! I see you have changed the calorie counts to 1200/1500/1800. Are you exercising or walking every day? I think everyone struggles with those first 600 cal days, and if you are getting good results with a higher count, it would sure be easier than wrestling with the 6's!


Way to go!! And thanks for being an inspiration. I will toast you with a big glass of water as I start another week. Good luck, everyone, with the upcoming week!- Starsnfire
 
Originally Posted by Starsnfire


Free, have you really lost 50 lbs in 11 weeks? That's amazing!! I see you have changed the calorie counts to 1200/1500/1800. Are you exercising or walking every day? I think everyone struggles with those first 600 cal days, and if you are getting good results with a higher count, it would sure be easier than wrestling with the 6's!



Way to go!! And thanks for being an inspiration. I will toast you with a big glass of water as I start another week. Good luck, everyone, with the upcoming week!- Starsnfire
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Yes I lost 50 lbs in 11 weeks last year. I lost 9 lbs in my first week back on my modified Rotation Diet last week.


Yes I exercise at least 60 mins almost every day. Please note I am a male and our cal count is higher. I couldn't handle 600 cal days.


Here's my Diet Diary: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/t/50356/50-lbs-down-50-to-go/300#post_837473
 
Okay, gang. I need to start this thing. And, I think I found my motivation. My estranged husband was just diagnosed with prostate cancer -- and, even though his scores weren't at the 'top of the charts', they're high enough to give you a little jolt. (He still needs more testing to find out where he really stands.) Anyway, I don't think I've ever really faced my own mortality in the way I have this past week. So, I'm going to start one step at a time. First, I want to get out and walk. I know that hardly sounds like a good start :) -- but, with my weight (260), and age (55), my mobility is swiftly declining. So, just walking, at first, should give me the boost I need to actually start the RD. And, on that -- I'm thinking I might use the men's program. If I don't lose the weight I expect on that program I can always switch to the women's. I hate to 'cheat' on this diet -- but, hate to starve, too! :) Wish me luck.
 
Hi 1fatmomma ,


so sorry to hear about est.husband's prostate cancer - wishing the best for his treatment ... and Yes- health issues sure do give a Major wake-up call .... can't really afford to fool-around with overweight ( especially at our age - ) - the odds are just getting very poor if we let that weight stay on .


~ walking is an excellent place to start - even without any diet changes this past spring - I was walking only 1/2hr per day - and that was enough to keep from gaining - just 1/2hr - and no food restricting.


~ and Yes - U will find , that even that bit of light exercise will start you feeling better - and give the energy/inspiration to approach your food - once you're ready ...


~ RD - yup - I totally agree that our weights - the Men's program is much more sustainable - I tried the 600/900/1200 back a month ago when I first started - didn't work - was cranky, irriitable, and ended up crashing and caving-off the diet most afternoons. ( I've been following calories that another member uses here - "Free" - it rotates between 1,200/1,500 week , and a 1,500/1,800 week -much more sustainable - the loss has been slow for me - but at least I am losing - and able to stay with the plan.


~ ? Diary - I found this Kathan thread a pretty slow-one , there are a lot more active members over on the Diet and Motivation section - under "Weight Loss Diary"- you might want to start a thread there - then you'll likely get more frequent support & feedback.


~ wishing U the best Momma - U are starting the Most important Step - U are STARTING . !

....and as scbibhouse says ( she's another member on here - she's our age also - and has lost Major pounds) - IT is NOT a Race , it IS a JOURNEY - slow & steady - & U will get there.


Maryann C.
 
Aloe

I have read all your progress and say congrats your doing great. I just wanted to tell you I followed a very similar eating plan and did lose however. I changed my breakfast from yogurt to 2 eggs (cooked in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time and added a piece of cheese to the top) my weight loss doubled. I think because yogurt has sugar in it. And the protein boost is better I guess.

so 2 eggs with cheese 1 piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast

apple for snack

1/2 can tuna with 1 tsp mayo on whole wheat toast and green beans for lunch

spinach with cut up asparagus(yuck) and 12/ cup beans instead of meat (fills me up more) and blue cheese dressing 1-2 tbs for dinner

1/2 banana with a little peanut butter

i went from 2-3 lbs a week to 5-6 lbs per week just rotating the eggs with the yogurt.

the 45 calorie dannon yogurt with 4 strawberries and 10 postasios and 1/2 banana mixed up (the yogurt is small but with everything in it its very filling)

apple for snack

1/2 chicken breast grilled with seasoning cut up on large amount of mixed greens and blue cheese dressing (sometimes i throw some beans on top)

carrots with a little hummus.

and turkey (from a can) with 1tbs mayo on wheat toast with a slice of cheese with a green veggie which i dont like much for dinner

my meals are quick and easy due to long 16 hour work days 4 days a week i dont have time to cook much however if you notice i try to fit in the protein and fiber more than anything

only do the yogurt once a week and see if that moves you along faster i would be curious if it was just me or if it holds true to everyone. if you dont like the colesterol do 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites.

let me know what u think

keep up the good work
 
Hello again to everyone...I recognize a few of you and see a couple new ones. It has been forever it seems since I last posted something. I saw a news article on my local tv station stating that if you loose weight in a group, like in Weight Watchers, a person will loose more than if they were doing it on there own. I totally agree with this.

Anyway, today I am on day 5 of the program. I am following the book exactly. It took me awhile for things to "click" in my brain about why I need to do this. I had been wanting to start this program again and tried and failed a few times. Why would I want to limit what I ate? Why would I want to follow a restrictive program? Why couldn't I just eat what I wanted in smaller portions and still loose the weight? What if I became a vegetarian or followed a different weight loss program? These are a few of the questions I asked myself. I realize now I was being selfish. And the fact that I had used this program in the past and was successful with it ( loosing 55 #) reaffirmed that I needed to use this again and not try something different.

I am not sure why it clicked with me. My youngest son and I just returned from vacation to Cancun, Mexico. For one, maybe it was the fact that when I was flying on each plane, I had to loosen the seat belt as far as it could go to even buckle it. Or maybe it was I couldn't walk too fast and was out of breath trying to make connecting flights. Or it could have been my vacation itself. Those mexican people are hard workers. What was my excuse? I asked myself. There was no reason whatsoever for me not to start this again. So the morning after I returned, I started. When people are determined about something, they continue with it and with a passion.

I have a long way to go. I would like to loose 100 lbs. Last time, I was working on my fourth cycle when I lost the 55 lbs, so that would have been about 12 weeks. So this go around, it will take me 8 or so cycles. I plan on incorporating Zumba and weight training for my exercise at the local gym. Even though it is day 5, I need to take one cycle at a time, or if it harder than that, one day at a time. Putting one foot in front of the other and not looking back is a good way to think about it.


What is my excuse? I don't have any excuses anymore. It is time for me to get healthy and I am so glad there is an outlet for me to "blog" about it. I hope all of you are doing well in your journey's. We are all here to inspire each other. I am totally looking forward to it!
 
Hey Funkyonions- I so totally agree with you - just have to make up your mind that "healthy" is a priority -


... an "interest" is something you do when it's convenient, but if you are "committed" to something - you do it - no matter what ! No excuses !


Good for U on a good-road now.... & it is one-step-at-a-time....

... I'm on a similar long-road ( have about 120lbs. to lose)..'been at it since early August ....but have made up my mind - will stick with it - for as many months/years as it takes - I also found "trouble" with seat-belts last time I flew- am done with that.... time to make a difference...


~ wishing you success....


Maryann .

...
 
Today starts day 10 of the program. Yeah! almost halfway through one cycle!! It has been pretty good going so far. My son came into town this past weekend and Sat night we went out to dinner. I had a taco salad with guacamole and salsa for a dressing. I put both on my salad. Wasn't too bad but I think I will stick to my low calorie italian dressing next time. Sun night, I fixed Chicken Tomasi. Man it was so good! And the boys liked it a lot! Yes, it was part of my rotation on the 1200 calorie days. The recipe for Chicken Tomasi is in The Rotation Diet book but I didn't see it in the Cookbook that Dr. Katahn and his daughter put together. Who knew that adding yogurt to the sauce would taste so good! If any of you are interested in tasting this delicious dish, let me know and I will write out the recipe for all to see. My pants fit better and I don't have so much of a "bulge" on my stomach. I can see some difference in my face and I think it will take a little bit before other people start noticing. But I am not doing this for anyone but myself. I don't usually weigh myself but I think I might at the end of each cycle to see what type of progress I am making.


I have decided to try a little experiment. Dr. Katahn explains that everyone needs an exercise outlet, even if it is just one "exercise." For this first cycle, I am not going to do anything different, physically, than I normally do. On my second cycle, I will incorporate the exercise portion, which is going to be Zumba and weight training, into the program. I want to see how much of a difference not doing exercise compared to exercising affects the weight loss in the program. Call me crazy but I want to know what the difference is going to be.


I also have a request. I would like to "treat" myself on a weekly basis for my progress. Don't need anything to treat myself food wise cause that would throw off my balance and I can't really afford to buy new workout attire so it is going to have to be something simple...any ideas?? Going out with my son to dinner was my "treat" for that week. Will have to think on it for a bit.


I wish you all the best...


Happy Rotation everyone!!
 
Hey Onions !

Glad to hear your rotation is going well.....always nice to "feel" the clothes fit improving :p Definately a good sign.


One treat I allow myself is a "pay" movie at home ( our cable service has "premium" - new run movies - that you can access by clicking "ok" with remote - then get 24hr access to watch a new - just out of theatres movie)....I treat myself to this sometimes - it's fun....low-cost ( I think around $4) ...and No cal ! ...lol

( & yu could include some veg sticks/no-cal dip , or a Safe-fruit , or even a 100cal mini-bag of no-fat microwave popcorn) to make it a "movie nite at home" treat for U.
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cheers gal,

Maryann C.
 
Great job funkyonions! I am so glad to hear you are managing the rotations! And it such a great feeling when those clothes loosen up!


For my 'treat' I make time to do something I really enjoy that doesn't have to involve food. A bottle of water and an hour at a bookstore; a scrap night at the local craft store; polishing my nails; reading all the new magazines for free at the library; one or even two movies at the dollar theater with some apple slices in my pocket; learning a new craft with a friend; going to a farmers market for a few hours on the weekend; going to a play at a local high school or community theater- something that doesn't have to cost a lot but gives you a lot of enjoyment. Or if you can, spend the cash if it reinforces the good behavior! For a lot of us, free, as in no other demands on it, time is a treat in itself. And you deserve it! So, take it! And with every bead you string or magazine you read, you can say," this is because I didn't eat that pizza!" "This is because I had all those green beans instead of garlic bread" "This is because I made a good choice!"


Keep up the good work! We are rooting for you! --Starsnfire
 
Well, here it is December - time for me to do a rotation before everyone else makes their resolution to lose weight! Sorry I didn't report in after my autumn post. The low carb days didn't seem to make any difference. I believe I was still 174 at the end of two weeks, then went to Salt Lake City for a little over a week. Since then I have gradually gained backed the two pounds plus four more and I am feeling FAT at 180.


Thanks for the tip about the eggs Skinnyup - I will try that some days. Today I wasn't too hungry at breakfast so I had a half cup of cottage cheese with some carrot and celery in it plus some herb tea. Just finished a 45 minute arthritis exercise session (with light weights). I've been neglecting that so must get back in the groove.


I hope to see MaryannC and Funkyonions and Starsnfire and Momma and Free back on here soon to report on their situations.
 
Day 3

Had 1000 calories on day 1. Weighed in @ 178 on Day 2.
Had 1500 calories on day 2. Weighed in @ 178 on Day 3.

I hope to use various foods recommended as helping with weight loss: white tea (shrinks fat cells and keeps new ones from forming), egg a day (to retain muscle while losing fat), pine nuts (affects hormones that make you feel satisfied), grapefruit (helps convert calories to energy instead of fat), molasses (blocks fat absorption).

Breakfast: yogurt with molasses and apple. (Had eggs yesterday) white tea
Lunch: tomato brown rice soup and celery plus 1 T. pine nuts before eating.
Snack: free vegetable soup (chard, zucchini, mushrooms, etc) and a hard boiled egg.
Supper: brown rice, baked fish, purple cauliflower, white tea

Moved wood chips for 90 minutes for exercise. Have felt pleasantly satisfied most of the day.

I'm planning to alternate between 1000 and 1300 for the rest of the week.
 
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Day 4

Happy to see 176 today!

Breakfast: egg, cottage cheese, carrot and celery, tea sweetened with molasses, 1 T. pinenuts
Lunch: pizza
Snack: grapefruit & triscuits
Supper: lentil vegetable soups plus a small baked potato.
Calories: 1500

Felt pretty satisfied most of the day but quite hungry before supper. Satisfied after supper but sure would like another potato!
 
Day 5

aloe said:
I have completed the 3 week rotation and am now 5 pounds lighter than when I began! I averaged 1500 calories a day, burned about 800 calories of fat per day so my maintenance level should be about 2300 calories. I am going to stay around 1800 calories during this transition week and try to then average 2100 calories a day as my new norm.
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I was extremely hungry last night. Got up and had that potato and 2 pieces of string cheese which I am counting on day 5. Didn't feel too hungry in the morning but weighed in back at 178. Trying to figure out what calorie levels are tolerable yet give good results. In the original rotation diet, men's and women's levels were 1200 calories below maintenance at the lowest point.
So if my maintenance level is 2300 that would make the lowest level 1100, then 1400, then 1700 for week two.

Reading back over my posts, I see I have needed to use the rotation diet about 3 times a year since 2009 - if I hadn't I would probably weigh 240 pounds by now! Since 2009 I have gone from 172-174 up to 178-180. I would really like to reach and maintain the 172 but for the past year 176 is what I've been able to maintain for months. So this time my tentative plan is to rotation diet till I reach 174 and then try to lose 2 more pounds and keep it off by some slower, steadier method. However, if that doesn't work, I'm going to build four rotations a year into my lifestyle and use March, June, September, and December as my health and beauty months, when I lose a few pounds if necessary, trim and condition hair, use face masks, check wardrobe, etc.
 
Snack: potato and string cheese
Breakfast: a hard boiled egg, a grapefruit and herb tea
Lunch: a tablespoon of pine nuts corn macaroni and cheese, corn
Snack: apple and 1 T. pine nuts
Supper: baked chicken thigh and sweet potato fries, tossed salad
1400 calories
Exercise: 45 minute anti-arthritis weight session

I have felt pretty satisfied most of the day.
 
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