I read that article and have been waffling back and forth on starting the diet. I've tried so many...Atkins, Somersize, WW, JC, Herbalife, and the list goes on and on. I even did the whole count calories and exercise and managed to gain more weight then than I did just eating whatever I wanted. And I'm not talking about over the course of a couple weeks, I'm talking at least 3 months for each attempt.

I unpacked a box yesterday that had gotten shoved back in the storage area from when I moved and it had my bathroom scale in it. The numbers on it were really scary and I guess that's what decided me to try one more time. So here goes nothing... 126 pounds to lose for my long-term goal. My short-term goal is 10. One step at a time I guess. Today's my first down day.

Oops! Sorry Beth. I had asked you to post a typical "up" day's worth of meals, but I saw in an earlier post you don't restrict yourself.

Maybe we should make this a group. Would anyone be interested? Beth, would you be our fearless leader?? How would we go about doing that? I'm new to this...

Hi Angie,
I know you didn't ask me, but a typical up day for me has been, for example, 2 eggs and a piece of toast w/ jelly. 2 cups of coffee, a piece of fruit for a mid morn snack. Lunch being a cup of sweet tea, chicken breast, sm potatoe w/ a little butter, some string beans, a yogurt, 1 cookie for mid afternoon snack. For supper a med. bowl of beef stew 1 piece of butter bread, a cup of sweet tea, I also ate a half a milky-way I split with my daughter. I drank plenty of water in between. Just knowing I could have a cookie or candy bar made things a bit easyer. On the down days I just keep reminding myself I can have it tomorrow, no matter what IT is. I hope this helps you some. I have already lost weight with only 2 down days behind me. If you feel no restrictions on those days I believe it makes it easyer not to overdo too much. Like Beth said, " every other day is a fresh start." You just have to trust you will know when to say "this is too much."
Good luck!

Thanks Monna! You're right about knowing that you can eat every other day. That sounds much easier than weighing, counting, measuring, etc. every day of your life. I've done that before - no fun!

Well, good luck to you, too. I have my first down day tomorrow. I think I'll go with not having anything until about noon. That way I don't drink all my shakes by 3 p.m.!

Hi, everyone--

I also saw the article on this diet in Woman's World, and I thought I'd give it a try. Today is my first down day.

I have to lose about 60 lbs to weigh the same as my husband, so that's my first goal.

Beth, your success so far is very inspiring--keep up the great work! And good luck to everyone else, too.

The great thing about doing this at this time of year is that by the time shorts/bathing suits season comes around, maybe we'll have already made some progress. Usually I wait until it gets warm to think "Damn--I shoulda gone on a diet."

Laurie

Welcome, Jenn! We're rooting for you. Please let us know how you did on your first down day.

Boy, I'm glad you noticed that other post, because writing it all down would make it seem like dieting!



That's a great idea--I'll look into that later this evening, okay?

I'm Baaaa-aaaack. Ok folks. Beth, Angie Monna and anyone else on this diet...I want IN. We have snow here in WV and I decided that tomorrow will be my first down day. So...Angie...I, the other Angie, am joining you for a "down" day tomorrow. I'm excited and I must admit, a little bit nervous about this, especially since we'll probably have a snow day and I'll be in the house all day with my daughter. '

I can only pray that God grants me the success you have had, Beth. It's very inspiring and gives me great hope. My problem is usually "sticking to the program" so I think the fact that I get a "day off" from the diet EVERY OTHER DAY will keep me from getting bored or stuck in a rut. Thanks for sharing your stories everybody!

Hi, Angie--I'm excited that you are going to give this a try! I wish you all the best.

I think sticking to it ONE day and getting a free day the very next day is going to make a big difference for you. You don't diet all week. Only three or four days out of the week. It's not bad, really. If you run into something you want to eat on a down day, just save it for the following day and you can have it!

Oh, brother. I tried to start a group and I ended up starting another JUDDDD forum just like this one! Help! How do I get rid of it?!

Okay, if you go to traineo groups, there is now a JUDDDD group you can join. I'm not sure if it will be much different from this little thread we have going right now. It's set up as an "open" group at the moment, which means anybody can join in.

Now, there is a little icon of my cat and underneath that, it identifies me as the organizer, and says you can visit my page. Except that I disabled visiting my personal page a couple of days ago, because I am not comfortable having people see specific information about how much I would like to lose or how much I weigh. It's not so much that I think other people would care, but I just don't feel comfortable sharing that over the internet.

Sorry to be such a wimp . . .

AAaack!

Someone brought barbecued pork and beef into the house and left it in the kitchen! It smells so delicious! Okay, I'm not going to have any right now, because it's my down day. I've been good all day and I don't want to wreck it. It's about 7:30 p.m. and I have had all my shakes for the day. I am going to have a sugar free popsicle. I can have some barbecued meat tomorrow--for BREAKfast if I feel like it!

Trying to stay strong here . . . I am also not going back in that kitchen until somebody puts that stuff in the fridge!

Beth,

Does this diet mention that on your "up days",certain foods should be avoided? I am wondering that if one eats "whatever she wants", this could lead back to high blood pressure, etc., especially if that person eats a lot of salt and high carb foods leading to high triglycerides, etc...

Your thoughts on eating whatever you want?

Dave

Hi Guys,
To answer Dave, The web site didn't mention anything to avoid. Let's face it, anything overdone is not good for you. My theory is you should keep things within reason. I am still trying to eat "well" on the up days. I've done too many main stream diets to forget what I've learned. The good thing is no food is forbidden. If I want some ice cream I can have it. That doesn't mean I can sit down and eat the whole gallon. If I want a hamburger I can. That doesn't mean order the 1lb pig out special. I think you need to still use reason even on a up day.
Like I said that is just my oppinion. You know what they say about that, everyone has got one.

I got to sleep in late today due to school being closed today. This morning I broke the news to my husband that I was going to try this new diet. He was very skeptical and said that "starving yourself is just stupid." I gave him a bit more info and said that I was going to try it anyway so if he wanted dinner tonight, I'd prefer him to eat leftovers or pick something up. It seems harsh, but I need to stay far away from food b/c I snack when I cook.

So far on this 1st "down day" I have only drank water. I think I'll wait until 11:00 or 12:00 for that first shake. Today was the first day I didn't have a couple of bites of Madeline's cereal. It's amazing how many calories I consume that are just a bite here and there.

Dave...I am new to this diet, but I am not ABOUT to go all out tomorrow and eat nothing but junk. I want to lower my cholesterol and have energy and set a good example for my daughter. I'm actually a little worried about getting all my allotted calories in on my UP day. On the other hand, it's nice to know that if I go to a baby shower and eat that piece of cake on my up day, I haven't REALLY cheated so I don't go through the process of beating myself up, getting depressed about it, and taking a week to get back "on track." I love the fact that it's a fresh start every other day. Your concern about unhealthy transfats, salt, and empty calories is valid, though. Hopefully everyone will think of what they've learned about nutrition and keep their food intake "reasonable" as Monna said.

Now that my novel is over, I think I'll clean a little so I'm busy and we'll have time to sleigh ride later! That's my cardio for the day by the way!!!!

My thoughts on eating whatever I want on up days are: it's delicious!

I already have high blood pressure from being overweight, so losing pounds should help with that.

I'm not a doctor, so if you have concerns about what to eat on an up day, maybe you should talk to one. I, myself, am taking Dr. Johnson at his word and just going for it. I've tried many healthy diet plans like Weight Watchers, low-fat dieting, etc., and I wasn't able to stick with them daily and lose weight. However, I have had some great initial success with Dr. Johnson's diet. I figure, the diet I *do* is better than the diet I *don't* do.

If I feel like having a candy bar or something, I have it. I don't deliberately overstuff myself, though. Suprisingly, just a taste of something is often enough. I observed that I feel pickier about what I eat on an up day, too--I don't want to "waste" my up day on eating something I don't like much. I noticed, for example, that I am totally uninterested in eating anything with pasta.

I believe many overweight folks are afraid that if they give themselves permission to eat what they like that they will get totally out of control. I have personally not found that to be the case.

Excellent comment, Monna! I agree with you. And, if I *did* happen to order a "1-lb. pig out special," I most likely would not eat much else that day because I would be too full!

I too am keeping the foods I eat on my up days to the sensible--and actually, after eating right for so long now, it's kind of a default for me.

For example, for my next meal, (this is an up day, of course), it shall be lo-fat lean-beef chile with green beans in it too, (I just love chile like this), in a small wheat-tortilla wrap, baked with a little grated Emmentol on top for stretch 'n fun.

With the wrap, I'll be serving Baby Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinegar and with a lil more Olive Oil than usual, accented with Mandarin slices and crushed Almonds. Plus a treat of a small glass of white wine.

: )

Angie W., you made so many great comments in your post--but I'll just pick up on this one--

first, congrats on starting your down day! It sounds like you are off to a great start, and we'll be interested to hear how it goes for you.

Second, you are so right about consuming a lot of calories "here and there"--they do add up! You're not cheating if you graze and nibble your way through your up days, though!

Also, I'm sorry to hear your hubby was skeptical, but won't he be delightfully surprised to have a happy, energetic and slimmer wife!

Minu, that sounds just delicious! I'll be right over . . .

Beth, I'm trying to lower my blood pressure, too. It's borderline high right now, but I'll be interested to see if this way of eating changes anything. My cholesterol is ok, but the LDL is a little high and the HDL could be higher. Triglycerides are a little elevated as well. These are all conditions that would improve with weight loss and exercise, I'm sure!

I have a Dr.'s appt. in early March, so maybe I'll see some results by then.

"Minu, that sounds just delicious! I'll be right over . . ."

Heheh!

Viv the UP days.

; )

(I just joined your officia group, so I'll post over there from now on.)

Thanks Beth! So far so good. It's almost 11:00 and I'm getting pretty hungry. I think I may go ahead and vacuum before I eat, though so I can prolong the hunger later this evening!

P.S. I'm a little concerned about putting on all those layers of clothing since I've had so much water! haha!

Minu...I love your creativity and gourmet taste! It makes dieting sound like a treat instead of a chore! Good luck!

I'm getting hungry, too, Angie. This diet turned Beth into a cat, and I've turned into a dog. I hope I don't growl at people today...

I may go ahead and eat around 11:30.

My friends and I are following the meal plans in the magazine (1100 calories per day) and after my first down day, I am down 2 pounds. I know there's no guarantee that it will stay off (could be water, etc.) but I am just so excited to see that scale move! If nothing else, I am eating plenty of fruits and veggies which I have not previously done and am oddly drawn to them on an up day.

And Beth,
Thanks so much for starting this thread. Without it, we wouldn't have much information on the diet. I'm not sure why the JUDDD diet website isn't more helpful, but I am so glad I stumbled upon your post.

Angie, just blame the growling on your stomach. It is 11:38 and I am going to "eat" or "drink" my meal. I'm thinking of having some sliced green peppers with it or something just to feel like I've eaten and to keep me from chugging the shake and wishing I could have 5. Staying busy has been helpful for me, but my head is starting to hurt so I think it's time to get something in my system.

Good luck!

Angie, I think I'm going to have a protein bar for breakfast/lunch, then shakes later on.

Take care!

That sounds good. I just finished another glass of water (which brings me to at least half of a gallon today), a shake, and 1/2 of a green bell pepper. I totalled the calories and it was 192 which only leaves me 253 for the rest of the day. That is scary to me! I hope we can really do this!

Angie, I think you can give yourself a little leeway on the calorie count. The recommended range is 20-35% of your normal intake. If you're starving by this evening, an extra 50 cals. (like V8 juice or the Suisse Mocha Beth mentioned) probably won't hurt. Or, just crunch on celery or cucumber slices.

Did you say you haven't really dieted before? One of the problems I've had in the past with dieting is the counting, weighing, measuring, etc. It can drive you crazy if you have to do it every day!! That's why I like this idea. Even if you eat quite a bit tomorrow, the two days will most likely balance out. Plus, I think it keeps your metabolism guessing. On most diets our metabolism starts to slow down due to restricted caloric intake. But maybe by us switching back and forth, it keeps the metabolism off balance. Just my very uneducated opinion...

I hope you're feeling all right! I just had my bar and some water, so I feel better now. Less "growly!" We can do this!

Just remember: You can eat what you want tomorrow. YEA!