I've spent my whole life (after kids) dieting and never been able to maintain the loss and as soon as I stopped dieting I would gain it all back and more. This diet is a life saver for me and I am so grateful to have found a way that gives me power over food and the ability to not starve when I diet. I will never give it up. After I am at goal I will switch to maintenance mode and keep counting calories to be sure I don't gain it back. JUDDD has given me control over my life and what I want to be. How long did you give it Starla? Did you reach goal? Or did you give it up and gain back the weight? If you truly went by the guidelines set out by Dr. Johnson you would get the true benefit. If we don't really try, how can we say it won't work? How much weight were you able to lose? And we are not ever able to eat whatever we want without gaining weight. Have you lost anything on your new diet? Wishing you success, Lexy88

Hi, I am new here but have been JUDDDing since 9th June, with a good couple of weeks out for holidays. My total loss has been 5.5lbs over nearly 5 weeks, nothing earthshattering but good, steady loss. To start with I was overeating on my UDs, I am now keeping an 1800cal limit on them so hopefully staying comfortably under my 2100 daily usage.

It is good to see so many others enjoying and suceeding with this diet. I love JUDDDing, I feel energetic and I only eat things I like. Other diets had ceased to work for me, my metabolism adjusted too quickly to a lower intake. I have about 6lbs to go till I reach my goal, and if it takes several weeks that is OK. After that I will stay on JUDDD maintenance, it is going to get harder to lose as the years go by so the best answer is not to regain.

No diet suits everyone, I've seen several people try JUDDD, lose well in the first week then stick, or go mad on UDs and not lose at all, and decide the diet is not right for them. Most of us have probably done the same with various diets in the past. Some people need a more prescriptive approach, which can be great for weightloss. For me JUDDD is both good for losing and a great way of learning to be controlled with food.

It is a little irritating to hear someone call JUDDD a "fad diet". I didn't see anywhere on Dr. Johnson's web page that said "go on the diet, lose the weight, get off the diet, and eat anything you want as much as you want, and the weight will stay off" maybe I missed that paragraph....

What I did see on Dr. Johnson's web site was how you are SUPPOSE to go from weight loss mode to weight loss/maintenance mode, then to maintenance mode.

I am sorry, but there is NO diet that will make you lose weight, and then allow you to go back to eating like you were before the diet and not gain the weight back...

If you, or anyone else, is serious about losing weight, then the first thing you need to do is accept responsiblity for being overweight. People have a tendency to go on a diet, lose weight (sometimes reaching their goal), get off the diet, put the weight back on (usually with a few extra pounds) and then blame the diet. That is where the words "fad diet" came from. I'm sorry, I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you, it is NOT judddd's fault (any diets fault), it is YOUR fault you put the weight back on. Just like it has been My fault for my weight gain.

Maybe the term should be "fad dieters" instead of "fad diets"

Ok maybe my last post sounds a little harsh to some, but it is something that I thought needed to be said. My personal info does not show up, so let me give it to you. I am not a skinny teenager that has never had a problem with weight. I have been battleing weight since I was in the 5th grade. My largest was 220, right before I got pregnant with my third child, and I am now down to 170 (as of last offical weigh in). Some of the weight I lost during my pregnancy, but the last 29 lbs has come off with JUDDDD. I no longer blame my mom for not teaching me to watch what I ate when I was young, I no longer blame my second pregnancy (which is when I put on most of the weight). I blame myself. "I" am the one who overate. No one has control over what goes into my body except me. I am the reason I am fat. I am the reason my dieting attempts have failed in the past, but I am the reason this one will NOT fail.

ok Kimberly, you know nothing about me or my struggles, so i suggest you keep your ill tongue to yourself. I did not try to discourage anyone away from this diet, i said it wasnt for me. I also continued to eat healthy, and still gained the weight. I didn not blame JUDDDD for my failure or anyone else for that matter, sounds to me like you are the one with blame issues, you seem to attack anyone who doesnt see eye to eye with JUDDDD. Everyone elses responses to me have not been mean, they have all been supportive, in telling me they hope i find what works for me.
And a diet is just that, a diet. But its up to you if you decide to stick with it for life. LIKE I SAID BEFORE. I wish everyone luck and hope it all goes well for everyone.

After decades of being overweight and never being able to achieve long-term success with dieting, I am living proof that you can indeed teach an old dog, or in this case an old dieter, new tricks. Finding JUDDDD and this way of alternating calories has been a blessing for me.

Starla, like Kim I have often been passionate in my defense of JUDDDD. So have others here over the course of this very long thread. When you struggle and struggle with a problem and then find a solution, you do tend to want to defend it to it's detractors.

JUDDDD works for me. It works for Kim. It works for Beth. It works for Marie. It works for Heather. It works for Caribbean Breeze. It works for suesue. And it works for dozens of others. It isn't a fluke. It isn't a fad. It is a sustainable lifestyle that brings wonderful health benefits and has the side effect of helping us lose weigh and maintain weight loss.

I wasn't trying to be rude to you Starla, and I do wish you good luck in losing weight. I understand the woes of losing and gaining weight. I do not think JUDDDD is for everyone, as I have pointed out in many of my posts, it is important to find something you can stick to for the rest of your life. JUDDDD (like atkins, WW, etc.) is not just a "diet". It is meant to bring about a new eating lifestyle. I have tried many diets in the past and didn't stick to them (although some people have done them and been able to stick to them for life with great results). I only meant that JUDDDD, atkins, WW, etc. are not fad diets with temporary results if they are done correctly, they all have maintenance levels that you have to stick to to keep the weight off. You have to be ready to stick with it for the rest of your life to be able to lose the weight and maintain the weight loss. You said you was eating healthy and still gained the weight back. If you were honestly eating healthy, well proportioned meals after you stopped the diet and still put the weight back on, then maybe you need to go to your doctor and have some blood tests done (have your thyroid checked). Some people have thyroid problems and don't even know it, which directly influences the rate in which you gain and lose weight. Most people do not have underactive thyroids, overeating unintentionally and intentionally are the main causes of gaining weight.

Wow, Kimberley--thanks for sharing how JUDDDD has made a big difference in your life. That's fantastic, and very inspiring! Great job!!

Hi, Claire! Congratulations on your weight loss success! I'm really happy that you are enjoying your JUDDDD experience. Great work!

Starla, I really do you wish you the very best of success in your weightloss journey. Please feel free to post here anytime if you want to share some ideas, encouragement, etc.

Kimberley, I love your passion and your success speaks for itself. Your weighloss is an inspiration to me!

My own feeling about weightloss is that if you are losing weight, gaining health, and happy with your plan, that's success. Many of us have to make several attempts, try numerous plans, and figure out what works with our tastes, lifestyle, exercise habits and personalities. I know several folks who are intrigued by JUDDDD, but just can't handle the down days. A plan like Weight Watchers can be great for such folks.

I personally like JUDDDD because I get every other day off. About two months into my JUDDDD experience I also ran into some of the problems Starla mentioned with eating well, but not losing weight--just maintaining. This is because I was eating too many up day calories, and Dr. Johnson gave me some great tips for not overdoing it on up days which I've already posted elsewhere on the JUDDDD group threads.

Thanks again to EVERYBODY for posting and making things interesting. The discussion and ideas on this thread keeps interest high and helps me stay motivated!

We are GOING TO DO IT, you guys! Wahoooo!

Beth, it's interesting what you say about people not being able to handle the DDs, it strikes me that what a lot of us find hardest is the UDs! I know it sounds stupid but being allowed to eat whatever you like can be harder than not being allowed to eat much at all. I'm happier now I've put a limit on UDs, I feel more in control. I'll sift through the old entries and find your advice on UDs, it could be handy.

Hello everyone!

I've recently discovered this diet and thought I'd give it a try. Yesterday was a normal day for me so I figured that today might as well be a down day. We'll see how things go! I'm currently at 205lbs, and at 5'2", I'm pretty sure it shows. Ideally, I'd like to weigh 140lbs by the end of the year. I've had troubles sticking to diets in the past. Jenny Craig was too expensive, and now the gym is, too. I'd obviously like to get this weight off and keep it that way, but I worry that the UD DD system will not be enough of a rhythm for me to stay in forever. Do any of you have experience with weight gain after say, going back to eating normally in a healthy way, that is 1200-1500 cal/day? And how often should I check the site's calorie counter for calorie changes?

I just want something to work. I'm so sick of looking this way. Any and all words of encouragement welcome :P. I'll hopefully eventually get to read all 83 pages of this thread. Good luck to everyone!

Hi Klaudia, I don't know about eating normally after JUDDD but I have just had a couple of weeks off to go on holiday, ate masses of patisserie and ate out with plenty of wine too. After my first DD back from holiday I was under a pound up on my pre holiday weight. I think because you eat normally every other day on JUDDD you don't get big increases when you stop for a while. That said it is meant to be a lifestyle diet, but with higher DDs for maintenance than for weightloss.

I've been losing just over a pound a week, but I'm only 6lbs from goal, I think you lose more when you have more to lose. You are looking for a couple of pounds a week loss which I'd say is achievable. Why not try the diet for a couple of weeks and see how it suits you, some people love it and others just can't adjust to the fluctuating food and scales. What made your previous diets difficult to stick to? Did you get bored with the food list and cheat? JUDDD will let you have what you crave tomorrow so provided you have 24 hours of staying power you can make it. Or did the scales stick so it didn't seem worth dieting? JUDDD can put your scales up and down like a yoyo, lend them to a friend and visit once a week. If you want a diet which lets you be in control of your food, which gives you both the freedom and the responsibility for what you eat then JUDDD is the best choice, IMO. No books or special food to buy and very simple rules to follow.

Good luck with your weight loss, I'm sure you can do it if you have the motivation. It helps to keep a food diary so you have values to check back on, I keep a graph on Excel so it averages out the fluctuations, very reassuring. And it is comforting to know that there is no such thing as breaking your diet and ruining everything (as there is with a VLCD), it's just putting in another UD so the diet lasts for one day longer.

Okay I think I'm convinced to try it. Today will be my first dd, so we'll see how it goes.

I meant tomorrow. I must've been tired when I wrote that.

Hi Claire, Claudia and JK. Welcome. I wish you all great success with JUDDDD.

Claire, that is an awesome mask. <smiley>

Ahhhh! I just finished my first DD - almost, since I'm still awake and want to finish a lovely TV show!

It wasn't perfect - I fell into temptation, but I don't see it as completely ruined. I was unfortunately unable to find Slimfast shakes, so I got a couple of Nestle's Carnation Breakfast (with no sugar added!) shakes. I saw my personal trainer this morning from 9-10 and didn't get around to the first shake until 2pm. I had another one around 6pm, then I passed out from exhaustion and woke up to have a final shake around 9pm. Each of them is only 150 cals, which makes me happy! The day would've been perfect, but my stepdad brought AMAZING chicken wings home. I went downstairs to grab a bottle of water and just couldn't help myself. I had one. I piled up a whole bunch onto the plate and took it up to my room. I picked another one up, looked at it, put it down, and called my boyfriend for support. My "binging" today ended at one chicken wing, and for someone who is COMPLETELY used to over-eating, especially at night, I'm proud of even being able to accomplish that. I must say that I do feel quite weak with just liquids going into my body, but I'm sure it'll get better.

Hope it's going better for everyone else, but tomorrow is another day and Wednesday will be a much better DD than today! Did anyone else have rough beginnings which they eventually got over or were you all amazingly able to just jump into it cold turkey? Maybe I just have no self-control.

My god this is a long thread. It's good to see you guys all doing so well with the diet! Even though I'm no longer JUDDDIng (too hard.. lost but gained it back), it's encouraging to see others succeed.

Now that Summer is unfortunetly coming to an end, my out of town relatives have left, which thankfully means, no more going out dinner, no more big family BBQS (those breads smeared in olive oil and basalmic vinegars are my weakeness, that and cakes)

And since I know I can't control myself at dinner time and I eat the most at dinner (just how my eating patterns are) I've tried limiting what I eat during the day. And I think it's been helping! So breakfast, lunch and snacks before supper combined, I think I average about 700-900 calories. Then supper should be another 800-900. It's not a big deficit.. but still a tiny tiny one (200?) but now I'm working out again so all this combined.. I should be losing my weight too!

I know this has nothing to do with JUDDD, but I felt inspired to write here. See you guys, good luck!

(you guys are such active participants in the JUDDD, that who knows! maybe he'll come out with the book and have you guys on a show lol)

Thanks Sue, I have several masks! I make jewellery as a hobby when I have the time, and masks are amazing fun to do.

Well done Klaudia, that shows fantastic restraint. I always found the DDs easier than the UDs, to start with I got carried away with being allowed to eat everything. You will get used to it, and most of the time you can just say "I'll have it tomorrow". Sounds like you are off to a good start.

Hi JKR, good luck with the diet.

I have been reading this forum for a few days and have decided to try Juddding. It seems that a lot of people have had some success so it must be at least worth trying for a couple of weeks!

I have gained about 40lbs since giving up running due to knee problems, I am currently on crutches after knee operation and not very mobile - so conscious of putting on even more weight...........

I will try my first 'down day' tomorrow, but wondered if anyone had tried only shakes, or just low cal fruit and veg - or perhaps a mix of both, and if they had found any one easier than the other?

Thanks for all the interesting posts so far, I hope I can add to the success stories !

Hi Sue,

Many of us would NOT recommend fruit for the down day. Carbs seem to make you feel hungry. Vegetables, on the other hand, don't have the same effect since they don't contain as much sugar. You can eat a decent amount of nonstarchy vegetables without using up all your calories, so they're a good choice for a down day.

I (and many others) have found that lean protein is the best bang for your calorie buck on the down day. Examples: turkey or chicken breast, eggs, fat free hot dogs, fish, tofu...the small amount you are allowed to eat seems to satisfy without creating more hunger.

The shakes are convenient and you can be sure of how many calories you are consuming. I find that they don't agree with me, so I have only used them occasionally. You don't have to use the shakes, but you should be extra careful to stick to your calorie goal if you use "real" food.

Good luck!

Lisa

Hey everyone.
Thanks for the warm welcome. I had my first down day yesterday and am wondering how this is going to work for me. I was at only 400cal. last night when I went running with my hubby. It was the worst run ever. I felt light headed and found it hard to catch my breath. We run quite a bit, so I'm going to stick it out a week and see how I adjust. I can't give up running, so we'll see.

I ended up with around 800 cal. for the day. I ended up having a tilapia fillet (broiled, no butter) for dinner as well as a small salad.

I was proud of myself for resisting many temptations during the day though. To include Sonic onionrings. Yumm

The 500 calorie figure may not be appropriate for your activity level. Enter in your details into the calculator on www.judddd.com to see if an active lifestyle affords you more down day calories. the 500 figure we bandy about here is because in the trials Dr Johnson ocnducted, no one failed to lose weight when sticking to 500 calories - that doesn;t mean you fail if you go above it.



As an extra hint, on days when I run on down days, I eat something (about 100cals worth) 30-60 minutes before my run - just to give a boost but some days I don't need it and feel no different running on a down or an up day, so it does vary from day to day. Not every down day run will feel as hard to you as yesterdays.

out of interest, how far/often do you run? can you not shift runs to up days, maybe?


Good luck and don't give up the running!

Thanks Heather,
I did check the site and it gave me 700 calories per day, but I think I'm going to up it to 800 for the first few weeks.

I try to run 5 times per week and my runs are anywhere from 3-6 miles right now. I plan on upping my milage over the next few months since I am training for a half marathon.

I think my failure yesterday was that I wanted to eat a small dinner so I had restricted pretty heavily during the early day so I had NO enegry. Tomorrow I will eat more during the day so that I will have the energy I need in the evening.

We'll see

Hi everyone, I haven't been on this board since March 15, on March 16 I was in a wreck and was in too much pain to do any down days and have been in therapy for 4 months. I also went off the JUDD but I have somehow maintained my weight. I take liquid Collegen at night I think It has helped me maintain my weight and sleep better at night. I started on the diet this week as well a joined Curves too. I'm glad you are are doing well and you are still here. Luann I look forward to losing with you'all again.

Welcome back, LuAnn. I'm so sorry to hear about your accident. Good heavens! We just never know what is going to happen, do we? I hope the combination of JUDDDD and Curves gets you back in shape soon. And it is really good news that you maintained during your recovery from the accident. At least you don't have extra weight to deal with.

Thanks Lisa, seems good advice. I have just started my 'up' day, and surprisingly am not starving as I thought I would be!

I did not keep to 500 calories for the down day, but don't think I did too badly, had some lean meat for dinner which in total made 700 calories.

I have picked up a few ideas for my next downday through other members posts, so thank you all! I intend to keep to the 500 cals tomorrow.

Hi, Jessipoo! It's been a long time since you've posted. I'm glad you found something that works well for you. Best wishes to you for continuining success!

Lu Ann, you poor sweetheart! Congratulations to you on your hard work in therapy and we are very happy to have you posting on JUDDDD!

just wanted to say after i stopped JUDDDD i gained the weight back and now i am watching what i eat without down days and exercising 15-20 min 3-5 days a week i have lost almost 4lbs in little over a week with out starving myself every other day. Im glad it works for others though. I think once you train yourself to eat better, you will for the rest of your life, its a life style change. You train your body to eat junk, and you can train it to eat healty. congrats on everyones accomplishments