That is all.

When you hit a plateau, and stop losing weight, redouble your efforts, and keep going.

Do what you can live with. You need to eat for your life.

Good luck!

And you are smart to give up the diet coke... I find those artificial sweeteners continue sugar cravings. I drink lots of iced green teas, like moroccan mint and day long, but I have to start the day with a nonfat latte (no sugar). I try to eat most carbs earlier in the day. Lots of veggies, legumes, brown rice and I am very careful to make sure everything I eat is very low on the glycemic index.. Drop in blood sugar is sure to cause cravings. Soups are another great idea. I make large batches and freeze them--my favorite is loaded with no less than eight different vegetables, a bit of beef and tomato base but I also make a chicken lentil "stew" that is pretty good and stores/reheats well. If I have a sweet craving, frozen strawberries and bananas can make a quick smoothie, which can also be pretty filling with a little protein powder added... Really low fat diets don't work for me, but a more balanced higher protein, lower carb diet usually does if I stick to it.

Heavens I have a long way to go, but I've found once I drop the cravings, I can then focus on cutting the calories, but not until then. But, I know I won't really drop the weight until I consistently up the exercise, which I'm trying to do.

'Hope you get a lot of suggestions. I'll be looking for those that may help me too. Good luck!

you'll be better off.

For me, it was, first to feel better and have more energy-- i.e., getting on a really well balanced nutritious diet that would take away the cravings. I'm proud to say I've had no processed food and no sugary sweets of any kind in more than 12 weeks. Now, I'm at the point where I'm trying to add back in a bit more exercise and to cut calories back just a bit more. I'll continue to add a bit more activity over coming weeks while keeping my intake about what would be recommended for continuing weight loss.

But, I'm in it for the long haul. I'm not a very good cook, but I can cook simple, healthy fare--and that's all that really matters, I suppose. But, I have to freeze things because there is no way in the world I can find time to cook on a daily basis. I've also found that settling on a dozen or so menus (or less) is probably a good thing... Too much and too little variety are probably both problematic for different reasons.

I wholeheartedly agree. It has benefits such as digestion. Talking with your mouth full can give you air bubbles/gas (not to mention it's a disgusting habit). Chewing your food until it's mush makes it much more enjoyable.

I also read an article that Bhuddists do this.

it helps A LOT to give us more time for food to reach our stomachs, allowing us to know when we really ARE 'full,' instead of eating everything on our plate FAST, assuming we really WANT to eat all that.

There are lots of healthy protein options out there, such as chicken, fish, eggs, low-fat cheeses, beans, nuts, yogurt... Go easy on the nuts and cheese. Make sure you also have some good fat with your veggies, such as olive oil, low-fat dressing, or a low-fat dressing on your salad. You need the fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, such as Vit. A. Both fat and protein will help keep you full, on top of it all.

Make sure you drink a big glass of water before every meal. Drink lots of water all day.

Have a small snack between meals, such as a piece of fruit and a few nuts or a stick of string cheese.

Get a calorie book, and write down everything you eat all day, along with the calories you consume. Don't go under 1200 cal/day, or you'll risk sending your body into starvation mode, which will make it even more difficult to lose weight in the future. I speak of that from experience. You'll screw up your metabolism. Writing down stuff also helps you make sure get in all your veggies and adequate protein. SparkPeople.com has a good online calorie tracker, as well as an exercise tracker. They also are a good source of support, as they have all sort of online groups.

Soup is really filling. Now that it's getting hot outside, you might enjoy cold soups, like gazpacho.

Lastly, don't call it a "diet". Call it a lifestyle change. Diets are temporary, and if you go back to your old ways, any weight you lose will come right back.

Good luck. It's hard work, but once you start seeing results, it gets easier.

Check out HungryGirl.com. She has lots of recipe make-overs, advice on what to eat in restaurants, new products, etc.

Sounds rote, but there it is. Lots of fruits and vegetables and minimizing everything else. Steer clear of too much butter, oils, red meat, and sweets. You can have them every once in a while, but eat them sparingly. And eat lots of whole grains.

I lost 25 lbs. last year on weight watchers. And their system is basically a version of what you already know. Double down on the produce, eat lean meats and whole grains, and avoid the obviously bad foods. As long as you are working out and eating decent, you should see results.

I lost interest and gained back the 25 plus 10. I just got back on the wagon last week, but I'm not too worried about it. Since I've done it once before, I know exactly what it takes to lose weight. It really isn't all that hard, you just have to be mindful of what you put into your body.

Joining Weight Watchers and understanding how it works (the very simple point system) got us off to a good start.

Writing down what you eat every day is a great way to maintain honesty with yourself, as well as develop a cause and effect situation if the weight goes up. I just type it into a daily task entry in my Google calender at the end of each day.

Exercize/get active

Eat fruit, veggies, grains! Lots of them often. (On the weight watcher program, fruit and veggies have ZERO points. Our morning and afternoon fruit breaks were key).

Cut down on alcohol - empty calories (we actually go with a small glass of beer or wine 1-2X/week - far less than we used to drink!).

Water...water...water!

I went from 258 down to 196 and this is the best I've felt in a long, long time (perhaps ever!).

good luck!

EDITED TO ADD something really important! Strike the word "diet". It really is about embarking on a lifestyle change. Diets sound temporary - do it for awhile then you can go back to what you were doing - and that is why so many fail. It is a commitment to just do things differently - that makes it work and last.

I lost nearly 40 pounds about 15 years ago on Weight Watchers and am maintaining. I've gained a little back lately and need to get back to basics.

Water is one of the more difficult things for me, I'd much rather drink coffee but I saw this article about fruit and herb flavored water. I'm thinking about trying the watermelon and rosemary one.

http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Water

all day - and lots of it. sometimes I will go for sparkling water with some fruit juice. My wife and I just crave water - we have family members who are the opposite! go figure....

well done to you as well!

But diets usually don't work long-term. If you're serious you have to change the way you eat for the rest of your life.

though so my will will have to be strong.

I keep tea in the fridge and use Cranberry Juice or one of those little packets to sweeten it. I'm addicted to tea with just a little bit of a Cran Lemonade packet from Ocean Spray (normally get three large glasses per packet). If you're a fan of Hawaiian Punch, they have sugar free packets of those too that are super. There are recipes online for what they call Spa water, water that has fruit or cucumbers in it to take the edge off. I also get selzer water and add a little flavor. That was the deal breaker for me because I just can't stand plain water. I've gotten off soda, and yesterday at the doc, I realized I had lost 13 pounds, and that was the only real change I made.
I've also found a lot of good ideas on Pinterest for healthy snacks. Right now is a great time for fruit because the good stuff is in season. Watch those salads. Some of them have just as many if not more calories than a burger!
Good luck!

Send me a PM with your email address (I swear it'll be safe, and I'll delete it as soon as I send you the invite). I'll send you an invite. It's like crack.

to be tempted by such interesting stuff.

...I don't buy stuff. =)

I am not a regular view of his show, but I happen to catch an episode where he was discussing weight loss. One bit talked about what to eat if based on where one's fat is deposited. One of the things he suggested for those who put it on mainly in their bellies was black tea. Supposedly, black tea binds cortisol, the bad stress hormone, which is partly responsible for belly fat deposition. Dr. Oz said that 4 cups of black tea per day will help get rid of the cortisol, making weight loss a little easier. Decaf is fine. It sounds like a good idea for anyone under any sort of stress. Not good to have all those stress hormones floating around in one's body.

I recently acquired a 1 gal. pickle jar, which is great for making sun tea. I used to just brew some tea triple-strength and pour it over ice. But, it's a lot easier to just pull the jar of tea out of the refrigerator and pour it in a glass. I drink more of it now, and less Diet Coke. I will sometimes flavor it with some Crystal Light "Energy", which comes in the packets like the Ocean Spray. It's full of B vitamins. They would be good in seltzer, too. That new Mio "water enhancer" stuff is pretty good, too. You can put in a few drops if you only want a slight flavor.

We have big Rubbermaid jug in the fridge for much easier pouring. I will start drinking more of it. Did he say if it had to be hot or cold or that we just drink it?

I don't recall that he said either way, but I'm sure iced is fine. That's how I prefer it, especially in the summer. I tried looking to see if the video was posted on his show's web page, but didn't see it. Dr. Oz seems to be a HUGE proponent of drinking tea, so if you search "Dr. Oz tea", it will turn up a bunch of other interesting articles on the subject.

I'd take everything he says with a huge grain of salt. I'm also fully convinced he gets corporate kickbacks for promoting products.

It will turn up the results of the actual study he cited. So, this one is legit. But, I agree that some of what he preaches needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I try to fact-check a lot of this kind of stuff. He's usually pretty good.

I'm sure he gets kickbacks, but he's nowhere near as bad as "The Doctors" in that regard. They are part of the Dr. Phil empire, and they're always pushing the latest fad diets, like "The 17 Day Diet".

He's basically the bane of our existence. Like a couple months ago, he suggested safflower oil for weightloss. Next thing you know, our shelves are bare of safflower oil. We refuse to stock things purely because he recommends them and have customers special order them. We used to start stocking stuff he suggests, but we realized it causes like a two-week run on things then never again. Not to mention, the distributor out of stock issue we run into during the periods of absurd demand.

We call him "Dr. Evil."

I sometimes notice there's been a run on some product at the grocery store, which isn't even on sale. I tend to blame it on the Food Network. It never occurred to me that it was a Dr. Oz or The Doctors thing. Or, some doctor on one of the daytime talk shows...

We go through the same thing at my gym. Especially around New Year's. One of them has some weight-loss promotion going on, and they get Gold's Gym in on it. Next thing you know, it's crowded for a month or two. Then, the vast majority of the new people disappear.

and the prices have gone sky high. One brand at both Safeway and King Soopers--and expensive.

How bizarre that he focused on safflower oil.

We use a consistent markup, except for everyday low price stuff that we sell basically at cost. But yeah, it was bizarre. We got wiped. And now it's back to selling at a normal rate. People use the stuff he recommends for a month or so, find out that it's not a magical potion and move on. This is why we don't carry stuff he recommends just because he recommends it. There's a mad rush that fucks us, fucks the distributor and then nobody wants it anymore.

If you have just a few pounds to lose, you can generally do that by just watching what you eat for a while. However, if you have more than just a few pounds to use, counting calories is the tried and tested method for losing weight. The weight watchers points system is basically a simplified calorie counting method. I'm sure there's a number of great smartphone apps that will do the heavy lifting for you on this.

Breakfast should be your largest meal of the day. Dinner ought to be the smallest of your 3 main meals. The mid morning and mid afternoon meals would consist mostly of fruits and raw veggies.

And exercise. Some folks will hop on an exercise bike while they watch their favorite tv shows.

Edit: The above worked well for me in the past but have reverted back to my old ways in the the past few years and thus have added the weight.

about this method and have been doing it about a week -- Fast Five. You only eat during a five hour window and fast the rest of the time. You can still drink non-calorie beverages -- water, tea, coffee, etc. I recommend Seltzer. I started drinking selzter a few years back and just love it - 0 calories, 0 sodium. There are so many good flavors too.

I used to eat this way years ago, but then I was only eating one meal a day! This way though, I skip breakfast, eat lunch as late as I can between 1-2PM, then eat dinner between 6-7PM.

I'll post a link to some info about it below. I was really happy to read about this way of eating because I have done low carbs, detox, WW, etc., and they've all worked for me. I was looking for something long-term that I could fit into my lifestyle though where I would be able to follow it and not feel so restricted -- don't eat this, don't eat that. I actually eat pretty healthily but sometimes I want to eat a few extra carbs, etc. This method of eating may have health benefits as well because there is less stress on your system with giving it a longer break from digesting food. I haven't read the free e-book mentioned yet, haven't had time but I will this weekend.

http://www.fast-5.com/

Anyway, I didn't weigh myself when I started this but do feel a little thinner. I will have a better idea next week after it has been two weeks. I am feeling a little more alert, and having less pain in a knee about a month ago.

Skipping breakfast messes up your metabolism. If your body thinks it is starving it will hold on to every calorie it can. Any crazy diet plan is going to "work" short term because you are radically changing your eating patters -- and probably eating fewer calories. Think of your body as a car. Would you only give it fuel for five hours on a daylong road trip?

I haven't read the free ebook yet written by an MD to see the science behind this yet, but I plan to check it out thoroughly. I have read plenty of other health/diet/nutrition books though. This may be another way of practicing CRON. If you are eating the same amount of calories anyway, I'm not sure why it would matter if you did it within five hours instead of 10-12 hours.

I've lost 36 pounds since late January basically tracking calories and exercise (I use http://www.myfitnesspal.com/; if you have a smartphone (I don't, but my wife does) you can scan barcodes to help enter data). There are other free sites out there as well.

I entered my stats and took their recommendations for 1 lb/week weight loss (they basically knock 500 cal/day off what they estimate your weight maintenance calories should be, subject to a minimum of 1200 cal/day). To be conservative I list my activity level as "sedentary" but then log any significant physical activity, which lets me "earn" extra calories. This has proven excellent motivation to exercise; picking up a few hundred "exercise calories" generally lets me have some nice dessert in the evening.

Edited to add: I haven't really done anything special as far as changing which foods I eat; it's mainly tracking amounts. I do avoid "drinking my calories" (I stick to water or lightly-sweetened teas) and make an effort to reduce sodium intake (my blood pressure has dropped from around 140/90 to 120/70, though I don't know exactly which factors contributed most to that change), but apart from noting which foods seem to be most satisfying given the number of calories they represent I haven't followed any magical formula with respect to avoiding or embracing particular nutrients. And I've never felt like I've deprived myself; instead, for the most part I feel like I've been working this jigsaw puzzle where I try to squeeze the most interesting variety of foods, in moderate quantities, into my calorie budget.

Good luck!

I'm down 28lb since January even though I fell off the wagon for a few weeks. The best tip I could give is not to have any junk food / sweeties in the house. I don't have great willpower so I found if I don't buy them in the first place I couldn't be arsed going out whenever I got a craving.

As a lot of people have mentioned it helps to find a way to log all the calories you consume and being honest with yourself about it. Include small thing like milk / sugar in coffee (if you take them) as these can mount up.

Finally, if you do get a craving for the wrong thing or find yourself very hungry remember that this passes very quickly. Your brain will tell you you're hungry for only about five minutes, then stop. If you get through that you should be good for an hour or two before it kicks in again.

Best of luck.

Great way to track your calories (their food database is awesome) and exercise. And the forums are full of helpful people.

go a long way to help you stay on track. I spread this on celery, fruit such as apples and pears, and healthy crackers and it helps fill me up and has a satisfying buttery, creamy taste for 35 calories a wedge:

I like the French onion-flavored version, and the garlic. The chipotle one is not bad, either. Heck, all the flavors are good. I also like the "Light" Babybel:

There are three different places for cheese in the grocery store. Deli, regular cheese area and gourmet freezer. Where would I find the laughing cow brand?

I guess asking an employee would be your best bet.

Protein makes you feel more full. And plan healthy snacks, so you don't end up getting the Hungry Horrors between meals.

The most important foodstuff for women. Drop the white bread, eat whole wheat everything in small quantities.

Add a vitamin and probiotic.

its the livestrong app

I do not know your age or your diet history.

I, unfortunately, started dieting way too early in life, and never gave up the fantasy of being thin--so thin that somehow, I would magically be thin forever.

All that happened was that I became temporally thin, numerous times, and then gained back the weight, plus more.

I lost, in total, over 500 pounds in my life, and gained back 510, plus whatever else I accumulated from pregnancy, etc.

At this point I seem to be at a weight my body is content to be, because I no longer gain weight.

Before, if I was not dieting, I was gaining weight. I could never buy a dress for an event a few weeks in the future, because I never knew what I would weight then.

Once I gave up dieting, I have been the same size for ten years.

So, while I wish you the best, I also hope that you can be content with whatever size your body wants to be.

gain weight. So I need to stop that. And try and eat better. I don't want diabetes. I don't want high cholesterol. I don't want cancer. I've been feeling good lately and sometimes I want to celebrate so I eat at night. Or if I'm not getting enough replies to my posts I overeat. Any reason really. So I'm trying not to eat anything at night and quit diet coke (which I drink a lot of) and stay away from starches a few days a week and see if I can lose a little weight. I'm also going to try to up my veggie intake. It isn't a formal diet. It is just eating well and moving around a bit more.

Nice. Blame us.


Just kidding. I second the use of the MyFitnessPal app to do this. It is amazing and actually made logging points and exercise very easy and kind of fun.

Their database is huge, and you can plug in virtually any food or exercise. They even have Wii Sports (although I suspect they give me a little too much credit for what I actually burn on Wii tennis).

Good luck. I'm proud of you.

drink plenty of water!

Get rid of the HFCS especially. I swear, after one month, you won't even miss it. Better for the tooth enamel, too.

Eat less crap eat more food.

C eat less Cheese
R eat less Refined foods
A eat less artificial foods
P eat less processed food

F fruits and veggies
O organic foods
O omega 3 foods
D drink more water and green tea

Simple advice really, but if we would just cook our own food we would be so much better off!

Good luck to you. It can be done. A few years ago I was really overweight. I pretty much went vegetarian and cut sugar from my diet. It disappeared pretty quickly.

Just getting the processed foods out of one's diet is a big step. They're loaded with sugar/high fructose corn syrup and salt, and often lots of stuff one can't pronounce that can't possibly be good for you. It wouldn't surprise me if some of those additives mess up the body's fat storage processes.

And count calories! A great website where you can create an account for free and count calories for free is myfitnesspal.com. They have apps for mobile devices, too, so you can count calories on the go, too! Their database is amazing; I have yet to put in food that was not in their database.

Watching portion sizes is key for me to lose weight, plus writing everything down. It is also very important to plan ahead! If you know you are going to eat out, think about what you eat ahead of time. Many chain restaurants have the complete nutritional information for their menus online now. If there are no lower-calorie meals available, let the waiter bring you a to-go box when the meal is served, then put half of the meal in the box right away, that way you won't overeat!

I plan my meals usually several days in advance, this helps control the calories. If you are invited to a pot-luck style gathering, just eat ONE plate full, and make FNT a rule: Food Not Touching! Another good tip is to watch extremely close what you drink. If you are not paying attention, you can easily spent several hundred calories a day just by drinking sodas, sweetened beverages, juices, etc!

Hope these tips help!

Paul has lost over 50 pounds in the last 16 months. I've lost over 85. It works great for us.

That said, do be aware...

There is a LOT of information on SparkPeople. It can (and probably will be) very intimidating to start, but it's got a great collection of people who can help you out.

Should you decide to go there you can look me or Paul up (WillParkinson and PaulParkinson) if you need any help (not saying we could provide it, but might know where to look for it.)

And best wishes!

I'd pay to have that site ad free if I could.

I'm using Firefox, perhaps it's blocking them.

a free health and fitness site.

Uses technology to record your calories, exercise
and group support.

Called the 'facebook' of weightloss.

I've lost 82 pounds since joining in July of 2010.

You can do it.

...as someone who's had to diet on several occasions in my life...is schedule your meals.

Don't "eat when you're hungry" or skip meals.

If you are eating well...balanced meals, proteins, veggies, etc...make sure each meal leaves you full and satisfied until the next one.

If you are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner and want / need some small snacks to keep you going between meals, there are a number of "little" snacks you can have. Some that I've seen include a Dannon / etc. yogurt with fruit, or some pretzels with a very small portion of cheese, etc. That all depends on the schedule you're keeping and the foods you wish to include / exclude.

Try to mix things up...don't get into a rut and get sick of eating the same old things. That will set your brain in the direction of foods you'd "rather" have. You can do all kinds of things with herbs and other flavorings in the kitchen that don;t add calories to your meal.

But the big advice is still choose a schedule for your meals and stick to it.

Good luck to you.

If you don't eat enough carbs or calories, the body will start eating muscle tissue. That's why so many people gain more weight back after a strict diet -- they've eaten muscle mass, so the body burns fewer calories at rest. Sure, you get quick results on the scale, but it sets you up for failure. When they go back to a less restrictive diet, the same amount of calories is too much for the body to burn and it gets stored as fat.

These one-size-fits all diets you see in books and magazines are so bogus and ineffective. If you weigh 175 pounds, there is no way you should only be eating only 1,200 or 1,500 calories a day. For a quick and easy rough calculation, take your body weight and divide by 2.2 to convert it to kilograms. Women need about .9 kcal per hour (times 24) each day just to meet their basic body processes. For this person, her BMR requires her to eat at least 1,717 calories a day just for the body to run smoothly. (175 divided by 2.2 = 79.5 times 0.9 = 71.55 times 24 = 1,717). Add in an activity multiplier -- 1.4 for less than 30 min. per day, 1.6 for 5 hours per week, 1.8 for moderate, up to 10 hours of activity per week (be honest and this usually means you have a job that keeps you on your feet or you are a fanatic exerciser), and you come up with some pretty generous calorie counts. In this case, for light activity, where most of us fall, that's 2,742 calories.

I think so many women make the mistake of eating too FEW calories to kick weight and fat loss in motion. And don't think that creating that huge of a deficit of calories in to calories out will speed up the process. The math just isn't that simple. If you eat too few calories to meet your BMR and activity load, the body goes into starvation mode. It quits burning calories as quickly and stores as much body fat as possible. You're cutting calories to lose weight and your body is saving them to try to keep you alive, which was pretty important when famine was common.

It is almost more art than science to come up with exact numbers and you have to tweak it to see what works for you, your body and your activities, but a general guideline is to create a 500-calorie per day deficit from the higher number -- don't ever go lower than the BMR number or you'll screw up your metabolism -- through a combination of diet AND exercise. You'll lose about 1 pound a week. Clearly, it's not a quick fix, but it will get you off the roller coaster. Also, don't forget to adjust the numbers down as you lose weight or you'll be stuck at maintaining that 175 pounds.

like milk. I'll just cut out the obvious whipped cream, potatoes and skip the fast food al together.

Best damn guidelines I ever got were from the cardiology nurses, period.

This all has to be done in the context of your own health, as well as your particular needs in terms of exercise and eating.

I think diet conjures up too many negatives: cheating, forbidden foods, depriving oneself of something.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am morbidly obese (hate that term, but it's true) and I am making life changes. I am exercising and starting to eat healthier and I have lost about 35 pounds in the last 18 months. I have a long way to go...this is barely a dent, however I need to make changes I can stick to over time.

One thing that really has me excited and changed my thinking has been reading more and more about how toxic our food supply is...how much junk and chemicals are in processed food. A combination of blogs and books convinced me to start eliminating processed food.

I recommend Bruce Bradley's blog: www.brucebradley.com

Also www.100daysofrealfood.com to take the 100 days of real food challenge...she also breaks it into 10 day mini pledges and how to do it on a budget.


I have been reading Michael Pollan's book Food Rules and the Omnivore's Dilemma. I think this kind of truth about food inspires us to make healthier choices. I still am adjusting to less processed food, haven't gone cold turkey yet, but I know I need to change my relationship with food.

Good luck and I know you will get lots of support for our fellow DUers.

His top nine tips for healthy weight


1. Eat plenty of foods that are rich in fiber, especially plant-based fiber found in fruits, vegetables, oat bran, lentils, chickpeas, and more.

2. Increase your intake of healthy-fat foods, including coconut oil, palm oil, and the essential fatty acids found in foods like salmon and sardines.

3. Drink lots of clean, filtered water—strive for at least eight glasses a day.

4. Consume large amounts of green foods, including green “superfoods” supplements.

5. Exercise regularly with activities you really enjoy, like walking, dancing, or swimming.

6. Get adequate rest and sleep every day.

7. Maintain a wholesome balance between work, play, and family time.

8. Strive to reach, and maintain, emotional and spiritual well-being.

9. Supplement your diet with a good, daily, natural multi-nutrient preparation.

And you CAN'T cut out EVERYTHING all of a sudden and hope to sustain weight loss.

I've lost 60 lbs. since last year and I started out slowly. Cutting out really fatty foods first, then cutting back on low nutrient carbs like white bread and pastries.
And definitely seek out fresh fruits and vegetables. And look into meals made from legumes - beans, lentils, peas. Fiber is important. Avoid fast food places like the plague. There's almost NOTHING of value there for nutrition or low-calories. Even some of the salads have as many calories as a double burger!

But also starting to exercise. I started using a treadmill and going on walks outside. Slowly at first, only about 1/2 mile or so at low speed, then gradually increasing speed and duration. If you exercise too hard, you can pull a muscle or a tendon and then you're out of commission for a few days.

And you've GOT to allow yourself a few bad days now and then. Schedule them! I have pizza night every Friday.

Now, I'm almost at my goal weight, I'm into weight training and long distance bike riding and I'm fit and feeling fantastic!

One down side, though... I have to buy all new clothes! Everything's too big now!

That's how I lost 90 pounds.

yourself of good food), say I am "changing my food choices today", because after all, we are all on diets, some just better, healthier than others.
Eliminating all soda and sugar drinks, should help you drop several pounds a month. Don't deprive yourself of a piece of cake once in a while, just eat a very small proportion. Salads need not be boring, just make your own dressing to eliminate lots of calories. Following is a recipe I use for my drink after a workout or during a long walk. Helps to maintain your electrolytes balance and, very important to keep up your energy level.

You can do it!

Recipe: Homemade “Gatorade”
Ingredients

2 lemons + 1 lime, juiced (can use all lemons or limes, should have about 1/3 cup juice)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dolomite powder, or 1 calcium tablet, crushed (optional, adds calcium)
3+ cups filtered water

Instructions

Combine juice, honey, salt, and optional calcium in a quart-sized (32-oz) jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Add enough water to make 1 quart. Shake well, enjoy. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Bonus tip from..Neil deGrasse Tyson

Wanna lose 1200 Calories a month? Drink a liter of Ice Water a day. You burn the energy just raising the water to body temp.

Aim for 8 8oz glasses. It keeps you refreshed and keeps the digestion running properly, makes your stomach feel full, and sometimes can give you a little energy.

this is number one with a bullet.

When dieting, it is very easy to lose a day--i.e.--you give in to weakness and have that nasty meal, you drink too much and feel fatter the next day, you do whatever it is you did not want to do and regret it.
LET IT GO--this happens and is one freakin' day in a week or month of good behavior. The guilt from this can drive a person to give up immediately and continue to binge/drink, etc for days on end. It is the same reason smokers quit for 3 weeks and suddenly start again--it is horrendously powerful.
I have learned to embrace this--I have lost 30 pounds since February. I have not given in to this unnecessary guilt and it has paid off.
I'm human, dammit!

Otherwise--less alcohol, fewer calories, better and more tasty meals. Oh--less alcohol, too.

addiction to food. And you are right. What matters is the long term and that I make healthy eating a habit I enjoy.

if you beat smoking and drinking, you know the score on the "being human" front. One more obvious thing--when you eat less, you are less hungry and require less to be full. There is tons of info on losing weight out there. I think much of it is bunkum. Eat less, do more, that is it. Once the body is used more, it wants to be used more. It feels it needs it. For the first week, it feels forced and unpleasant-after that, it feels like necessary maintenance. Oh--it is amazing how fast the human body responds to use. Two weeks for low-impact exercise, 3 to 4 days for the rough stuff, and off you go!

ZERO corn syrup. Avoid any chemical sweetners- all the sugar you need you can get from fruit.

ZERO sodas of any kind, and avoid processed foods where you can. All that stuff does is block your body from absorbing nutrients.

Reduce meat to 2, 3 times a week max- and make it fish or chicken at that.

Increase leafy greens by at least 100% or more. (I did this via smoothie machine- about 4 huge handfuls of leafy greens daily mixed with fruit and almond milk)

Take out? Errr, any diet that allows for take out is not really a lifestyle change at all-take out should be an occasional treat, like once a week or even less...

I personally believe that organic foods help- worked for me.

Also- dont go 'round hungry. Have a snack so the body does not retain fat in an effort to fight off hunger. (Nuts work great)

Walk, bike, learn some basic yoga moves, etc.

Throw your scales away- muscle muscle weighs more than fat- go by clothing, how you look & feel.

I did all of the above- Slim & trim, no more lipitor, blood preassure meds, back braces- all in the garbage.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

A lot of people (mostly women) have dead or low-functioning thyroids.

I went to a weight-loss dr who put me on a 500-calorie/day diet.

I only lost a few pounds and went into starvation mode. Then one day I went to her office and got some blood drawn and felt absolutely exhausted. Then I realized I was starving to death. I was on the right amount of thyroid for me. Even on the amount of thyroid that makes my blood work normal, I still have to sleep twelve hours a day.

eat nuts, and lots of protein, several times a day to keep your blood sugar regulated.

Seriously though. It's all a matter of calories. Burn more than you take in and you'll lose weight. For me I found Atkins to work well because I could always eat and not be hungry. If I was starving I could still have, for example, 2-4 boiled eggs for a snack and still be 'good' on my diet. Lost 30 lbs on Atkins kept it off for years. A side benefit of Atkins is your blood pressure and cholesterol will drop like a rock. Go figure eat bacon and eggs every day for breakfast and lower your cholesterol. But you need to be strict about the carbs for it to work.

One of the best low carb diet tips I can give you is: Give your body time to adapt to the change. Going low on carbs is a good idea but your body will take some time to this new style of eating. Be patient even if you don’t see immediate results. I recently lost a little bit of weight that I had put on by cutting down on the carbs. At the same time, I started an exercise, swimming, and this has put me in shape plus given me plenty of positive energy to face the challenges of the day ahead. I agree that it is a lifestyle change we need to make, whatever diet you follow. You sound like you really want to get serious this time, so all the best in staying committed to your plan!

don't beat yourself up about it but just move on.

I wish I can handle dieting, me, I exercise like crazy just so that I can eat whatever I want.

However, if I were to diet and actually had the time to do it(I try to follow this too, it is just that I don't get to, more often than not, but I do stick to 2000 calories per day):

-Figure out your weight and goals.
-In general, if you want to keep your weight go for 2500 calories or more, if you want to lose, 1800-2000 calories per day.
-Avoid flavored drinks and stick to water, unless it is a replacement to a meal, like a nutri-shake or smoothie.
-Try to space it out to 5 instead of 3 meals per day.
-Start with complex fiber and carbs in the morning so that it gets used up during the day. Oatmeal, wheat and so forth.
-Concentrate on protein more through-out mid-day.
-Give three hours after eating before doing a work out.
-Eat within the hour after working out to replenish.

For exercise, again it depends on your goals. If it is to lose weight, I suggest a combination of High Intensity Interval Training and some Weight Training.

Like:
A bit of weights first, concentrating on different spots every other day with.
Running as fast as you can for 400 meters, rest 30 seconds then down to 300, then rest again, then 200, then 100. For High Intensity Intervals.

Find groups in sites like meetup.com that do fun activities like hiking, dance and so forth. It really helps to keep you motivated. Sign up for races too if you can, you meet nice people and they are very supportive in your goals.

Good luck! I'm rooting for you.

you need it and it makes you feel fuller (less likely to cheat).

Chicken, tuna, eggs, etc.

It's been very interesting to see how my body/weight adjust/adapt.

January 2011 - weighed 258 (am 6 feet tall, 56 yrs old) - joined WW - by July , dropped down to about 206 lbs (loss of 52) - then plateaued for the rest of 2011, even despite eating around 2000 calories per day.

In January this year, we did the Engine 2 Vegan challenge and I joined a gym - which broke the plateau, and I dropped to 196 by mid March (an additional 10 pounds within about 2 months, total loss 62 lbs) - and am now at another plateau.

Here we are in mid July - my weight fluctuates slightly between 195 and 198, but is mostly around 196. I continue to eat around 1800-2000 calories per day, with some days up to 2500. I am not totally vegan or vegetarian, but am working out 1-2X/week (mostly cardio stuff) and very actively gardening each day, also walking our dogs each evening. Some changes I've made that are holding - no soft drinks at all going on perhaps 5 years (pretty much morning coffee, then water the rest of the day) - we've cut down on alcohol to drinking only 1-2 times per week - a glass of wine or a glass of beer - so cut down on frequency and quantity. Gone mostly off dairy - very few eggs, and switched to almond or soy or rice milk.

The most major thing - I've kept a food diary every day since Jan 2011 - and I mean I write down everything that I eat. It helps with total honesty with yourself - and creates a cause/effect reason when the weight goes up - it nearly always equates to a week with some bigger meals/more caloric food.

Also - lots of fruit, veggies, whole grains - fruit twice a day....loads of greens.

These tactics are working well for me - I am happy with 196-ish - would love to drop another 10 or so - 185 sounds about right for my height and age, but my frame is large, so I am not fussed if I can maintain where I am - but it is very interesting to me that even though I am at around 1800-2000 calories per day and very active, my weight seems to have stabilized - which seems to indicate some kind of body set point - or change in how I am metabolizing.

One other point I will add - it is amazing how really high calorie, high sugar or salt or oil snack type foods are so addictive - yet so unfilling and so unsatisfying - they pretty much demand you keep eating them. Getting the bulk into the day's meals - we mix a few different healthy cereals with our own granola and lots of raisins and berries for breakfast, big fruit break mid morning, big fruit break mid afternoon, and loads of veggies with dinner - I rarely feel hungry at all throughout the day...