exercise

I mean, so often we fixate on diet, and I know you wanted to know about diet, but really exercise is a HUGE part of the fix.

cut processed food.
stop drinking sugary drinks.
avoid "diet" food.
cook fresh food - real meats, vegetables.
watch portion sizes.
don't deny yourself sweets, but don't overindulge, either. eat one cookie instead of a dozen...or substitute healthier sweets (like toast with a healthy dollop of honey, or fruit).

i dropped 30 pounds this way. still have 35 to go, and now i'm incorporating exercise.

i'm currently on a bit a weight loss bit myself - mainly due to an injury that kept me sidelined for months and a new husband (who has lost weight since we've been married) to cook for :) oh and a penchant for cheese.

regardless, i'm having incredible success with weightwatchers - in four weeks i'm down 6lbs and 10" overall. it's not all that hard, not really a fad and not terribly restrictive, you make the choices.

exercise is important yes, but it's been determined over and over that it really does matter what we eat, more than our activity levels.

that being said, i had pretty good success with weightloss whenever I've trained for a marathon...

What worked for me:
- Cut wheat (and hey, that recurring rash went away...)
- Eat more vegetables
- Eat real meat (grilled steak beats lunch meats...)
- Eat less grains
- Cut the processed foods and sweets
- Lower the booze count, and eliminate sugary drinks
- Exercise, ESPECIALLY walking. And hey, bonus: it gets you places!

Frankly, conventional diets suck, but losing weight while eating steak and salad and grilled mushrooms and fresh strawberries and a glass of wine? Doesn't suck at all.

Check out the No S Diet.

Here is basically the whole "diet" in s nutshell: No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds, Except (sometimes) on days that start with "S".

While you can buy a book about it, the whole diet is free online at: http://www.nosdiet.com/

Look up Whole 30.

while diet is important i have noticed that for myself it doesn't help AT ALL. i'm like you (except my weight gain is at about 30lbs). in the past i have been really fit- going to the gym and staying active. however after sustaining an injury that required surgery i became used to a more sedentary life style. what i noticed helped me is exercise. specifically- riding my bike just 10 miles, every single day. i dropped 30 lbs in about 2 months and maintained the weight loss just by riding my bike every single day. it's been really helpful.

My favorite website for healthy recipes is skinnytaste.com. Unlike hungry girl, she fixates on increasing lean protein and veggie consumption rather than finding chemical substitutes for fatting food items (who wants to use recontituted powder non-dairy creamer in a recipe!?) I haven't made a recipe on the site that I did not like. I live with two 25 year old guys and they eat what I make and they wolf down everything I make from her site. Seriously awesome.

I'm going to second a poster from above who said Weight Watchers.

I lost 110 lbs on Weigh Watchers and I ate real food the whole time. LOTS of fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains. You learn to season your food with seasonings instead of fats and you're 'allowed' whatever you want as long as you count it. It focuses on long term sustainable weight loss so you'll be making choices on how you eat that you'll keep for the rest of your life.

For me I'm a volume eater and hate being told I can only have a tiny amount of something so I was forced to change WHAT I ate so I could eat more of it. That's just me though. Some people find that simply restricting what they normally eat to smaller amounts works for them.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend getting a quality digital food scale, LOTS of measuring cups (you weigh and measure EVERYTHING don't eyeball anything!) and use the website www.calorieking.com. Calorie king tells you exactly how many calories are in the 4.2 oz chicken breast you just ate s you can input those stats exactly into your WW calculator. CK would help me plan out my dinners with knowing how many oz of chicken I wanted to eat, potatoes etc. It's great. Good luck!

I agree with many of the suggestions above. I'm a distance runner on hiatus due to injury, and the mom of a son who has to watch what he eats due to inheriting the obesity gene on both sides of the family. So here are my tips:
- Exercise is KEY. A leisurely stroll is nice and better than nothing, but you need to get your heart rate up and keep it there for a while. Try to do it every day. I find classes at a gym helpful because they're a no-brainer. Show up, do an hour of spinning, there's your cardio. Or an hour of Body Pump, and you've done an hour of strength training.
- Portion control is also very important!! I never used to worry about my portions because I burned off everything I ate. However, now that I'm not running, and helping my son with his food choices and portion sizes, I'm doing a lot of measuring and it is eye-opening to see what really constitutes a serving size. Ten tortilla chips is a serving and is about 130 calories, for example. But who stops at ten tortilla chips? No one, unless they have a sense of how many calories they are taking in.
- Eliminate or reduce as much white food as possible. Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta. Don't overdo the whole grains either.
- Don't drink your calories.
- Low fat is not always the way to go. Fat and protein help keep you full.
- Don't deprive yourself but make your indulgences really count. My son will decide that instead of eating ring pops and drinking soda at the swim meet, he'd rather hold out for a Nutella doughnut from the local bakery. He's learning which treats are worth it and which are not, and learning to really savor them when he gets them.

FILL YOUR TIME WITH DOING STUFF. my biggest food enemy is boredom. if i'm constantly busy doing things, i don't think about the ice cream in the freezer, or the blocks of delicious cheese in the fridge. but when i'm bored, even if i have all "healthy in proportion" foods in the house, i'll eat the entire container of almonds (suddenly not so healthy).

also, make very flavorful foods, and learn where to cut the calories but not flavor. last night we made a dish that is normally make with a fatty piece of beef, and served over mashed potatoes. but, because the sauce is super rich in flavor, we opted for about 20% beef and 80% pork tenderloin. flavor was still there, but the fat was not! also, because the meat was so rich in flavor, we substituted cauliflower puree instead of potatoes, and couldn't tell the difference!

hope this helps!

I'm just saying what worked for me - it may not work for you.

About 8 years ago, I decided I'd shed my excess weight. It took two years, but I lost 133 pounds. I've maintained my current weight within 2-5 pounds the last 6 years. I still eat incredible food, but I've learned how to balance it with periods of more restrained eating.

Exercise helps you keep in a healthy mindset and can help your body by increasing your lean muscle mass, but when it comes down to it, what you are feeding yourself is key. If you don't really exercise, don't trick yourself into thinking you can exercise and still eat the same. More than likely, your weight will not budge.

- Get a food scale, learn correct portioning. Until you can see what 3 oz or 5 oz of something really is, it's hard to understand just how much extra you may be consuming
- Join WW or SparkPeople to track what you eat. Understand what you are eating and see where the bulk of your calories are coming from.
- Don't try to do what other people do - if being paleo or vegan or raw doesn't work for you - don't do it. You're already stressed about losing weight. Focus on small changes, like cutting down on sugar, or removing processed food from your diet.
- If there are things you truly enjoy, figure out how to eat them in smaller quantities, or less frequently. I love potatoes and I will absolutely consume an entire pot of mashed potatoes or an entire sheet of roasted ones if they are available. So, I don't make these things at home. When I go out to eat, I make sure to get them though, so I can still enjoy them without potentially going overboard.
- Get support. People love to eat, and love to feed people. It's our nature, I think. One of the things that worked for me is being honest with my friends about my goals, and asking them to support me. That meant that they wouldn't ask me if I wanted a sweet, or would understand if I decided to come over for coffee instead of a full meal (when I was in the period where I was actively losing weight.) They understood that I needed structure to reach my goal and made sure to support that instead of encouraging me to 'go off my diet'.

Dinner is hard sometimes, I know. These are some meals I've made in the last week:

Marinated Yogurt Chicken - I pound the chicken down to a pretty thin piece. Marinate in yogurt and spices, take off the excess, quick cook. Served with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and roasted cauliflower

Grilled Grass-Fed Flank Steak - Easy to cook in cast iron. I have steak maybe once a week or less, so this was a treat. Arugula and Spinach Salad with Tomatoes and Marinated Red Onions. Quick baked zucchini in my oven, sprinkled with a little fresh parm.

Scrambled Eggs, slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, avocado slices and a nice slice of whole grain toast. I love bread, but not how it makes me feel, so when I do have it, I take one slice instead of two, and I get the bread from a bakery here in my neighborhood. If I am going to have a treat, I want to get the best I can find.

My key for dinner is usually protein + veggies. I prefer real whole milk cheeses in smaller quantities and I tend to feel much more satiated that way.

I measure my proteins and cheeses out so I understand what I am eating. I tend to be more liberal with my greens and veggies. I tend to dress my salad with a little olive oil and balsamic, which (along with the cheese) gives me that nice shot of fat that I need in my diet.

I'm an avid home cook who has lost and maintained weight loss over the past couple of years. One of my biggest suggestions is to utilize foods that provide lots of texture to your meals. I cut out a lot of carbs and often lack the "crunch" factor that many of them provide - things like red cabbage and fennel in salads give a bit of crunch, sugar snap peas are great, and pepitas (those little pumpkin seeds) are also wonderful. Another suggestion is to bump up the flavor of meals with a lot of fresh herbs and spices, rather than fats. Instead of using a lot of butter and olive oil, use a spray of cooking spray and enhance the flavor with some herbs. I can't say enough about the importance of exercise, and portion control is definitely a good thing to watch out for. Another biggie that I still struggle with is being mindful of how much you are eating while you are cooking - I know how important it is to taste, but I have a tendency to continue tasting because I think something tastes good and want to eat it before dinner is actually on the table.

In the past when I was dieting, it was all about portions of things I love. I'm not dumb, I know for a fact I can't resist a cheeseburger. So I'll order the Little Cheeseburger from Five Guys without fries. Yeah, I could eat a bowl of fruit for breakfast, but I'm going to be happier with 2 fried eggs and a single strip of bacon. I had to know myself. Completely denying myself only made it harder.
Also, not watching TV for the sake of watching TV. I'm terrible about that.

Forget exercise--focus instead on eating fewer calories in the first place:

1. Eat a low-calorie soup and salad everyday (don't use creamy dressings or soups). They will fill you up.
2. Make sure you meet the daily fiber recommendation (25g for women). Most people don't.
3. Don't drink juice or pop except on special occasions (once a week or less).

You've probably heard this a million times but it's so true: lifestyle change. I am always flabbergasted that people would even pay one tiny bit of attention to a cabbage soup diet.

This is not what you want to hear, but counting calories and exercise is the only way to lose weight.

There are some great apps/websites out there...My Fitness Pal and Calorie Count are two that I can think of...that will help you figure out how many calories to eat every day and provide a very handy way to log foods.

I have Cooking Light cookbooks and swear by them for weeknight meals. They are delicious, beautiful, fun dishes that always turn out great. Every single one.

cut out soda,diet soda, and fruit juice cold turkey. drink water and tea instead. cutting out liquid calories is REALLY easy.

Fewer calories and exercise.

Balance out the heavy/high-calorie meals with more frequent lighter meals.

Keep track of your calorie intake as you try to lose weight. We use loseit.com.

But seriously, it doesn't get any more simple than eating less and exercise. That's pretty much all there is to it.

I could lose 10 more too but here is what I have done to lose 10:

Add kale or swiss chard to any pasta dish (or eggs or even mix it with chicken breasts). You can easily make the dish more veg than pasta without giving up the pasta completely. Crisp things up in the oven instead of frying them. Mix your mayo with greek yogurt to cut down the calories. Make the veg portion bigger and the meat portion smaller, etc so that you are still eating everything you want to eat but are eating it in smaller quanitities. Make sure the healthy stuff is easy to eat (the celery is cut up, the yogurt is in the front of the fridge, the fruit is on the counter) and the bad stuff is hidden from sight. (My bad stuff requires me to get out the step ladder and I am usually too lazy to do this.)

The only other thing I find to be critically important is to never let myself get too hungry because then I make bad choices so I always have an afternoon snack at my desk (a yogurt or a piece of fruit or some nuts) right before I go home so that i do not get home and have a huge unhealthy "snack" while I make dinner.

I like to take a salad for lunch, in a 4cup container. I stock it with chickpeas, red peppers, cucumbers, and lettuce. No cheese. No croutons. Sometimes other leftover veggies. My snack at work in the morning is an apple cut up into a billion pieces, and that way I feel like I'm constantly eating but it's really not that much. I try to walk the dog, FAST, for an hour every day, even if I don't feel like it, because I always feel better afterwards!

You don't have to do anything drastic, just try to be conscious of what your eating, eat a lot of veggies or fruits that are mostly water: Cucumber, celery, melons, and eat some with fiber, too: bananas, apples, celery (again)... I have found that as I eat more veggies and fruits, I tend to want less sweet or heavy things, and more food that makes my body feel *clean*.

Also, have your coffee or tea, but drink mostly water, and water with lemon juice. Have your cocktails or wine every once in awhile, get rid of the soda, it never did anyone any good.

I practiced yoga for a bit (getting to classes doesn't work with my schedule right now) and it really got me thinking about my body, what I put into it, how to make myself feel less stressed and just overall BETTER...It's good for people like me who hate running or don't know the first thing about gym machines! Also, I actually have a defined waist for the first time EVER! (side benefit!)

*** Eat fruits, eat veggies, drink water, walk fast, eat smaller portions of what you want, make smaller portions of things if you don't like leftovers, freeze cookie dough to portion out a couple cookies when you have cravings.

GOOD LUCK! :)

What @FALNFENIX said.

I'm impatient with fad diets, too. When I worked at a bookstore a decade ago, I couldn't believe the number of strange diets there were out there...eat your colors, eat your horoscope.

I believe in finding a balance...I eat buttery things and sweet things, but I don't fill up on them. I fill up on fruits and vegetables - I make that the center of my plate. I don't believe in fake cheese or margarine or diet anything! I took the time to write down some rules, a while back, based on Satchel Paige's Rules for Longevity...they're very easy rules! I used to think of writing a book called the "Duh diet," because a lot of this is common sense...

So here are my rules, plus two salad recipes...

Check out the latest Gary Taubes book "Why We Get Fat." I'm listening to the audiobook right now. It's truly a revelation in nutrition. Basically he says, while exercise is great, it's not going to help you lose the weight and keep it off. What you have to do (and keep doing) is cut out those simple carbohydrates like sugar, flour, and starchy vegetables like potatoes.

Count calories. People say they're not all creatde equal, but really and truly, if it's about weight loss only - they are.

Find something active that you love that you can do daily for at least thirty minutes. Biking to and from work one summer increased my fitness so much that I eventually took up other activities and it kicked started my metabolism. I also felt less hungry.

What you eat is a huge component of weight loss and I don't discount it, but I also know I wouldn't have lost 80 pounds without the level of exercise that I was doing.

Whatever approach you take, don't think of it as a "diet" but instead a lifestyle.

I lost 50lbs over roughly 18 months by exercising and changing the way I ate. I started out weightlifting (believe me, this won't make you "bulky" in the slightest!) but now I mostly run and bike (although I miss lifting because I was so strong!).

In terms of diet, the big thing for me was learning how to cook. I cut out all "processed" stuff, started eating a lot more vegetables, and learned to pay attention to my body's cues - boredom eating was my biggest challenge. I basically follow Michael Pollan's rules - eat food, not too much, mostly plants - but I don't deny myself anything. For example, I have a serious sweet tooth, so I eat baked goods every day, but instead of buying processed junk I eat homemade cookies or muffins. You sound like more of a "salty/savoury-toothed" person, so don't try to avoid the foods you love, just try and make them a bit healthier - baking instead of frying, making homemade versions, and eating smaller amounts of them. You can also choose different versions of snack foods - have popcorn instead of chips and season it with lots of spices instead of just butter (my favourite is lime and smoked paprika).

http://101cookbooks.com has a lot of really great healthy recipes (they're vegetarian, which I eat about 80% of the time, but you can always toss some chicken or fish back into a dish - and cutting your meat consumption back will leave more room in your diet for veggies and whole grains anyways).

And don't forget exercise! For weight loss to occur, calories in < calories out, and calorie restriction isn't something that most people can do long-term. Find something you enjoy doing and get moving!

Good luck!

Absolutely eat more fresh veggies, lean meats, & raw nuts. Cut out sugar. And eat less grains, naturally any grains you do eat should be whole. For me portion control is my biggest struggle. I have also found that if I go off track for a few days my body tends to plateau at a weight I'm not comfortable with which is very frustrating. I have tried correcting this with more exercise but have found that the only thing that really gets my metabolism back to where I like it is intermittent fasting. I do this by eating a really healthy and protein packed dinner one night and then not eating again until dinner the next day. If I do this twice a week my weightless gets a serious jump start. Definitely talk to your doctor about this before trying it. It is certainly not for everyone.

Personally I'm a raw vegan and that made me get down to my set point weight. I know it's not for everyone but I would really recommend starting the day with a greens-and fruit smoothie (no dairy). It's a pure vitamin injection instead of the toast/yogurt/granola I used to eat for breakfast.
Other than that. If you don't want to give anything up maybe just cut the portions in half and add greens to fill you up. Be sure to eat several meals a day so you don't become "too hungy" and wolf down anything at dinner time:)
It's just a few days to a couple of weeks of struggling and then you'll make it your norm. Also, exercise is the way to go! Weight training is great to build some muscles and you'll become leaner and have a higher metabolism. Good luck!

I lost 40lbs on Weight Watchers and have kept it off for nearly a year and a half. Being on the program taught me how to eat healthy and allowed me to make the lifestyle changes I needed to be able to continue successfully after my weight loss. Seeing it as changing my lifestyle rather than being on a diet was the key to my being successful this time. I recently went off plan due to budget (I was an online member and there's no free lifetime membership for us after reaching our goal) after being in maintenance for a year and this time post weight loss I really feel I am better equipped to maintain long term.

Another poster above mentioned Skinny Taste and Gina has been a great source of healthy yet still tasty meals for me over the last few years. It doesn't taste like diet food to me. Just good food that is still good for me.

The question really is What's the Best Way to Lose Weight for YOU? And, as others have noted, everyone is different. Twenty+ pounds is significant enough that before you start making changes, I BEG you to get a check up to see if there are any issues you might not know about that might be adversely affected by diet; then see a reputable registered dietician. A good RD will not put you on a diet, but help you change your lifestyle--incorporating both food and exercise plan-- in a way that suited for you.

Seriously, boredom is the enemy: Boredom leads to food as entertainment, and boring exercise leads to slacking off.

I've lost more than ten pounds in the last couple months by not changing diet significantly, but biking outdoors. I fear the end of good weather as stationary bikes have no appeal whatsoever.

The answer is really plain and simple for everyone, seriously... Eat a little less EVERYDAY and move a little more EVERYDAY.
You need to have a deficit of 3500 calories to loose a pound a week. The easiest way to do that is to cut 250 calories from your diet and burn and extra 250 calories through exercise every day.
Run, swim laps, or mountain bike for 25 minutes.
Walk briskly or do yard work/gardening for 40 minutes
Take an hour walk after dinner... all of these things will burn at least 250 calories.

Then just make small changes to your diet.
http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/diet/17-painless-ways-to-cut-calories

It just takes small changes and consistency... Good luck!

http://www.nutrimirror.com/

It's free and it works

The only thing that has worked for me: tracking my calories and getting a lot of exercise. I set up an account with MyFitnessPal and use it to log every single thing that I eat. It's tedious, but it's not too bad if you make most of your meals from scratch. If you're eating out a lot it gets harder to accurately measure how many calories you're consuming. I find I need to stay around 1200 calories a day to lose any weight, but I'm a small women with an office job. Find the magic number that works for you and stick to it.

I walk about an hour each day, but I find I need to do a real workout at least 3 or 4 times a week in addition to that and the restricted calorie diet. I personally love Bikram yoga, Vinyasa yoga, barre, swimming, and spinning, but find some activities that you love and try to do them a few times a week.

I lost a lot of weight and got super fit on the Warrior Diet. The beauty of it is that I did not have to change what I eat. I enjoy the full-fat, regular meals I always loved before, along with daily helpings of beer and wine :-) The key is that I changed WHEN I eat. It's a controversial diet, but everyone I know following it has an amazing body (very popular with bodybuilders). Herschel Walker follows this lifestyle and look at his fitness levels. Do not let people try to tell you that you will go into starvation mode or you HAVE to eat 5 small (unsatisfying) meals a day. Simply not true.

Ultimately, find what works best for you. I just wanted to share a new lifestyle you may not have heard of before. Good luck!!!! :-)

This is what helped me lose 70+ pounds:

Eat at the same time every day, every few hours to prevent dips in blood sugar

Eat lots of fiber and veggies

Exercise-- walking is fantastic, and you can go faster, farther, and uphill as your strength and endurance increase

Drink lots of water

Don't drink your calories

Find a standard breakfast and lunch that you can rely on daily, then branch out at dinner

Allow yourself an occasional treat, but don't waste it on junk (a piece of good chocolate, rather than a Hostess cupcake or three, for instance)

Don't keep junk in the house. My husband complains because I don't have the willpower to not eat the ice cream or whatever, but I say that my willpower is what keeps me from bringing it into the house to begin with. If I really want it, I'll get off my butt and go to the store

Exercise and burn more than you consume. It is not rocket science.

Just adding my two cents with what's worked for me (full disclosure: I am vegan).

Try to just add a salad to lunch and/or dinner every day. Preferably, eat the salad before the main course -- it'll fill ya up and keep your digestion nice and good! Obviously, don't drown it in Ranch dressing, but whatever dressing you like will be the difference between you sticking with this and not.

Reflect a bit on what times/days you are most tempted to buy convenience food and crave crap. Think about what bad things you like most, and substitute with better alternatives. Hedge your impulse food buys (if you have them to, like, Burger King or something) by stocking similar things at home that are better for you. Like, sweet potato fries (baked) instead of McDonald's french fries. Or if you love salty foods (like me!!!) keep olives and lower-fat cheese spreads around instead of going and buying a bunch of potato chips.

Drink a lot of water! If you just eat too much, but there are no real cravings, sometimes (so I've heard) our hungry/thirsty signals get mixed up.

Switch out white flours/white carbs with whole grain (not just whole wheat) pastas, rice, bread, etc. If you like to bake, consider replacing half white flour with wheat flour.

Don't go on a set diet that plans all your meals for you, etc, especially if you really love to cook! Like, Jenny Craig I think delivers meals to your house, which is cool if you DON'T like to cook, but if you're going to eat that then cook something anyway and eat it, that's extra calories. But if you like the convenience, it may be an option I guess!

Cut out sodas. This kills me, but they are just terrible for you. Limit it to one soda per week and not only will you lose weight, but it will change your taste buds to not be so sugar-overloaded and therefore less sweet things will taste sweeter. Also, maybe replace sodas with fresh juices (100%!). I have to have a small cup of juice every morning because I love juice, so I just have carrot or orange that's 100% juice, or get a juice, and it's better than having soda later for sure!

Double your veggie portion -- in addition to eating a salad, if you can, take twice as many veggies.

Since you like the fatty foods, like you mentioned, and you're trying out new recipes, maybe cut recipes in half or something as well?

Diet is the biggest part of the equation. 80% of it is what you eat, 10% genetics and 10% exercise. Most of the comments already say it but, cut out processed foods and watch your portions. I like to follow the Eat Clean Diet [www.eatcleandiet.com] approach (it's not really a diet, though), which is where I got the above equation. Eat fresh foods, minimize processed stuff, don't restrict and get in a workout at least 5-6 days a week.

Cardio is important but remember to pick up some weights as well. Muscles burn more calories at rest than fat does. Also, don't rely on the scale for progress. I like to measure with a body tape measure and also take progress pictures. Another way to check your progress is by how you feel. If you feel great, you're on the right track! Also, you're clothes are a great indicator of progress too.

I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck!

Exercise more! That and just eating less is what always works for me. That and having an elliptical machine right in the bedroom (low impact AND fun!) helps. Of course, the hard part is finding time to do it. But other nice things like hanging laundry out to dry, scrubbing floors, kneading big batches of bread, or whipping cream by hand can also be exercise! Just get your heart-rate up and keep it up for a while. I need another cast iron pan, just so I can do bicep curls with them! Lol. Then I'd need a dutch oven, so I could move up to the next level. :D

Of course, if you're eating mayonnaised, fried, and deviled foods, you're not going to be able to exercise enough to counteract those calories - unless you've got a job of hard manual labor - like farming with 19th century implements...

I second the above ideas to avoid boredom (I'm always so tempted to snack when I'm bored!) and don't keep snacks in the house. If there's no ice cream or cookies or cake or potato chips, you won't eat them. And if you're lazy like me, you won't be tempted to run out to the store and buy them just because you're bored and kind of feel like a snack. Housework, knitting, doodling, building things, yard work, etc. - these things can all help alleviate boredom.

I've got a huge sweet tooth and I adore homemade white bread, so cutting out sugar and carbs entirely are not going to work for me - I'd be miserable. But I try to substitute cake-y things with fruit for my sweet fix.

If you already eat pretty healthily, just up your fresh veggie quotient, lower your fried foods quotient, and start walking!

I get really frustrated when people say "excercise more!" or "cut out sugar! soda! cookies!". What if you already eat pretty healthy, don't drink soda, don't eat sugar-y foods and stay away from "white carbs", no chips, no snacking, eat good portions and walk everywhere and excercise?

Anyhow, I try to keep work-day lunches under 400 calories with lot sof veggie-based soups and salads (so I can indulge more on weekends and go out to eat!). Work-night quick meals that have worked really well for me when I feel like I'm gaining a little weight are:
- Stirfry with lots of veggies. I add some brown rice if I want something more substantial
- High-fiber pasta with lots of veggies (...its more veggies with pasta than the other way around)
- Honestly, sometimes if I'm not super hungry I'll eat some 2% plain greek yogurt with blueberries or grapes in it
- I'll reduce portion size some more because it'll make my stomach shrink so I'll be less hungry next time and eat less in general

And as others have mentioned, be more conscious of what you're eating. I somehow had 5lbs creep up on me so I started calorie counting (I use a free app called "Lose It!"). It helped a lot

In my personal experience, exercise doesn't really help you lose weight. It'll help the weight you have look better - tighten up muscles, etc - and cardio is certainly good for your heart. But look at something like this:

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-chocolate-bars-snickers_f-ZmlkPTE5MTU1.html

A Snickers bar has 280 calories, which you can burn off with half an hour of jogging, 45 minutes of cycling, or 78 minutes of walking. Or, you could just not eat the candy bar.

The only reliable way I've found to lose weight is to cut calories, and I've specifically eliminated a lot of simple carbohydrates from my diet. (Disclosure, I have Type 1 [juvenile] diabetes, so cutting carbs is kind of essential for me anyway.)

I've been using www.myfitnesspal.com (its free) to log my daily calories and exercise. With the smartphone ap, its easy. The system does over-estimate calorie burn from exercise, but if you are honest with yourself, its actually fairly easy to cut things back. Its a bit like facebook - with friends and lots of support - or you can ignore that part and just use the tracking.

I'm 53, and have lost 8 lbs since May, another 8 to reach my goal.

You are likely to already own a kitchen scale - I weigh my food, and log the calories before I sit down to eat.
Best of luck to you.

You can't out exercise a bad diet, so those bits of advice are just plain wrong.

The easiest way to lose weight is to control your food. Take note of what you're eating every day for at least a week. Then analyse that and cut out the highest calorie stuff or replace it with lower calorie, more nutrient rich stuff.

For the record I've lost nearly 100 lbs. I did it by cutting out junk foods, and eating primarily lean proteins, tons of veggies, and fruit and complex carbs - in that order.

I didn't have to go on any major crazy diet plans. I just chose lean, healthy foods.

For me, making lifestyle changes for the sake of my health had the added benefit of keeping my weight in check. Nothing crazy, no fads, just healthy, delicious food. (I love to cook and eat!) I do lots of yoga, and physically am now in the best physical shape of my adult life. Lots of good ideas above, just make sure you are not doing anything that is going to hurt you, diet or exercise wise.

Oh, and if you do add in exercise (which you should do for general health) WEIGHTS FIRST. Then cardio for the extra calorie burn.

And not pink barbie weights. If you're lifting something that weighs less than your laptop bag or back pack or toddler, you're not doing anything.

Lift weights that you can only lift 8-10 times before you're struggling. Do that until it's not a struggle. Then move to another weight that you can only lift 8-10 times. You might even gain a few pounds of muscle, while you're losing fat - which means you will resape your whole body.

I also LOVE food and LOVE cooking. What I have been doing to lose weight is exercising more and eating smaller portions. This way I still get to eat all the foods I love, I just don't eat as much of them!

I don't think exercise is the way to lose weight. I lost 60 lbs in the last two years, and am keeping it off, without increasing my exercise at all, or even changing my diet that much in terms of the "what" (it was already pretty healthy in quality).

I was eating too much. I thought a lot about the portions I ate growing up, when I was a normal weight. They were small, 1960s, 1970s style portions. Over the years they got bigger. I thought I could knock back 3 glasses of wine a day and eat some sweets every day. I can't, especially now that I'm getting older.

I count calories because I love quantifying patterns and seeing how it leads to success, but that's just me. I eat between 1500-1800 calories on a normal day, trying to make sure it includes fruits, vegs, some meat and oatmeal/nuts. I often have one glass of wine. I have fun on feast days and vacations. I really don't worry about what I'm eating at those times. I put on a few pounds and then I go back to normal (the "new" normal of the last couple of years) and they come back off.

I still need to lose more weight, but I am hoping that adhering to the new eating methods it will come off in time. At any rate I know I'm eating healthfully, exercising moderately (I walk every day and do 20 minutes of stretching & handweights daily) and that is the best I can do for myself. If I lose the weight, great, if I don't, as long as I am honest with myself about what I'm eating, I really can't ask more.

This is what worked for me:

No white or any other kind of flour
No white potatoes
No rice (brown or white)
No grains

I eat fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry and fish. It is more of a different style of eating than a diet. I go to the gym 3x per week and walk a lot (no car).

I had a lot of success with Weight Watchers. Logging everything you eat is essential to successful weight loss. Cooking Light and Clean Eating magazines have good low calorie recipes, and someone mentioned skinnytaste.com which is another good place to start. (Weight Watchers recipes are kind of shitty. Sorry Weight Watchers.)
I have found that if I plan to go to a restaurant in the evening, I drink a smoothie for breakfast (scoop of whey or Slim Fast, half cup of milk, cup of frozen berries) and a salad for lunch plus some fruit for a snack, then have the thing you really want for dinner (the cheeseburger, for example) and go easy on the sides.
I began running too (Couch to 5K) but folks tend to overestimate how many calories they burn at the gym, so use a Fitbit or the Weight Watchers Points system or something if you plan to run for fries. I recommend running, and it will help with weight loss, but as others have said, it probably won't work without a good diet.
Good luck!

First thing is first: stop drinking anything daily that isn't water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea. No diet anything, no vitamin water, just knock it all out. Even if you do nothing else I promise you will lose a couple pounds from this alone.

I am in the same boat, need to knock off about 15 lbs, love to eat, don't want to diet. But I realize that excersise is important for people like us. Bottom line if you want to lose weight you have to take in less calories than you burn, a net loss of calories if you will. If you are currently not very active you can either cut your calories in or increase your calories out, or both if you want to be aggressive about it.

I like eating bacon and drinking beer way more than I dislike working out, so my strategy is be a little more reasonable with food choices but to focus on calories out. So I still drink my lovely Belgian wheats, but try to skip the fries and eat more un-sauced vegetables. All while slowly working myself back up to running daily.

If you don't want to "diet" this may be the way to go, but it doesn't (apparently) work for everyone.

Beets, leafy greens, apples, raspberries, oatmeal, yogurt, and seafood has all had a positive effect on my weight (in that they've helped me to keep it off), and they're filling. Also unprocessed. I'm no expert by any means, but I tend to stick toward a plant-based diet and stay away from unprocessed foods. I still eat steak and birthday cake, and I'll have cocktails at happy hour. The trick is keeping it under control, and knowing that a treat is just that: a treat—something special that you savor and have once in awhile. Good luck!

Exercise helped me quite a bit, but it is true that exercise without diet changes won't get you far. Of course cutting out refined sugars and grains help, but I really like some foods that have those in them! (hello, chocolate chip cookies)
Therefore I'm a fan of the 90 - 10 rule. Eat healthy 90% of the time, whatever you want 10% of the time. It's much easier to eat healthy all week long if I know that come Friday night I get to order pizza and have some wine. You might not lose weight as fast as some other methods, but it's a workable solution for me.
To try eating heathily 90% of the time I use the phone app Lose It, which tracks calories and has a database of common items. It can be pretty eye-opening in terms of what has a lot of calories and what doesn't. I thought I would hate using it, feeling like I was restricting myself all the time, but I was kind of surprised at how easy it was.
Be honest with yourself about what foods have power over you and don't bring them into the house. Doritos and I cannot be in the same space without there being a serious binge, so I just avoid the chip aisle at the store altogether.
Finally, if you have a "bad" food moment, don't lose sleep over it or give up. Don't use it as an excuse to go crazy for the rest of the day, just get back on track and start afresh the next day.

Everyone says diet, diet, diet, But that goes hand in hand with exercise. If you don't eat right and have put on extra weight, cutting calories will help, but only coupled with an exercise plan. Diets can even be dangerous, if you cut the wrong calories (like the healthy fat ones responsible for shuttling fat-soluble vitamins and minerals into your brain cells!)

Join a gym or health club and get advice from a certified trainer! Not just for losing those 20 some pounds, but for the rest of your life. Cultivating a healthy body will provide more than just weight loss, but also help with chronic conditions and those disease of affluence that the Western world is susceptible to: heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes.

There's lots of good advice that's already been offered but I'll add something else:

Meal plan. Shop for your meal plan. Don't buy snacks. Stick to your cooking-- it can be as simple or as complex as you choose, but of course it should be all of the things we all know it should be -- lean protein and dairy, healthy fats, whole grains, and loads of fruit and veg. I can't tell you how helpful mapping my week out has been. I know you don't care for leftovers but would suggest that by mapping things out, you might be able to take, say leftover roasted vegetables from dinner to create a great sandwich or salad for lunch the next day. Plus, shopping for meals you'll make really helps control your food budget. Life gets in the way of plans, to be sure, but knowing you'll eat well is good for the brain and the body.

Also, as a public health professional, I fall on the side of including plenty of motion and exercise into your day. Americans are unhealthy not just because of our diets, but also our sedentary lifestyles / workplace environments.

Good luck and happy eating.

Calories In < Calories Out. Exercise helps with this, but remember, you have to burn 3500 calories to lose a single pound. So unless you're running an hour every day, you're not going to see a huge benefit from exercise. That said, it does help improve your metabolism so it will burn calories more efficiently.

Avoid potatoes, white rice, white bread...really any starch that is "white", and sugary drinks. Try to eat more "better" protein (like chicken or pork instead of beef). My dietitian gave me some good advise when it came to determining good portions. If you take your average sized dinner plate, half of it should be vegetables/fruits, and on the other half, half of that should be protein, and the other half should be carbs. The fiber and the protein will be more filling than protein.

Also, if you can afford it, get a simple food scale, weigh your food, measure everything, keep a food journal (I recommend something like sparkpeople or fatsecret - fat secret because it comes with an iphone/android app for your smart phone). You'd be surprised at how much more you really do eat when you start weighing and keeping track of everything

And always remember, you'll see more benefit if you reduce your caloric intake by 250-500 calories than by trying to binge diet. You'll be less likely to give up - you know what I mean, eating that whole pint of ice cream because you're sooooo huunnggrrrryyy because you were trying to starve yourself.

I know this is probably going to get lost in all the comments but here's what worked for me. I would not shake the extra lbs I gained no matter what I did. My husband tried the insanity work out and had little results for all the work he put in. He then tried the slow carb diet and the weight melted off! I was a little jealous of his "cheat" days so I tried it. Being a women, it was a steady loss instead of melting, but it worked! I really didn't do any extra exercise other than try to be active and I was eating eggs, beans, veggies and some nuts during the week and on one day you can eat whatever you want...it helps the metabolism from getting into a stagnant state. The no no's are sugar, honey, fruit, any dairy (except ghee), and no grains. It's hard but the diet shows you how much your body hates grains and sugar etc! I've lost the weight I wanted and I've kept it off! It's hard to go back to the way I used to eat!

One thing you have to keep in mind is that everything posted here represents a *personal* weight loss solution that worked for *somebody else.* If you're serious about losing weight, your first stop should be your doctor's office. In my case, I found out that I have a medical condition that causes insulin resistance. If I stick to a low-fat, low-protein, high-carb "weight loss" diet, I can eat less than a thousand calories a day and exercise until my feet fall off, but I don't see any results. If I want results, I have to stop eating grain and sugar products, limit my fruit intake, and increase my consumption of healthy fats to compensate.

Figure out what your body needs to be healthy, and what it needs you to avoid in order to get there. Also, as a generally useful tip, write down everything that goes in your mouth. Use a tracker like MyFitnessPal if you want, but make yourself put it in writing somewhere so you can see in black and white just how much you're putting into your body. (Bonus points for also tracking your exercise so you can see how much or little of your intake you use by being active.)

I love to cook but health and exercise are extremely important to me. We generally save the truely sinful foods for when we go out to eat. These are usually harder to make at home without making enough for leftovers anyway, which just encourages over eating. My husband and I both workout most weeknights after work so we make simple and easy meals for dinner.

Stirfry's are a great way to eat healthy and control portions. If we have enough for leftovers we tend to just over eat instead, so I make only 1 cup of brown rice and will usually cook only 1 large chicken breast for us to share. Then we fill the rest with veggies. We also do meals like pasta tossed with just a little olive oil and fresh tomatoes or pesto. Again, only make a small handful. Have a side salad with it.

One of our favorite meals, especially in fall and winter, are hot sandwiches. You can make a variety and make them really gourmet but they are still easy and pretty healthy. We also eat vegetarian about twice a week, which helps cut our grocery budget. We use black beans, lentils, and chickpeas in place of our meat. Some of our vegetarian dishes are our favorites actually!

Things that work for me:
Saute > deep fry
Whack up a block of extra firm tofu into tiny pieces, saute in a splash of oil with ginger, garlic, dash of soy sauce, pinch of brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. Once they are firm, throw in a bag of frozen veggies, add more seasoning to taste, and ta-da. You are done - do not add rice.

Pre-shredded cabbage mixed with sesame vinegar dressing (3 TB rice vinegar, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, pinch of sugar) and top with either crushed up ramen noodles (only a bit, not the whole block) or sauteed extra firm tofu (or something carnivorous)

Chicken sauteed with white wine, chopped onions, and mushrooms (use enough onions/mushrooms so you don't need to have a starchy side)

Roasted cauliflower with a sprinkle of parmesean on top

Roast potatoes with carrots, onions (go easy on the oil, add dried herbs like thyme/rosemary)

1 can chopped tomatoes + 1 chopped avocado + 1 can black beans + rice + seasonings (cumin, garlic, onion, salt and pepper)

When you use something like cheese in a salad, I’ve found if I cut it up into tiny pieces I get more cheese flavor throughout the dish without having to actually add double the cheese. I also use almonds instead of croutons.

I hate fad diets too!! I've been in a similar place as you, gained 20 lbs when I moved in with my husband. Dropped it all permanently though. What worked for me was really focusing on living a healthy lifestyle, and committing to doing this for life, not just for the 20 lb weight loss, and focusing on cultivating good habits and dropping bad ones.

- Drink only water and unsweetened tea/coffee, no soda, not even diet. One glass of juice/milk a day is okay. (I personally also allow myself max of one glass of beer/wine a day. Shhh.)
- Cut out all pastries, cookies, unhealthy junk food. Replace with healthy snacks like granola bars (check the sugar content!), nuts, fruits, and YES, CHOCOLATE (at least 80% cacao)
- Cut out refined carbs, eat only whole grain
- Portion control - portion out meals and put takeaways/leftovers in a box BEFORE you start eating. Helps you to avoid eating too much.
- Make sure veggies/fruits make up at least 40% of the meal
- Decrease amount of grain you eat (bread, pasta, rice)
- Proteins - red meat only once or twice a week, primarily eat lean proteins. Start eating more plant based protein, like eggs, beans, tofu, etc. I now go vegetarian one or two days a week.
- Start exercising everyday - at least 3 days of cardio a week and toning rest of the time. Developing some muscle really helps as they burn more energy than fat.

I picked up these habits one by one, only switching to next after the first one was established and took no effort, so as not to get overwhelmed. Takes longer, but I haven't fallen off the wagon in 5 years and it wasn't difficult. =D

Things that everyone should do, not just people who want to lose weight. ;)

I gradually changed my diet over time, which seemed to help (although I'm finding it hard to get back to this thought process after being pregnant!).

The first thing I did was replace all of my snacking with snacking on fruit. I would snack the same as I did before, but instead of crackers or candy or whatever, I had an apple or berries or bananas. I didn't limit those quantities since I don't agree with the idea that sugar in fruit is bad. To me, as far as losing weight is concerned, fruit is primarily fiber and water.

Then I set a goal to drink 8 glasses of water a day. That's actually a lot of liquid and doesn't leave much room for sodas, juices, or non-essential food.

After a short time I wanted to change the rest of my meals - instead of the over-processed chicken patty with my pasta and veggies, I wanted real chicken. And less pasta. And more veggies.

Another key element: I viewed dessert as a reward - if I ate well, according to the rules I had set out for that week (so eat the same way I had for meals, but snack only on fruit at first) I could have a low-fat ice cream sandwich that night. If I cheated somewhere in the day, no ice cream at night. And ice cream as that cheat during the day was just not allowed. I treated a mid-day treat sort of like an advance on a paycheck. But I wanted that ice cream so much at night, I rarely cheated. So find some dessert that isn't too high in calories that you looooooooove as your paycheck for a proper day of eating.

Probably the best thing that helped was my roommate at the time. She kept me accountable just like a gym buddy helps you stay accountable with exercise. She was already in shape and super healthy, so it wasn't a question of helping each other out (which I don't think would have worked as well for my personality), but sort of having an expert at my side who could help me reason out what I should do.

As far as exercise: I started out thinking that I wanted to eat whatever I wanted and just lose weight through exercise. I lost 10 pounds and then plateaued until I changed my diet as above. After that, with the same exercise plan, I lost 2 pounds/week steadily until I got to my goal of 25 pounds. I'm not sure what it would have looked like the other way around, meaning all diet changes and no exercise plan. But to me, it makes sense that it's more efficient to not put anything in (ie, not eat as much) than to burn it out after (ie, exercise) in order to lose weight.

It's all about using up more calories than what you take in. If you have a smart phone, I've found that tracking calories using an app called MyFitnessPal (it's free) very helpful. They have the nutrition information of practically every food in their database (and if they don't and you do, you can add it yourself). It's very easy to use. With that, healthy eating and some exercise, I would say you'd be all set.

I'll second the comments from those that remind you that different strategies work for different people. It's probably good to start by examining your lifestyle to see what you need more of and what you need less of.

Do you exercise already? If not, just adding it will help; if so, how can you add intensity, frequency, and/or duration.

What are some nutritional areas that are out of balance? I eat LOTS of healthy food, but then also eat lots of dessert. So just adding veggies wouldn't help me. Instead, it's about eating some dessert (less) and eating it slowly and with concentration in order to get more satisfaction from it. Do you eat when you're nervous (I do)? Then try to be aware of that and find other strategies (have a glass of water first, eat something small but intense). Wherever things are out of balance, you have to find a strategy for returning to balance.

No one solution works for everyone because everyone already does things differently. Plus, a "diet" only works if it's sustainable for the long haul. I lost 35 lbs 6 years ago. I started with more calorie restriction, but in the long term it's worked because I hadn't exercised before and now I do.

I'll also say: I lost 20 pounds a few years ago by running several times a week, dropping liquid calories, and avoiding any high fat foods, but what I ate wasn't particularly healthy or sustainable.

Nowadays I keep my weight down because I also need to keep my budget down! I find making meals from raw produce is generally cheaper than convenience meals, beans are my best friend, I rarely buy meat, and buying bottled drinks (aside from beer/wine) is a special occasion. Budget is a good weight loss motivator.

Here's what I did, lost 25 lbs, and it was painless:
- I made a healthy foods grocery list and made a commitment to not buying anything in the store that wasn't on that list (unless it was a seasonable vegetable or fruit).
- I cleared out my pantry of unhealthy foods. If they're not there, and they're not on my grocery list, they don't make their way back in. If I really want it, I can have it as a treat, when I'm out at a restaurant. I'm a 'are there any cookies?' kind of person who'll start at one and finish the whole batch - just can't have them in the house - major cookie-control issues.
- switched my favorite bad-for-me foods to treats-only and I only have the best of the best (meaning I don't have banana cream pie unless it's my favorite version at my favorite bakery and I'm seeing my friends for coffee - which is about once a month)
- automated my breakfasts and lunches so I have something basic, like greek yogurt, and have a toppings bar (with about 20 choices) that lets me make it different and interesting each day. For lunch it's usually salads but the same premise applies, toppings bar, all healthy choices for variety. Dinner, for me, is anything goes.
- strive to eat healthy 90% of the time and have cheat foods up to 10% of the time
- find a way to exercise daily and make it enjoyable (I now ride my bike to/from work)
- more sex, athletic and daily if possible, burns more calories and it's more fun than riding a bike

Honestly, since you are already a foodie, you are in a great place to lose weight. People who struggle the most are people who rely on convenience foods.
For me, it was a matter of reeducating myself. If you know how to fry and make sauces, then you can saute and make salsas. Or whatever you enjoy.
A lot of cuisines were originally very healthy before we Americanized them. I started teaching myself how to cook authentic Mexican food because of it's heavy reliance on fresh salsas, marinades, spicy rubs and smoky peppers for flavors. No Tex Mex here. I actually started a cooking blog because no one else was focusing on healthy Mexican.
But the point is, figure out what food types you love and reeducate yourself on healthy cooking techniques.

high protein, low carb, low sugar. see slow carb diet. paleo is a good one too. i have 1 cheat day a week where i go nuts after a healthy breakfast.

Lots of fruits and veggies, reasonable portion sizes, black coffee, and getting enough sleep.

Ok you don't need black coffee. But I substitute pop for black coffee (or coffee with skim milk) and I like the effect it has.

I'm another Weight Watchers fan. I lost 20 lbs in a year on WW, and I love to cook and eat (I'm in the midst of a Gastronomy MLA, so you can imagine how much food and drink tasting I face on a daily basis!). No deprivation at all- just a way to help you make better choices.

P.S. Don't entirely give up the foods you love most, whether that's wine, beer, chocolate, or a really good dessert. Life is too short, and leaving yourself room to enjoy these things will really help you manage better day-to-day eating.

Many of these are great tips. I just lost 82 pounds of "baby weight" (ha, my kids are 6 & 4). I ate no wheat especially or flour of any kind, 1-2 servings of grains per day (baked oatmeal is my favorite breakfast with greek yogurt and a huge bowl of berries), sometimes quinoa or rice at another meal, protein at every meal, only water or herbal tea, lots of veggies and then splurge occasionally - buy the good cheese, chocolate, learn some new dessert recipes like meringues or paleo dessert recipes like almond butter brownies to staisfy cravings, and enjoy dinners out once in a while. I also watch salt as I notice it really affects me. And the biggest thing is eating 4 times a day, 3 meals and one snack every 4 hours or so but only eat if you're hungry and only eat a reasonable portion. Portion size is huge and if you don't feel genuinely hungry, then you've been eating too much the last few meals so lay off the quantity a bit. If you do have a day of indulgence, then always get back on track by lowering the grains and lots of water to flush out the naughty stuff. It's not a diet, just a way of life and it feels amazing. Your body will appreciate it. And I am an avid baker and cook so I know what it's like to have a stack of recipes waiting to be tried but there's always tomorrow for that. Just take it one day at a time while you lose the weight and then once you're maintaining you can bake those treats once a week or bake them and give them away but don't eat it all. Saying "no thank you" feels pretty awesome after a while. And if you take a bite of something and it's so so, throw it out. Enjoy what you do eat.

I would recommend the free and popular site SparkPeople.com - I used it. They have exercise videos and meal plans.

Counting calories and exercising worked for me. Spark People was a huge help.

It's a well-known fact that logging what you eat is a great way to change your eating habits. I recommend the free and awesome website NutriMirror - www.nutrimirror.com It's a nutritional management website, and when you get your nutrition in balance and eat the right amount of calories for you (which NM will calculate for you), you will lose weight if you want. I lost 60 pounds 3 years ago and am still maintaining the loss. Also, the support on NM is amazing.

Cut down on carbs and dairy - it works!

I used to joke that I was on the Bear Diet*. I ate a lot of fresh fish, nuts, berries, seasonal veggies, honey in place of refined sugar, etc.

Others here are totally right -- you have to consider all of your lifestyle. It's not just what you eat, but how you approach food (eating from boredom? emotionally? socially?) and how those around you influence your eating and activities. How much walking do you do? Does your current home promote walking and other activities, or do you drive everywhere? If you have free time on your hands, what do you default to doing (watch a movie? go shopping?)? Your attitude and behaviors in all of these areas add up.

At my healthiest, my habit was to go to the gym after work and stop on my way home for some fresh fish for dinner. A nice fillet is lean and high-protein, and it cooks quickly, so it's great for weeknights. Buying something that needs to be as fresh as possible has another hidden benefit: it means you have to leave the house to buy food, making you less likely to poop out of stopping at the gym. Doing a small amount of grocery shopping every day also keeps you focused on the meal at hand. When you shop for the whole week -- that's when you end up stocking up on snacks and things you don't need.

I also find that a lot of people's diets fall apart during lunchtime. If you leave for work in the morning without a game plan, it's easy to get busy or stressed and grab something unhealthy. Even though you don't like leftovers, try making just enough leftovers to get you through lunch the next day. My plan of attack was frequently to have a piece of salmon with cooked veggies for dinner. While it cooked, I prepared a salad for tomorrow's lunch and topped it with cold salmon in the morning.

Also, I get that counting calories is a necessary motivation and eye opener for many people, but don't feel bad if it's not for you. When I tried it, it just stressed me out and sucked all the fun out of healthy eating. It's worth trying, but don't sweat it if you're not into it.

*The joke here is of course that a bear will eat any damn thing you put in front of it, so literally anything can be a part of the Bear Diet. It's genius!

Sprinkle chia seeds on everything. they have no taste and are so good for you (high in protein, omega 3s) and best of all- make you feel full faster and longer.

It's simple, you can't eat whatever you want and not exercise, unless you don't care if you put on weight.

I don't know why people are recommending diets when she clearly said that wasn't what she wanted (which is good, because diets often implicitly set an end date, which is a ridiculous way to keep weight off). For me, it was really never about recipes, and more about learning to eat differently.

Though recipes do help. For me, all I need is roasted broccoli. I eat a miniscule portion of whatever main I had in mind (if any), and an enormous serving of broccoli roasted in olive oil with a dash of salt and pepper (or cayenne, or whatever else you want). It is delicious, filling, easy, and I somehow manage to never get sick of it.

I don't know exactly what your weight issues are, but my problem was always portion control. It can be difficult, making your body obey your brain when it says, hey, one oreo tastes just as good as sitting down and cramming ten oreos into my face, but one of those options makes me feel like (and eventually look like) a fatass. So my main tip is, if you DO like snacks, get things with a high water/fiber content that will be filling: a nice, big apple or a bunch of grapes for me, and the chia seeds thing is right: I hydrate them in water, then add them to fruit juice for a filling side-drink. I also love plain popcorn, popped on the stove with the minimum of olive oil and truffle salt.

If it's something that comes in a multi-serving size, take out a single, measured portion of [chips, cookies, whatever] and then put the rest of it physically away, out of sight in a cupboard, where you have to put thought and effort into getting it back out to eat more. That way you have more of a chance to think about it.

The same two strategies work at meals: if you have pizza, don't eat pizza until you're full. Take one piece of pizza, close the box, and then add a pile of broccoli and a big glass of water to your meal so that you don't need a second piece at all. Eat that one piece as slowly as possible, and if you really want another piece, make yourself wait ten minutes. After ten minutes, my food has usually settled to the point where I feel no need for the food, which makes it easier to convince my tastebuds that they don't really need it, either.

Read the David Allison study. They found that over 20 other species have become obese in the past 30 years, probably due to a change in gut bacteria, air pollution and plastic. I eat yogurt and try to avoid pollution. Exercise does not work. One muffin and you've undone one hour of exercise. Heres the study:

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/278/1712/1626

Also note: "heavy" people can still be perfectly beautiful and fit. Eat and exercise for health and good mood, not to lose weights. Cut out sweets and bad fats, have lots of produce and fish.

Also be wary that most folks here are not doctors.

I'm a big fan of healthy, but non-fussy meals! One I've been eating frequently lately is a zucchini and tomato casserole that was shared by a member on the NutriMirror website. Very quick and easy. Mix together 5 ounces of grated zucchini, 5 ounces of fresh chopped tomato, 1/4 cup quinoa flakes, 1/2 tbs dried thyme (or 1 tbs fresh thyme), a dash of salt and pepper, a dash of red pepper flakes. Pour into a microwavable dish. Top with 1 tbs of grated parmesan cheese. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Serves 1. Calories 194, Total Fat 4.8 g, Saturated Fat 1.8 g, Cholesterol 7 g, Sodium 280 mg, Total Carbs 28 g, Dietary Fiber 5 g, Sugar 8 g, Protein 11 g, Calcium 170 mg, Iron 3 mg, Vitamin C 46 mg,

Throughout my life I've been on just about every diet program/pill out there. Often successful, but never sustainable for life, so the weight always came back two-fold. I finally decided that I'm no longer paying others for these temporary fixes, and instead just start eating fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, etc, and made my beverage of choice water. I joined NutriMirror in February this year, and its really been a life changer for me. Its a free, user-friendly online logging system that (among many other features) tells you how many calories you should eat to maintain your current weight, and how many calories you need to eat to lose about a pound a week. After you enter your daily food intake (which takes me about 10 minutes each day), the system does the rest by providing you with a comprehensive summary of the nutritional values of what you've eaten and whether you've met/exceeded the recommended daily amounts, and provides you with lists of the foods you've eaten over a two week period in order of highest to lowest calories, sodium, fat, sugar, etc. Another selling point for me is this site is not overloaded with those annoying ads and pop ups, and the members that choose to speak up in their journal room are extremely supportive and nonjudgmental.

What worked for me was:
1. Portion control. (I tried watching my calories, but it was too tedious. Reducing how much I cooked and ate at each meal was just simpler.)
2. Eating a wide variety of food. (mixing up my veggies and eating many different cuisines etc.)
3. Not eating bacon. (That thing is like a drug! I can literally finish a pound in 2 meals. I blame all my weight gain on accessible bacon alone!)
4. Cooking more and eating out less
5. Eating breakfast

That's it. Honestly, just keep it simple. Rules no. 1 and 2 were the most effective rules for me.
PS. Except for bacon, I haven't actually stopped eating any kind of 'fattening' food.

Jillyanne: LOL bacon!

I have other foods that are triggers like that for me (almond butter, I just cannot keep it in the house).

I will buy a pound of really high-end bacon once in a while and eat it two strips at a time. Freeze it in 2 strip packets. The freezer is a great way to manage portions.

The reason people think exercise works is it makes you feel good about yourself and as though you can succeed at something. I'm repeating this from what one Harvard doctor said. So exercise, you'll feel great and have a rippin' body. But you won't lose weight. Again read David Allison's work, eat right and remember to find a DOCTOR who is current with research. Link:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/12/10/what-fat-animals-tell-us-about-human-obesity.html

Weight Watchers worked for me.

I lost 7kg just by changing the way I eat. These are the changes I made:
Desert first! I mean, fruit first! Eat a piece of fruit before the main course, it makes good and will fill you a little bit. Or you can add fruit in the main cours (i love salads with apple, grapes, peach or bananas).
Eat less, but more times a day. Between the "big meals" eat about 2 or 3 times healthy food, like fruit, iogurt, smoothies... You can make your own cereal bars too! Forget chips, cookies and other fat foods, make cleaver choices.
Drink a lot of water! And avoid drinks with sugar, carbonated and alcoholic drinks. Make your own juice at home with fruit and water, only.
Incorporate veggies on the dishes. Either raw or cooked. The perfect plate should have 50% of veggies, 25% of Carbohydrates and 25% of meat/fish.
Eat more fish than meat. And when eating meat, prefer the white one (pork and birds).
Choose integral carbohydrates, with more fibra.
If you do exercice, you will notice a even bigger difference, not only on you weight, but also on your health (heart,lungs and energy).

It is a good excuse to try new cuisines! ;) Remember mediterranean cuisine is the healthiest of all.
Hope it helps you!

1. Eat breakfast every day - and not a sugary carb-laden breakfast...something with protein like an omelet with veggies or a protein shake
2. Portion control processed food, refined, food, meat, and dairy, but eat leafy green veggies until you can't eat any more. Serve the dishes you make now on a bed of greens, add spinach to your smoothie, put kale in your soup, just do whatever it takes to eat a significant amount of green leafy veggies.

These two things really work!! I've lost 30 pounds

People always overestimate how many calories they burn with exercise. One hour of exercising is no one's get-out-of-fat free card. I lost 30 pounds so far and nothing worked like cutting out soda, desserts and starchy carbs. And portion control. It's so hard to make the change but it's worth it!

And exercise does not rev up your metabolism. High-intensity interval training has a marginal effect but even that is not going to melt fat away. Diet, diet, diet....oh how I wish it wasn't so. It's so much more work!

I've found adapting recipes and techniques to be helpful - for example steaming and roasting (with low/no oil - but high on spice!).

Cut sauces.

Cut any "extraneous" sugar - for me this was in coffee/tea and little candies throughout the day. My blood sugar has really leveled out as a result of this and now when I have even a little bit of sugar - wow! You can really feel it!

I also cook for a small crowd (just me!) and I find portioning out my food right away helps temptations for seconds. Portion out your dinner (make it a reasonable size) and everything else goes into containers and into the fridge.

As with the other comments above - exercise! Just make sure you have the right kinds of food around after you workout so you're not tempted to gorge to recover energy.

Good luck!

My husband and I have each lost 20-30 lbs and kept it off for several years. It took a few years to lose it gradually, but this is what we did. First I started with small changes: eliminating anything with hydrogenated oil or High fructose corn syrup in it. I think that just really made us aware of what we were actually eating. Learned to cook. Writing down everything you eat (not counting calories, just logging it in) made us aware of how much we were actually eating. Daily moderate exercise, and sticking to one or two drinks a day. The thing that really gave it a kickstart was working weightlifting in a few days a week. Nothing magical, and it was really gradual, but permanent.

Just to add to what I said above. If you expect weight loss to happen overnight, you'll gain it back. You have to make changes to daily habits that you can live with. It's the small things, good and bad that you do every day that have lasting impact on your life.

Store what you eat and eat what you store with Shelf Reliance. I used to be a chip-a-holic then discovered Thrive food! I liked it enough to sign up as an independent consultant and now hubby and I eat it all the time. The fruit and veggies and delicious straight from the cans! http://reliancepantry.shelfreliance.com

It's not diet-- it's lifestyle. It's making changes that you can live with... permanently. I found the best thing I did was reading "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual" by Michael Pollan. It explained in the most basic laymen's terms how to go about lifestyle changes for yourself-- not to lose weight but for overall health (mostly through the elimination of over-processed "edible food-like substances". The documentary "Forks Over Knives" was also a big eye-opener for me. Though rather extreme, it outlines how a North American diet is wreaking insane havoc on health and just how easily one can get chronic illnesses under control.

My biggest change has been knowing how to substitute and cheat smartly. IE: Instead of a giant bowl of white pasta and tomato sauce, I'll make a tomato sauce and (occasionally) a tiny amount of whole wheat pasta, but 3/4's of my "pasta" is shredded zucchini or spaghetti squash. If I *really* want chocolate layer cake, say... I'll make Ani Phyo's raw vegan version with a cocoa/walnut/date cake, an avocado/date/chocolate frosting and fill the middle with fresh raspberries and top it with even more. Now, my calories are nutrient-dense (as opposed to devoid of) and the *biggest* surprise from doing this? I find it takes so much less to be satisfy cravings/cravings are less intense/cravings are less frequent.

And bear in mind that I also make a point of biking to and from work in doable weather (which in Canada is April-November).

Dangit. Apologies for not proofreading my above comment. *facepalm*

No diets. No gym.

It all starts with shopping. If you don't buy crap, you won't eat crap. I spent fifty years not eating fruit. Now I go to the weekly farmers' market and buy dragon fruit, mangoes, pineapple, star fruit and more. Lunch is fruit - yes, with good bread and sometimes a little cheese.

I don't jog or go to a gym - every day I clean my house - just for about ten minutes - and sweep the yard. Exercise with a purpose, not for the sake of it. I'm not vegan or even a proper vegetarian but I rarely eat meat - it's loaded with fat.

Just be active in your day to day life. Don't live on junk food. Have a delivery pizza once a week - drink wine - don't feel DEPRIVED or you'll give up. A 'diet' implies a temporary situation. "I'll diet and then I'll go back to eating the way I did before". Then you'll put the weight back on.

@Emmi:

so many doctors are paid off by pharmaceutical companies to prescribe their drugs to people who otherwise just need a little exercise and some food choice changes.... and not to mention the government still has the "food pyramid" in effect... who still thinks that bagels and pasta are what you should be eating the most of during your day?

I say, do a lot of research. a lot of people post great foodie websites in their comments on TheKitchn, which lead to other great foodie websites and then to clean eating websites. I got a juicer because of this site and the subsequent sites I found through comments and weekly postings.. It's magical, and was only $100. I check out the websites, see what I like about them, think very consciously about what they're saying, discard the info if I think it seems a little hokey, and honestly, what I've taken from all my "online research" is that veggies are one of the most important things for your body. Fruits are excellent but have more sugar, and water is essential, even if you're getting alot of water from the fruits and veggies you're eating.... I still eat bacon cheeseburgers, but only when I go out to eat, which is maybe once a month? At home it's more pork and chicken, and pizza with way more veggies than anything else as toppings.

Just be conscious of what you're eating, and what you're reading, and think really hard about how the foods you're eating make you feel. Listen to your gut.... literally :)

Portion control, varied ingredients. Cooking yourself but snacking on grapes while cooking (because I'm a nibble and taste when I cook, because usually when I am cooking I am hunry. I lost all of my weight (30lbs) on Weight Watchers, but I am TERRIBLE at tracking, which is the backbone of the system, so it took me on and off 10 years to lose it, but over that long I gradually have learned (and am still learning) that it takes little daily habits and lifestyle changes to eat healthy and be active. I gradually have cut out most processed foods, but I am not militant about anything. I eat mostly vegetarian, but I love meat and splurge very very often. I don't use low-fat no fat stuff because it's loaded with sugar and I'd rather have a little less of the real thing. It takes a lot of discipline, and it's really easy to beat yourself up and fall off the wagon, but never impossible to get right back on. I do it all the time. I still have about 5 lbs to lose before I feel really good, and it's like chiseling off cement. Oh well, it'll probably take another two years for that to come off at this rate. Good luck!

Kpies, I agree, many drug companies etc are corrupt. Not all researchers and doctors are evil; mine is a member of Doctors Without Borders, he treats many people without accepting any money and has always recommended I change my diet before he'll even think of writing me a prescripton. That's just one example; but the USDA, doctors and our grandmas have maintained like, forever that fruits and veggies should be at the top. I just hope people trying to be healthy and lose weight will realize that pollution may play a role too.

I will sheepishly come forward as the OP… And I should add that now that I’ve gotten on a proper scale it’s really only a bit under 13 pounds I need to lose (but I’m rather petite – small boned, I notice it.). I’ve always been very active, I should add. Exercising is not a problem for me, I really do enjoy it. During the course of my “nesting phase” a little here, a little there and it added up. I’ve always been quite fit, and this is more of a new challenge for me in life. I recently had very invasive surgery and I’m sure being more sedentary added to the paunchiness (I still do yoga and pilates as I can). And I do love homemade mayonnaise. That really can’t help matters. I don’t tend to eat horribly, but if I caught a whim, I usually indulge it. I’m trying to change some bad habits and revert back to my old ones! But I am really overwhelmed and grateful for so many people coming forward to help and offer suggestions. I’m truly touched and thankful. What a wonderful, supportive community we have here. Really, really, thank you all. :) (Also I'm tickled pink that the picture is of Alton Brown, he is the best!)

Two things:

1 - most doctors know very little about how to lose weight and proper nutrition for losing weight. It's sad but true. Doctors are trained to treat illness and disease, not to provide accurate and topical nutrition information. I've had this confirmed by multiple doctors who have said that everything they learned about good nutrition and weight loss has come from non-medical sources, not their training as doctors.

2 - most big box gym trainers are going to provide you with the "common wisdom" information about weight loss. They are there to sell gym services, get you to buy training packages that benefit the gym, and get you to buy the products that the gym sells and recommends. Except for a very few, most of them are not going to give you solid, bottom line advice to lose weight. If you hire an independent trainer, you stand a much better chance of getting accurate results, but most independent trainers are more expensive that people can afford.

Do your own research and figure out what works for you. Ultimately it boils down to the trope of Move more / Eat less, but within that, there is scope for a lot of variation.

For me what worked was cutting out junk and non water-based drinks (water, tea, coffee), and eating a whole foods diet: lots of lean meat, veggies, fruit, and complex carbs (in that order), as well as paying attention to the number of calories I consumed each day. Exercise helped me to burn a few more calories and get fit, but the biggest changes to my weight came from changing my diet.

From the downsized cook: increase vegetables (especially fresh) & water, reduce carbs - make the carbs that you DO eat whole grain. Try to get your sweet fix from fruit. Be critical of portion size, especially of carbs. Make sustainable changes. Garner support from the people around you. Don't bring home stuff that tempts you. Keep lots of salads/pickles/other prepared veggie dishes on hand. Don't think that today is lost because you hit an obstacle. Good luck!

Lots of sex. No kidding. Worked for me and I lost 30 lbs. Added bonuses need not be mentioned...

I have a significant sweet tooth that makes a day without dessert feel unsatisfying. I found that by eating fruit more during the day when I'm not especially craving sweet, I didn't crave sugary desserts as much.

Taylor, I re-read your post and see that you want meal ideas and that you cook for two in a small apartment. This is what we do.

Lunch is almost always fruit. I slice it or cube it depending on the fruit and arrange it nicely because I think food has to look good :) Then I add some thin slices of cheese, maybe sliced tomato, a few olives ... whatever vegetables are to hand. We always have a little crusty bread (or sometimes crackers) with this so that it doesn't seem like a deprivation! It's so much easier to eat fruit when it's cut up and prepared. Fruit and cheese go really well together! This lot goes onto a tray along with a few jars - mustard, chutney etc. It only takes a few minutes to put together. I don't deliberately make it low fat, sometimes we have avocado and nuts, but I try to make it healthy and it's different every day.

This is the important part - we then sit at the table and eat and chat. No TV, no computers, phones aren't checked - we just graze from the tray. True, we get some strange food combinations ("Hey, this cheese is good with pineapple" etc) but it's actually fun and an 'official' lunch break (we work from home). We talk a lot about what we're eating and it's a foodie occasion, if you see what I mean!

You could have a similar system for dinner - maybe not every night but a couple of nights a week. We're vegetarian but you could add cold cooked chicken or shrimp.

Hey Ros, Try Einkorn wheat...it's a miracle!!

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