Leading up to my wedding (and more importantly my honeymoon), I wanted to tone up and slim down, without making myself susceptible to disease from crazy diets with low nutrient contents. My approach worked really well: I made it a priority to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day... which drastically reduced the amount of garbage I was eating. I'd have a banana snack instead of cookies, I'd have fruit and cheese for a high protein breakfast instead of toast. It was tougher than I imagined, but I was eating great and it worked like a charm. I stayed healthy, felt great, and met my goals.

I know I need to eat more veggies and cut back on the fatty foods I adore like cheese, butter, cream cheese frosting on cinnamon buns and pretty much anything dairy.

But I think the key is to have things in moderation. Like Bittman, I'm a vegetarian during office hours and in restaurants and a carnivore at home. I've stepped it up a gear this time cooking "nearly veggie" meals at least 4 out of 5 evenings. I say nearly veggie as sometimes they include small amounts of meat or fish, eg a rasher of bacon to flavour a batch of hearty green lentils. I've had to resist the temptation of putting cheese into every dish to make it veggie and instead experiment with spices to liven up my vegetables.

This week's menu includes spiced parsnip soup (made with coconut milk rather than cream), warm potato and leek salad with shreds of smoked fish and watercress, Szechuan mushroom fried rice and (ahem) caramelised onion and blue cheese tart.

Portions are important with veggie food as they can be perceived to be less filling, so I up the ante with the carbs to fill me up. My tart is the least carb friendly of these so I made layer slices of thin potato on the bottom of the tart to beef it up. And you know what, I'm damn well looking forward to the end of the week for that tart and I will be savouring every mouthful!

I got into weight-lifting over the last year, and gained some weight. Now I'm looking to lose fat so I can see all my muscles! My main goals are to eat 100g of protein per day and stick to a calorie deficit of 500kCal/day (this doesn't always happen!). The protein has been achievable: oatmeal with nuts in the morning; tuna fish sandwich for lunch; steak, pork chop, or chicken for dinner and I'm there. I haven't been completely denying myself anything but I am trying to eat fewer wheat products like pasta and bread. Switching my daily beer to a green tea helped with that. So far I've lost 4 pounds and 1.3 body fat percentage points in 4 weeks, which I consider pretty good.

I drink lots of water, avoid sweets (b/c once I start eating refined sugar, it's all I want-haha), and make sure there is a lot of variety in my diet so that I don't get bored. I *generally* avoid red meat and white carbs, but if I feel it's a worthy indulgence, I go for it. Typically, this happens in a restaurant rather than at home though. My best tip is that I use healthy ingredients as a reason to be creative in the kitchen- this allows me to focus on what I can eat, rather than what I can't. Most days I find myself really excited about fruits and veggies. :) I also endeavor to work out at least 4 days a week.

For me, maintaining a healthy diet means to make the vast majority of the foods I eat be "real" foods and eat very little that is processed. We cook most of our meals at home and I bring my breakfast, snacks and lunch with me to work every day-with exceptions being rare. Breakfast is usually yogurt or oatmeal with fruit, lunch is a big salad with some type of protein or a homemade soup that I made earlier in the week. Snacks are usually fruit or veggies with protein in the form of cheese, nuts or nut butter if I want/need more satiety. Dinner is filled with veggies but includes meat and usually whole grain carbs. Nothing is off limits. Deserts, bread, wine, beer and cocktails are included but dont' occur every day nor when they do don't occur in copious amounts. I eat well 80% of the time, so the 20% of the time when I have, for example, a martini before dinner and split a bottle of red wine with my husband at dinner while dining on white flour homemade pizza it doesn't derail my overall nutritional goals. Granted, the holidays or celebratory meals/events happen but I never beat myself up for what I do/don't eat. I exercise most days of the week and feel fantastic and wouldn't have it any other way.

Don't ban certain foods outright. A small serving of something 'bad' is ok once in a while. Once a week, I allow myself a treat, be it french fries, Mac N' Cheese, or ice cream, which I enjoy with relish and NO guilt.

Keep it small. I figure that the size of my hand (and it's not a large hand by any means) is a good portion for anything that I want to eat.

My resolution this year is to eat more veggies and I try to add a fresh vegetable to every meal.

It's fairly easy and I say this now because I have struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. I found the key and that is to stay active or workout from 30 minutes to an hour a day and eat as healthy as you possibly can. Indulge every now and then, not everyday. Eat REAL food - mainly fruits and veggies. Never deny yourself of anything because you'll just end up beating yourself up about it. And most of all, enjoy life. It's not about spending 2 hours at the gym only to eat a small portion of salad a day. WE all know that's not healthy.

I just posted about this exact same subject : http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com/2012/01/09/why-im-defriending-ice-cream/ and listed what I am now eating. My goal is to keep up this way of eating for 6 months and hopefully by then it will be habit.

For me, the only way to eat healthy is to plan meals ahead. Which, despite being a generally organized person, I'm terrible at. But when I can get a handle on deciding on my meals a week or at least three or four days ahead, I eat much better (more veggies, less cheese, satisfying food) than when I am standing in front of my fridge, hungry for dinner, with no ideas and few healthy ingredients in the fridge.

I find when I plan ahead, it's very easy to make healthier choices because I have the ingredients bought, the meal is matched up with the day (ie, a more simple dinner on a night I have a TON of things to do, a more time-consuming one on a relaxed evening), and I've usually chosen a recipe I'm a bit excited to make!

Having said that, though, I ALWAYS, even when I'm trying to lose weight, let myself have a treat or two every week!

I'm with LeapKate on this one. I HAVE to plan meals ahead of time.

Here is what I do: I make a menu for myself for the next week. Make a big ol' grocery list. Go shopping on Saturday. Then on Sunday, I take a few hours and prep all the food for that week. I don't COOK everything, I just chop and mix whatever I can to make it easier for myself. Then when I get home from the gym (after a long workday...yes, exercise is key), it is so easy to cook my meals because everything is pre-chopped and mixed. All I have to do is get out pots and pans and throw it together.

this is what has worked for me:

--i prioritized fruits and vegetables like the poster above and turned my cooking focus toward finding delicious, satisfying ways to make vegetables. vegetable-based soups, stews, tians, etc.; caramelizing, braising, roasting. if you like to cook, it's a lot of fun to explore these avenues.

--i try to think about an umami component for almost everything i cook--focusing on this flavor component will make lighter meals more satisfying. i also make sure there's enough acid and salt on everything--basic stuff for any cook i guess, but balance becomes more important.

--try having a smoothie every day for breakfast. buy a mini-blender (like hamilton beach's, about $35) so it's more convenient--you can drink it right out of the blender cup. a cup of frozen berries and enough milk (i use soy) to get it to your preferred consistency, and sweetener if desired. you get fiber, protein and a little fat (see below) from the milk, and a huge jolt of vitamins and antioxidants. for me, for some reason, starting the day this way makes eating healthily much easier throughout the day.

--fat is satisfying and very filling, and I feel deprived if I don't have a little in my diet. i often eat a whole-grain mini-bagel with about two tblsp peanut butter for lunch, with fruit and some kind of salad or veg dish. i drink 2% instead of skim milk in my diet. makes it much easier to stick to a healthy diet.

--i realized that if i wanted a cheap, healthy, and delicious diet, i was going to have to devote some extra time to it--it takes some thinking and planning and a lot of, well, produce prep. don't set yourself up for failure--commit to making the time. it gets faster as you develop routines and a repertoire.

--eat barley. barley is the lowest-glycemic grain there is--really fills you up and gives you energy. i just substitute pearl barley for brown rice. and if you bake bread or muffins, use dark rye flour--also exceptionally filling, and yummy.

--i don't drive myself crazy trying to quantify nutrient facts or track my intake of folate, antioxidants, or what have you. makes planning meals like solving a jigsaw puzzle. i put my faith in a varied balanced primarily plant-based diet, whole grains, basic common sense (no deep-fried butter) and maybe some vitamins and a calcium supplement.

I definitely think the key is having the right foods around. I don't let myself buy any unhealthy snacks (with a few rare exceptions) because I know if I have them in the house, I'll eat them. Similarly, I try to bring lots of healthy snacks to work (mostly fruit, sometimes homemade granola bars or nuts), so that when I get hungry instead of running out for something bad, I have a better option.

Cutting back on eating lunches out is a biggie too. I always brought lunch, but my current coworkers eat out a lot. It takes willpower but I've been trying to turn down most of their offers because inevitably I eat something bad for me, like a burrito or fried food. Plus it saves me the money!

Gee, I guess my husband and I aren't the only ones on a veggie kick these days! We've been starting our day with a veggie smoothie - we use Kimberly Snyders recipe but there are tons out there. We make a big pitchter of it on Sunday then re-blend 1 cup smoothie and 1 cup water each morning. It took a while to get used to it, and I still don't think it tastes "awesome," but as someone above said, knowing I've choked it down helps me eat better the rest of the day and I LOVE that its 2 servings of veggies.

I've counted points on Weight Watchers for as long as I can remember but I've honestly gotten tired of the tracking and obsessive thinking about it. Lately I am eating real foods, in the quantity that feels right for the moment, and not stressing about the numbers behind it. It's pretty hard to overeat veggie smoothie (trust me on that one!!) and oatmeal - they are naturally filling.

Good luck to all of us!!

I've been drinking a bottle of water before I reach for my morning coffee. It motivates me to finish that first bottle and to stay hydrated, and between that and the coffee, I'm not looking to nosh on snacks between breakfast and lunch.

for me it all boils down to planning, i know what i should and shouldn't be eating, and if i plan poorly often the "shouldn't" things end up being consumed. I'm sure this goes for everyone weather you are going low cal, carb, fat whatever.
At the very least have something healthy around to snack on - whole fruit, veggies and dip, some nuts and a square of dark chocolate - something to satisfy you temporarily so you can focus on getting together a real meal. 9/10 times I eat something I shouldnt its because i didn't plan well and had nothing else as easily available around and i splurge.

I take it a step further and plan out everything I am going to eat - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for about 9 days. Its really not as obsessive as it seems, usually there are repeats and leftovers on the menu so Im not cooking every day.

You dont have to 100% stick to the plan either. Go with your whims if you have them. But if you have that many ideas and all the ingredients for them chances are you wont screw up as often.

MyFitnessPal.com is awesome, free & has an app. Love it!

I can't be the only one who thinks dairy is NOT unhealthy. my mind was and is blown by Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions and the simple concept that staying in the general vicinity of your ancestral diet is probably the best health insurance you can have. quality, of course, is fundamental. as a Euro-American mutt it's safe to assume that dairy [mostly raw], meat and sourdough grains are good for me. my cold-weather ancestors may have thrived on little else, but I have the luxury of loads of vegetables. dairy doesn't agree with my half-Sicilian husband, though. the idea of a 'right' diet for all people is beginning to seem, to me, as unwise as.... well, just about anything that's supposed to be right for all.

@Fennpepper, that's a really interesting idea, I'll have to check out that book!

I'm with the "all things in moderation" crowd. I love my sweets, and I've found ways (like granola bars by good brands like Nature Valley) to slip chocolate into my diet without binging on a container of Ben and Jerry's. I've also made it a point to load up my diet with veggies--salads and veggie soup for lunch, multiple vegetables with dinner, carrots with hummus for my afternoon snack...and it makes a huge difference!

Maintaining a healthy diet can be difficult when you don't know what healthy IS.
My healthy eating awakening was inspired by my brother. I used to eat relatively healthy, and I’d already cut out ALL sugary drinks from my diet before my brother went through a life-changing event. (I was never a big soda drinker, but boy, I loved iced-tea drinks!)
My brother experienced a near-death experience back in 2010 while I was on my honeymoon. The medical reasons remain unknown—he wasn’t obese, just a little overweight (mostly a belly). He still felt sick after his experience, and because he couldn’t explain what had happened to him, he felt he needed to change his eating habits for himself, his girlfriend and very young daughter. So he made a change from the typical American diet: a lot of meat, little veggies, lots of fast food, huge meals, soda, junk, etc., to cutting out ALL sugar and excess fat because he was convinced that he had a candida growth in his stomach. He got into food documentaries (Food Inc., Food Matters), went to see an alternative medicine doctor to do a hair analysis, maybe he had mercury poisoning. He slowly changed to a vegetarian diet and now he’s a vegan. All in the course of a little over 1.5 years.

So during this course, he shared what he was learning about food. It all made sense to me. I decided to make a change too.

For me, it all began with knowing my brother’s story and reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. From there, I’ve read Marion Nestle, I follow Mark Bittman, watched documentaries, read Tomatoland and Banana, Gary Taubes and more. I dislike labels, but if anything, I’d consider myself an unofficial vegetarian.
Learning about all aspects of our food system has led me to make decisions for my health based on what is important to me. My healthy diet consists of:
-Mostly veggies and grains, and fruits.
-Not cooking any kind of animal meat at home for many, many reasons.
-Cooking from scratch always.
-Reading the label of every bottled, boxed, canned item I buy—if I buy it.
-No processed foods, boxed meals, frozen meals.
-Yes to treats like chocolate confections, pastries, etc. (I read all labels though, so my treats tend to be very pricey—again, they are treats.)
-I only drink water, unless I make a drink myself, like tea, or natural juice (using a juicer).
-Limit how much animal products I consume (but if someone invites me over, I will have some of the meat if offered)
-I exercise and practice yoga without being an addict. Exercise alone doesn’t help people burn all the calories they consume. You’d have to exercise all day every day and that’s not realistic. But it does help to speed up your metabolism. And yoga, well, there are many, many benefits to practicing yoga.
My main advice, educate yourself about food. Marketing always gets people to buy crap food. Change your habits because you want to be healthy and not because you want to lose all the weight. The weight lose is just a bonus.

(Please forgive me for such a long commet. I tried to make it as short as possible!)

Get 5-8 servings of fruits and veggies a day and most other things will take care of themselves. (At least this is what I tell my patients just to get them started!) I'd say my main food philosophy is to avoid processed foods and cook at home. I try to view each meal as an opportunity to get nutrients, and not as an opportunity to cut calories. I have overweight people in my family for whom food is such a complicated issue...every meal is like a minefield. My mom was telling me she has light english muffins and light jelly for breakfast and it's only 100 calories. I'm like: that's horrible! Breakfast is your fuel for the day, why are you trying to cut corners? What do you get from those processed foods? You need calcium! You need fruit! I want like 400 calories for breakfast, and I want to check foods off my list: 1-2 fruits, a dairy, some nuts, and some grains. Steel cut oatmeal with pears, milk, and nuts with a tea on the side. Whole grain toast with peanut butter and apple slices. Whole wheat toast with ricotta cheese, cinnamon, walnuts, and an orange on the side. Done. Honestly, I start the day with a sense of accomplishment that I'm already on my way to eating healthy for the day. Food is about nutrients and pleasure for me. I realize that since I have never been overweight it's a lot more straightforward for me, however. I know people who can't have a delicious meal without tons of guilt, and I wish I knew how to change that for them.

Since I have a sweet tooth: I only eat baked goods that are homemade and really good (no mediocre cake mixed with canned icing) or are from a good bakery. I want those calories to be really enjoyable, and the truth is I don't come across excellent baked good often enough for it to be dangerous. I almost never buy cookies or sweets to keep at home except some good dark chocolate. I bake at home sometimes, but usually only to share.

I also try not to make rules about food. I try to cook most of my own meals and bring my lunches, and if I'm using healthy ingredients, they are healthy meals. So I have no guilt about an indulgent restaurant meal on the weekends, and I always go out at least once on the weekend. Everything in moderation, including moderation. Nothing is off limits, but the truth is that I feel gross if I eat gross food regularly.

I try to switch out ingredients with empty calories for better ingredients that packed with nutrients and generally eat more fruit/veggies. I also try to cut caloric corners *where I won't miss them*.

IE: When I bake carrot cake, I switch out white flour for whole wheat, then switch out 1/8 cup of that for flaxseed meal. Then I half the amount of oil and replace it with apple sauce. (Yeah, it's still cake, but now at least I'm getting fibre and some more vitamins where there were none-- and it *still* tastes sinfully delicious; ditto for brownies with sweet potato). Trade out the iceberg lettuce for spinach. Trade out the cream dressing for olive oil, vinegar and a bit of Dijon. Trade out the white bread for whole grain. Trade out salt in some soups for nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or turmeric. I mix frozen berries into my yoghurt, so I use low-fat. Trade out half of the chocolate milk for milk and half of the juice for water. Instead of drinking 2%, drink 1%.

Once you start doing that on a regular basis, you stop noticing and you start eating healthier all the time. Just by trading out empty ingredients and cutting little corners here and there, it's amazing how much better one will eat in general.

Learn to love leftovers. Lol. Eating healthy is a LOT easier when your meals are already prepared and just need to be reheated. In the winter I make big pots of soup or stew or cooked grain porridge or beans and we eat that a few nights a week, with variation.

Personally, although I cook almost exclusively from scratch, I'm trying to eat less, eat fewer sweets, and eat way more vegetables. And get my protein from beans, eggs, nuts, and dairy (like young cheeses like ricotta and cottage cheese instead of colby or cheddar) instead of what my mom calls "big meat." Although I do need to bulk up my protein intake too. I'm also trying to get fruits and veggies into my sweets. For instance, real pumpkin custard (http://farmhousemagazine.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/winter-squashes-dinner-snack-dessert/), sweet potato cake, baked apples, etc. And I've got to stock up on whole grain flours again so I can start experimenting with them. And I've got almond meal and ground pecans waiting for me to cook up some fantastic new dessert.

But the leftovers thing is big. I'm out of town right now, but once I get home I'm finally going to get my lazy butt in gear and make more overnight porridge, try a new lentil dish recipe, make barley pudding (instead of rice), and see if I can't find a decent whole grain bread recipe, since both of my favorite bread recipes are old school refined white flour breads. Oh, and I'm going to try to score some pastured beef bones from the local market and roast 'em up for some homemade beef stock. In which case, french onion soup will be in the offing.

And keep up the workout. Walking the family dog while out of town has helped, but the elliptical machine in our bedroom back home calls to me.

I think you have to make things as easy on yourself as possible; don't make yourself struggle to make the right choice. For example, if I make a meat-heavy entree, how likely is it that I'm going to spend the time to make veg side dishes? Not very, so I make a lot of one-dish meals with my veg right in there, things like fried brown rice with tons of veg and a little BBQ pork for flavor. If there's junk like chips in the house, how am I going to be able to resist them when I'm hungry and tired? It's pretty unlikely, so I just don't buy them. I cook healthy entrees when I'm not hungry, so then there's something good to eat in the fridge that's even easier than fast food. I bring my lunch every day and hardly ever eat out, so when I do eat out, I get whatever I want and don't worry about what's in it.

-Don't eat out (easy for me, I have celiac and my son has many allergies)
-Eat a good breakfast.
-Eat more fruits and veggies (I can't get enough kale!).
-Learn to cook some healthy vegetarian/vegan meals.
-Plan every meal *and* snack for the week, make a grocery list, stick to it.
-Don't go to the grocery store more than once a week (farmer's market is ok more than once, just don't buy pie)
-Measure/weigh your food to ensure you are not eating too many servings.
-Record your food intake (sparkpeople.com)
-Visit and use weight loss forums for inspiration. 3fatchicks.com has awesome members who met their goals and posted pics and tips.
-If you slip up, don't give up and devour everything in sight. Recognize what made you slip up (for me, boredom and emotional eating), make a plan on how to handle the situation in the future (go for a walk or clean the bathrooms instead of eating) and move on.
-Eat dessert once in a while. Make sure it is something good. The calories are NOT worth it when the food is not the best thing you have ever eaten.
-Get moving (adopt a dog and go for walks!)
-Non-food rewards. New clothing, workout dvd or equipment, new book
-Recognize non-scale victories, such as losing so much weight that your pants fall down! :)

Agreed on the planning - it's much easier to eat healthily if it's all there waiting for you in the fridge. Also, I find it works to front-load my healthy eating - Juice and healthy cereal for breakfast, a packed lunch of a mixed salad with low-fat protein, followed by fruit, with more fruit and veggies for snacks means I've had the requisite portions of fruit and vegetables before I've had time to really think about it and I can be as unhealthy as I like (within bounds!) for my evening meal.

Stay committed to getting our food from our CSAs and cook everything from scratch (not hard, as I love all of these things), and Weight Watchers, which was been a godsend for someone like me, who loves her food and wine!

* has been

Don't buy the junk food/unhealthy food to begin with. You are less likely to eat it if you have to leave the house to track it down.

Don't focus on what you CAN'T have, but rather the plethora of delicious foods out there just waiting to be discovered by your palette.

Realize that you are not depriving yourself, but rather giving your body all the wonderful things it needs to feel REALLY good and it's all worth it.

Know that it's not the end of the world if you eat half a pan of brownies.... just don't do it again the next day!