I have been on many diets - calorie counting, Atkins, South Beach and the Sonoma diet. They all have failed except for counting calories. As soon as you go off the fast weight loss programs, you gain the weight back plus some immediately. Counting calories works if you don't starve yourself to death by eating too small of amount of calories.
The best way to lose weight is to simply eat smaller amounts of food and eat healthy foods (no fried foods, no heavy deserts, no nibling at the candy bowl at work or eating the Friday donuts). Simply eat a smaller amount of food and exercise regularly whether it be walking for 30 minutes or bike riding with a club for 3 hours. All you really need is some physical exercise three times per week. The weight will come off slowly, but it will stay off.
Thank you so much for posting - this is one of the best posts I've seen because you really spell out the classic equation: fewer calories in, more calories out.
It sounds like you've had experience with getting fit. Would you share some of your best tips with the community? I'd love to hear how you satisfied cravings without going overboard, how you worked exercise into your schedule, and how you determined portion size.
Please let us know what worked for you!
Thank you,
Emily, MyDietExercise.com Producer