What HAS worked for you?
 

Fad diets don't work. I use Weight Watchers. I'm learning to eat for life so I don't yo-yo. You didn't gain 11 pounds in 11 days and it's not going to come off that fast either. A big loss at the beginning is mainly water, not fat.

A combo of calorie counting, whole foods and primal blueprint. And I like to walk.

I've never lost 11 pounds in 11 days but I've maintained a 30 pound loss for 6 or 7 months.

Hey Susan - almost twins :)
I use a combination of calorie counting, whole foods and South Beach and I love to walk. I also love my bike, Wii Active and weights but 85% of my exercise has been walking.

I've maintained a 90 lb loss for 2 years, 2 months

Im thinking about calorie counting and walking for now. I dont have ANY extra money, so I cant buy extra food for me.

My boyfriend says that drinking water is not good for me because we retain it ?? He isnt supportive of me wanting to lose weight at all. He doesnt think it matters. But it does to me...

Another following Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. It has been the easiest, most sustainable change I have made and I am quite happy with progress.

Judith Beck's books and the support group here on 3FC for them. Her first book, The Beck Diet Solution, helps you stick to any healthy diet you choose. The Complete Beck Diet for Life has a diet in it, which I'm following (with some tweaks at the moment). I've never lost 11 pounds in 11 days, but I've lost 50 pounds in a year and I know how to keep it off.

P.S. Water is good for you! You will sometimes retain water for a variety of reasons, but it doesn't matter -- it's fat you want to lose, a bit of water weight on any given day is no big deal.

Thank you all, I know that the only secret is hard work and determination! I am ready to put in the work to get the results that I want. I cant really afford any books right now, so Ill just have to go with what I already know LOL

It's interesting to read about the different ways folks have shed excess weight. Thanks very much for the thread!

What has worked for me so far:

Leaving particular kinds of food behind, going on in life without them.

Not to say that someone else ought to do what I do, but not eating these has helped my health and to shed fat. I don't eat sugar, high glycemic foods, gluten, packaged foods, or oils high in polyunsaturated fats. I count grams of carbs, protein, fat, and calories. I eat three meals a day and don't eat after 4:30 or 5 P.M.

I drink at least my body weight in water in ounces each day.

I find that exercise before breakfast helps me the best.

The best reading material I've found on the web about losing weight and eating is Eat Fat and Grow Slim by Dr. Richard MacKarness and the PaNu blog by Dr. Kurt Harris.

I wish everyone much success and am sending you all good thoughts! :)

For me it's not about a plan, it's about a mental attitude. I have tried countless times, and succeeded three times, to get to a weight thats right for me. There have been so many obstacles in the past, but i realise now those were mental. You have to believe you can do it. You have to want to achieve it, and YOU WILL. Find a plan that works for YOU - it may not work for anyone else, but if it works for you then it is good. Try not to be swayed by what anyone else says, listen to yourself, and your body. Once you detox from the carbs that rule every ones lives, you will be able to see you eating plan for what it is. Good luck in whatever you choose. Have belief and don't give up xx

butterflydreamz: books are free at the library!

calorie counting and exercise

Southbeach, only whole foods, nothing processed...
Unless it's cauliflower, if it's white, I don't eat it.