I gained 90 lbs over the course of 9 years, and 9 years ago I began trying to lose it. It took all 9 of those years to really figure out the right method for me. For one, I had to finally recognize that exercise is great for fitness but sucks for weight loss. I do exercise, but I don't do it to lose weight. For two, I finally had to realize that my body is very sensitive to carbohydrates and accept that I was going to have to limit carbs if I wanted to lose weight. In the beginning I did drop from 225 to 175 by modifying my diet a little and adding in exercise (P90X to be specific) and using protein shakes. But over the years I regained 25 lbs. In April 2016 I was 205. Today I weighed in at 134.8.
I just want to say to people who are trying and maybe not getting the results- don't give up. It's a journey. It's a learning curve. Don't trust conventional wisdom just because- if it's not working for you, then try something else. Ultimately I gave up on a number of "conventional wisdom" things- I don't believe exercise helps you lose weight, for example. I remember when my doctor first told me, "You diet to lose weight, you exercise to get fit" and I scoffed. I mean, as a teen I could eat anything I wanted and burn it off so why would it be different now? Well, I can assure you that by the time you hit 30, things change! The other thing I had to toss aside was the "calories in, calories out" theory of calories as the primary reason for weight loss. It doesn't work for me. I'm super sensitive to carbs, and my macros (fat, protein and carbohydrate) ratio is tremendously important to me, far more important than calories. I don't count calories, other than once in a blue moon to make sure I'm eating
enough. I count macros, and specifically I count carbohydrate grams. Provided I keep my carbs low, I can eat as much food as I want and lose weight (I easily eat 2000 calories a day). If I start eating a lot of carbs, I gain weight. I gained 5 lbs between Thanksgiving and Christmas due to going a little crazy on carbs. I drastically lowered my carbs for January and have now hit goal. I also occasionally practice intermittent fasting (an 18/6 schedule) and I avoid snacking.
I'm not saying this is what works for everyone. I do believe everyone is individual. But I also believe people need to question, question, question and if you've been trying the same thing over and over and it's not working, it's probably time to change it up.
For those that have any interest at all, my resources for carb reduction are primarily these three websites:
www.marksdailyapple.com
www.dietdoctor.com
www.idmprogram.com
I also am a huge fan of Dr. Jason Fung and he has a ton of videos available on Youtube. He's the author of "The Obesity Code" and he's an MD that specializes in reversing Type 2 Diabetes in his patients at his clinic in Toronto by utilizing a combination of a low carb diet and intermittent fasting. Finding him has been life changing for how I think about carbs, especially as my A1C was bordering on pre-diabetes.
I'm super grateful for the support I've received here at 3FC and plan to stick around because now I get to move on to something even harder: maintenance!
After 9 years of trying and failing and trying again....GOAL! 90 lbs lost!
and well done, EagleRiverDee! I've been following your posts and have always been impressed by your transparency and honesty regarding reaching your weight-loss goals. My body reacts a lot like yours to carbohydrates and the only true weight loss success I've had has come from following a similar approach as yours. 
It was where I went off the tracks. I'm doing things differently this time.
EagleRiverDee on reaching Your Goal Weight! It must feel awesome.
