It just seems like there are soooo many different diets out there that I'd have no idea where to start. Plus I don't like to be deprived of any certain food group.

I do take a appetite suppressant called Lipo 6 which has helped greatly with my food intake but I'm truly eating better when I do eat.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with other diets, hey if it works for you awesome...but is anyone else changing their lifestyle the old fashioned way?

I do calorie counting and exercise and it works for me , I stay within 1200 and 1300 calories because thats what works for me ; some people are more depending in their body make and height. Anyway it does work for me .

A lot of us are! (Check out the calorie counters thread). So far, I've lost 60lbs "doing it the old-fashioned way". More importantly, since I am training myself how to eat properly and get more exercise as part of my lifestyle, not just a "diet", I feel very confident that the weight that I lose will be lost for the long haul, not just regained in a year. I never suffer from cravings (for long!), because I can always have at least a little of anything that comes to my fancy. And, because of the exercise, I feel like I am getting healthier and stronger, not just thinner.

While I wouldn't want to disuade anyone from any (basically safe) diet, as we are all better off when we search for healthier lives, I believe that cal count/exercise is by leaps and bounds the best way to go.

Just Calorie counting and some heavy lifting here. No tricks or gimmicks.

I did a variation on calorie counting - I ate whole foods, avoided processed foods, met certain daily nutritional goals (5+ servings of vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, 2+ servings of fruit), healthy fats, protein at every meal and counted my calories to stay within 1400-1600.

To me, there is a big difference between 1200 calories of low fat HFCS yogurt, fat free ham and baked Lay's and 1600 calories of grilled salmon, baked sweet potato and broccoli.

I think there are a lot of 3FC who are watching what they eat without deprivation of a certain food group.. I made a list for you...

1. people who are doing there own plan.. or tweaking a plan
2. lots of calorie counters... some following a published plan.. others on their own
3. Mediterranean Chicks.. very sensible lifestyle
4. Sonoma.. though it does limit certain things especially some things completely cut out temporarily.. I wouldn't label it deprivation.
5. Weight watchers..
6. I am sure there are many more... most importantly some plans appear as if they deprive entire groups of foods.. yet if it is working and maintainable and healthy... I doubt people who follow them feel deprived.

Then again.. I can think of a food group that is cut out in most every plan.. junk food. Our definition of that would vary of course but it must be limited.

I pay attention to what I eat.. I don't count calories. It works for me.

Ah, another thing most of us have in common is our exercise.. regardless of what we decide to eat.. we need to move our behinds.

We have an entire section for calorie counters-and I am one of them as well! It is under the general diet plans section (that you are now in) in teh Calorie Counting subforum.
See you there!
Aphil