I'm trying to get back on the wagon. I've been researching different plans, but I would really like to know what's working for everyone! I tried Nutrisystem, but I really want to be doing hard workouts 5 days a week to get strong, too.

What plans are you having success/happiness with?

Thank you so much! I'd really appreciate feedback.

Calorie counting. Calories in - calories out = gain/loss

What worked for me was Ideal Protein. I lost 54 pounds in 6 months. It is an expensive program though but it was nice having a coach and getting measured/weighed each week. If you have a busy lifestyle their foods are nice and easy. The only con is that you can yo-yo on it and get dependent on their foods. Which I am trying to now get out of. I'm currently doing the JJ Virgin diet and that focuses on food intolerances and eating good food. It hasn't worked as well as Ideal Protein...but at least I got that major weight off and trying to better my lifestyle.

Same here. I prefer a diet where I decide what to eat. I don't do well when I have to deal with "you can't eat this" or "you must eat that". Calorie counting is much less fuss and bother. I eat healthy, mainly salads and high protein (salmon, chicken), but I can basically eat what I want as long as I watch the portions/calories.

There's no one plan that works for me. I take nibbles of every diet, the parts that really apply to me, and incorporate them into my life.

1. Calorie counting. I'm not maniacal although I have been in the past. Because I did it for so long I'm better able to ball park it now. At the end of the day, I aim to stay within my limits.

2. Low-carb/paleo life - I don't banish carbs from my life, but I do limit them a lot. If I had to choose between bread and potatoes I choose potatoes, never both. I avoid wheat the most because it makes me bloated and hungry.

3. Mediterranean Diet - I grew up this way so it's a no brainer. Vegetables play a starring role in my diet, meat is an accompaniment. Legumes are allowed in small portions. I eat seasonally and make eating social. Greek yogurt with almonds and honey is my treat of choice.

4. Mind over Matter. By reading books like Brain Over Binge and The End of Overeating I have learned that certain foods trigger cravings. This has helped me overcome my past line of thinking that I was an emotional eater and that I was weak willed and unmotivated. By avoiding certain foods (salt, sugar), I feel more control of my eating. By ignoring certain hunger cues I learn to disengage from my cravings easily.

5. Intermittent Fasting - I was initially opposed to IF but I have found that snacking less between meals and having a continues 12-15hr fast between dinner and breakfast I feel much better and more in control of my impulses. It turns out that constant snacking was in fact making me hungrier.

6. I let myself feel hunger - by not snacking between meals I've learned to build my hunger muscle. I let myself feel the hunger, rather than panicking and trying to find a suitable snack. Hunger is not an emotion, hunger is not an emergency. It's not even comparable to a headache. Hunger pangs do go away, they can be dealt with, and I've learned from normal eaters that I can sit with hunger for a long period of time without letting it play headgames with me. This is the key I think, to being a healthier person: making peace with hunger.

I also keep around a long list of motivational quotes, some are at the bottom of my signature. I keep them on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, in my closet, they really do help me.

I'm a calorie counter too. It's free and I will probably do it for the rest of my life.

Calorie counting and Weight Watchers Online. I started with just Weight Watchers and lost close to 40 pounds that way then decided that I wanted to see what my calorie intake was too. I've been double counting for quite a while now. I'm an analyst by trade so this really works for me.

While both calorie counting and WW allow you, technically, to eat anything you want, I found that I naturally gravitated towards more low calorie foods. I tend not to eat near as many carbs as I used to. I also make sure that I eat at least 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables every day.

Calorie counting here too.

Weight Watchers is working for me. I have lost 50 lbs. and do not feel I am depriving myself of anything. Its a life plan that lets you eat anything. Tonight I had some pizza and feel no guilt over having it. I know it is something that has to be done in moderation. Feeling very good on the program.

When I pulled myself back onto the wagon a month and a half ago, I tried Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live plan. I've never been a vegetarian, much less a vegan (and this is essentially a vegan diet), but I figured I could do anything for 6 weeks. I finished my 6 weeks today and lost 20 pounds over that period. I didn't find it difficult to do, and with all the vegetables and whole foods I've been eating, I feel great. I do plan to add meat and dairy back in small amounts, but I'm very satisfied eating a mostly plant-based diet. It's totally different from the low carb diet I was doing before, but just as effective.

I made my own up. I don't count calories but try to be intuitive, sort of.

I keep breakfast light.

And go for a large-ish salad lunch, with some low-calorie, high protein addition such as pan-seared scallops, pan-seared snails, canned sardines, canned clams, canned rainbow trout, canned sockeye salmon, canned octopus, canned tuna, chicken, beans, canned eel, shrimp, canned spats or canned crab.

And then I skip dinner entirely and drink beer instead. The best hoppy beers. Not the crappy low calorie ones. Green Flash Palate Wrecker. Stone RuinTen. They make the dinner table.

So far, so good.

Former WWer for 2 years off/on, although recently I began to double track alongside with MFP (outta curiosity of my caloric intake with WW.) About 2 weeks ago, I decided to fully switch to calorie counting and so far so good! I feel much better because with WW, I kind of felt like I had to "hoard" my daily points.

Calorie conting is the only thing that had worked for me so far! And it's made it dare I say easy to lose weight. I can still have treats as long as I factor them into my daily calorie limit. It's free. And I can workout hard at the gym and then eat back some of those calories.

I have counted calories in the past, and it always worked in the short run (approximately 6 months in my case), but for me, it always took a lot of will power, and as soon as I slipped a few times, I'd throw in the towel and fall off the wagon. I have a strong family history of insulin problems so carbs have always been an issue, so this time around, I decided to try a diet that I thought would be a better match for the carb cravings I get and wouldn't take so much will power but would work with my body in a more natural way. I am on the Slow Carb Diet. It focuses on eating only lean protein, legumes, and non-starchy veggies, and avoiding grains, dairy, fruits, and sweets. But also there is one cheat day a week, which is recommended to fool your body into not thinking you're dieting and to allow you not to feel you're deprived from certain foods. I've only been on it for about 9 days now, and so far, it's working great for me. It's really curbed my carb cravings, which are my trigger, so I don't have to rely so much on will power to succeed. Good luck on whichever plan you choose!

Calorie counting worked for me but even more important than the overall strategy I use to limit intake are the tactics I use to make it easier to stick to my plan.

It has been essential for me to engineer my environment so that staying on plan is the path of least resistance. For example, coming home at the end of a long day hungry and tired without knowing exactly what is for dinner makes it hard to stay on plan. It leads to "Hm, what do I feel like eating?" and "I'm so tired tonight...I'll just get takeout." So I plan ahead, do lots of cooking on the weekend so I have planned leftovers ready for dinner during the week, and at most all I have to do is a few minutes to prep a salad or saute some extra veggies.

That is just one example, and its specifics may not match your needs and lifestyle. The point is the general principle: that whatever plan you choose, do some thinking about the situations when it becomes hard to make the choice to stick to that plan, and think about ways you can plan ahead with with your shopping, preparation, and thinking to make the right choice easier when those moments come.

To me, that is what "works".