im not sure if this is where im suppost to post a question like this but here i go any how...
i dont want to do the diet thing counting calories pts carbs ect... it all ends up to a little loss then gaining it back.
i want to loose about 40lbs before my 21st b-day aug 25 this year is there anything i can do other than all of this diet fad stuff or do i need to choose one? and if i do need to do one wich one would you recomend? thanks ~

I might suggest that you take a look at Dr. Phil's program. The reason I suggest it is that he takes a well rounded approach that includes emotional eating, nutrition and exercise. Even if you end up not specifically following his plan, I think there's a lot anyone could get out of it -- if you're thinking of it as a lifestyle change and not a temporary diet.

I personally am on a low fat low calorie eating plan, incorporating exercise. Losing weight and getting healthy is such a personal experience, I think it's tough to recommend an approach for another person. You may find that no matter what you do you'll need to tinker with it to make it fit your lifestyle and give you ultimate success. Good luck.

Just because you are "counting" something doesn't mean it's a fad diet. In the end, you need a well-balanced diet that gives you enough calories to support your metabolism but few enough so that you lose weight. All of the various "counting" methods are just different ways of getting to that end result, with a little difference in philosophy here and there. To lose weight and keep it off, you have to take some responsibility, and that includes educating yourself. Nobody ever lost weight permanently without putting in a little time and effort in learning a few things. You don't have to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition. Tracking what you eat in SOME way, however, helps you understand yourself and your relationship with food, and ensures that you are doing what you need to do to lose weight and be healthy.

I agree that for you the Dr. Phil book would be a good approach for you. It's a good "start from scratch" method that will give you good rules of thumb for managing food and activity, without a whole lot of math and hassles. If you want some outside help, you might look into my program, Jenny Craig. It uses an exchange system that is easy to master but counts calories for you without you having to memorize a bunch of numbers.