I know this sounds cliche, but you just can't read a book or copy one of our plans. You have to look at you and only you - what you like to eat, what you are willing to do, your lifestyle, your social life, your family.
Because, there are really two things that need to happen.
1. Lose weight - this is the part you can copy from a book, magazine, Jillian Michaels, whatever.
2. Keep the weight off - this is the part that can only come from you - what are you willing to do, for the rest of your life, to keep the weight off. Maybe you're happy to live on reduced carbs your whole life, or do a 2 hour daily workout or go vegan. What will your SO/family put up with? What is your environment at work - do you have time to eat a healthy lunch? Do you go out a lot, travel a lot...what factors are in play that will shape YOUR PLAN?
Because I can tell you my experience.
For 20 years, I always dieted, lost weight, stopped dieting and gained weight. Now, that sounds really simple, right? It took me TWENTY YEARS to see this. I always thought diets were something short term, then I would stop and eat "normally."
My normally made me fat.
This time, I was successful because I changed my normal, forever. How I eat now, every day is different than how I used to eat. But, because it's forever, it has to be sustainable and satisfying. I have to like the foods and it can't be more work than I am willing to put up with.
What does that mean? Well, I'm too freaking lazy to make my own bread or my own yogurt or my own ketchup. But, I don't mind cooking most of my food and packing lunches everyday. I had to find my "sweet spot" for maintenance. What works for me, probably won't work for you.
I eat salad for lunch, every work day. Seriously, every day. But, I love salad. I have a frig at work. I have a nice lunch break where I can do this. I don't mind shopping, chopping, keeping track of umpty tupperware containers, dressing and always having a fork. It is doable, for me.
So, after ALL THAT. What I did was basically:
1. Get off the standard american diet. No more soda, fast food, reduction in processed foods. I may not make my own ketchup, but I buy the organic stuff without HFCS. I try to focus on foods with powerful nutritional properties and avoid foods with limited nutritional benefit.
2. Volumetrics - I hate being hungry. Hate it. So, I fill up on foods with low calorie impact but high volume. The aforementioned big lunch salads, for example. Lots of brussel sprouts, etc.
3. Calorie counting/portion control - I still can't get all crazy, even healthy food COUNTS. So, after 6 years, I calorie count, every day. I food journal. I weigh food, use my measuring cups. I am careful and accountable. I eat mindfully.
I definitely love everything I eat - breakfast this morning was fat Free greek yogurt with honey and strawberries. Is it AS GOOD as a danish? I honestly don't know. Does it make me happy, do I look forward to eating it - yes.
Basically, you have to figure out, for the rest of your life, how are you going to manage your daily calorie budget. We all have one. If you overspend, you'll get heavy. Think of it like managing a checking account - every day. You know what you're up against. a "normal" sandwich at Panera is nearly 1,000 calories - what "everyone" considers a normal, healthy, what ordinary people eat lunch. Good luck