I wasn't entirely sure where to post this, so I figured I'd toss it into the 20-somethings since it's kind of a general overall question.

I'm extremely impatient, but I am bound and determined to stick with my weight loss efforts even if it takes longer than I'd like. Heck, I know it will take longer than I like. We all want to shed the weight overnight, right? So my question is, what worked best for you? What diet and exercise regimen gave you the best results?

Cutting out soda, junk food and general unhealthy snacks. Eating 3 times a day - no snacking. Breakfast is cereal, lunch is a sandwich, yogurt and fruit and dinner is whatever is put in front of me. When I'm at a restaurant I eat whatever I want, but stick to one soda. I don't consider this food plan as a diet, but just a lifestyle change.

Exercise was the biggest factor - I exercise hard 6 times a week. At first I did 10k training, so I was running 4 times a week, cross training 2 times a week and resting 1 day. Now I do the Insanity programme which is 5 days of hard circuit training, 1 recovery workout and 1 rest day. I truly believe exercise to be the key to my success. It made me want to eat better so I wouldn't reverse the hard work.

Patience is key too. I've been doing this since January last year, and life happens to stall you. You've got to stay determined and not get impatient or you will fail. Consistency is key, you can't stick to something then give up and start it again to give up again - it won't work. You have to change your life for this, if you're not ready to make that change then you won't lose weight.

I went low carb and started eating a LOT of veggies and drinking a lot of water. I also cut my portions and started doing moderate cardio 4x a week.

I started with simple substitutions of healthy food for junk food. Swapped all my grains to whole/brown, meats to lean cuts, eat more fruit and veggies, flaxseed, wheat germ.

I lost the majority of my weight without much exercise, only walking, but in the past few months I've been increasing exercise. Because of this, I've tried to maintain a diet ratio of 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat.

Just start small. Add new challenges continually so you don't get bored. Find enjoyable ways to eat healthy and exercise! That's the most important thing. Once you find what works for you and love the new lifestyle you've made for yourself you won't want to go back to eating poorly. It all goes hand in hand.

I should also add that I do weights, a few minutes for my arms, a few minutes for my legs, every day. It's super-easy, super-quick, and I saw results almost immediately.

Doing weights, I think, helps counteract any muscle loss one might experience losing weight.

I started with just watching my portion sizes and keeping active. I didn't join a gym until much later. The first 70 pounds came off in a 5 month period. After that I took a minibreak but when I started up again, I did the same thing. Nothing was off limits. When I hit 200 pounds I started calorie counting and working out at the gym...Within the last month I started incorporating weight training into my fitness plan.

Overall very simple and basic and the reason it worked for me was because I do not have the pacience to go more specific and I would have gotten bored and given up

You just need to find something that you know you can stick with. Good luck. And keep us posted on your progress

Thanks ladies!

@JoJoP - What kind of weight lifting do you do? I'm assuming since it's just a few minutes, you do it at home? Did you just get free weights or what?

Yea, I do them at home I do 3 pound weights for my arms and I have leg weights for my legs. I don't do anything fancy, just 25-30 reps for each exercise. I don't know the names of them, really, besides leg lifts Since I bought them a few years ago, I forget how much they cost, but it was reasonable. The leg weights have removable mini-weights in them, so you can adjust the intensity of the workout.

The best and fastest results + the least effort I've ever made: I went sugar-free (allowing myself a binge evening in the beginning twice a week and finally a set binge day once a week). Then I went gradually gluten free, starting with wheat. Then slow carb - no rice (it makes my stomach funny), but sometimes millet, buckwheat and other non-gluten grains are allowed. Instead grains I eat lots of beans and lentils and nuts. Then I started having high protein breakfasts, because that keeps my appetite a lot lower than oatmeal breakfast that I've grown up with. I'm not low carb but rather slow carb. I eat at least 2000kcal a day, probably more.

I go insane when I'm forced to eat only 3 times a day. It happens when I visit someone elses family for extended periods of time and can't eat straight out of the fridge or leave for the supermarket whenever I feel like. I need at least 5 (usually 6 or 7) meals a day. These include planned healthy snacks (avocado, yoghurt with nuts, boiled eggs, whatever) or mini-meals, whichever is more accurate. If I try eating less often, I end up too hungry and overeat in the evening. I never ever fail to binge in the evening when I don't eat often enough during the day, that's something I can count on.

Eating whatever the **** I wanted but counting it all. I haven't eliminated anything from my diet, but I find that I'm gravitating toward more veggies and lean proteins...but I do go out and have restaurant food and fast food occasionally. I just make sure I count it all.

Exercising is a big part of my life and I exercise 6 times a week now and sometimes twice a day. I would never have started eating healthier if I hadn't been exercising first.

Heavy weight training is my favorite thing to do. Because I can only do it once a week at my gym (while I do lighter weight training at home) I have been looking at other gyms and trying a 3x a week heavy weight training.

Making it easy for myself to make the right choices without thinking about them.

Sweet tooth? I don't keep junk food in the apartment. Difficult decision between eating a salad or an unhealthy lunch at work? I pack my own low-calorie lunch the night before so I can grab it on my way out the door. Don't feel like exercising? That excuse seems pretty poor when my workout clothes and water bottle are already in the back of my car and the gym is on the way home from work.

Basically, the fewer times I have to exert willpower over choosing what I eat and whether or not I exercise, the more willpower I have when something truly difficult and unanticipated comes along. King cake at work? No thanks, I'll pass.

The first time I lost weight, I went to the gym 4-5 days a week doing cardio and lifting weights. I ate small portions, but I ate a snack every few hours. I also had a physically demanding job.. I lost 75lbs that way.

I gained it back by quitting the gym and gaining some bad habits, alcohol..etc.

Now I think things have clicked for me again, but I'm starting with just cardio for now.

Counting calories and paying -some- attention to what kind of calories I am eating. So I try to get in enough protein and fat, and only 'good carbs'. When you try to get more bang for your buck calorie-wise, you end up eating very healthy. Because you don't wanna waste your precious calories on bad empty food.

I do some exercise but not very regular, and it really hasn't been the main means of losing these 24lbs so far.

My best results do far have come from lean protein and vegetable combos instead of having lots of fruits and veggies with little meat.

Riestrella, you said it best!

My weight-loss results thus far have come from cutting out bad/unhealthy/junk food altogether, eating decently proportioned meals, and exercising (even when I didn't want to). I have cheat days on occasion, but for the most part my body has gotten used to not eating junk food. When I do, it's NOT pretty.

I saw results asap too. The first week alone I lost 9 lbs (ran 2+ miles DAILY and dramatically changed my diet). Obviously, that was a rarity. Most days/weeks I'm just maintaining.

Best of luck!