[elemetal]

When our 4 yr old was born she was allergic to certain fats and proteins (went away after a year or so), so Mom couldn't eat any of certain things. Those things happened to be pretty major: no eggs, dairy or soy. If you look at the labels of just about anything (bread, crackers, any pre-made foods or canned goods) they typically have soy lecithin or whey (both not allowed) so we couldn't eat them. Both of us are active and in pretty good shape (6'4"@225) but with that food regime we both lost 25-40 lbs. Neither of us were exercising at all (newborn, no sleep or time) but we lost a lot of weight, that last 'little' bit that never seems to go away was gone. Nothing like eating protein and veggies only (no mayo on sandwiches, etc) to get the body tight.

I got to the point where I had to mentally tell myself to eat more 'cause I got down to 195 and was too thin (dropped 2 pants sizes). What I learned was: you can completely control your weight with food (rather than with exercise as I had done when younger); and as you get older (I'm 42 now) you have to rely on this method because life and metabolism make the exercise path way too hard to do. I don't get 4 hrs a week to work out, ever.

We had our second daughter 1 1/2 yrs later and had fallen off the original food plan some. Both of us had put some back on but I was still at 210 max (typically at 208). Our second had the same issue but less intense so we did the 'no dairy' thing again and got the same results. I was convinced at that point and no longer eat dairy on a regular basis (milk in my coffee, cook with butter once a week). I've stayed 2 sizes smaller in pants (38 to a 34) and can see immediate results when I do work out (push ups etc); my endurance has stayed the same even though I'm not doing much training and I feel way better overall.

Like webmaster said; 500 less calories a day equals a pound a week. If you can control what you eat the rest comes almost effortlessly. Remember though, it's a life change. Diet implies that it's temporary, that's why a diet never works; you always go back to your old ways when it's over.

You don't gain the extra weight overnight, the same goes for getting rid of it. Most people pick a plan that gets rid of the weight fast but it's unsustainable for the long run. Pick a plan that you can do and add to it as time goes by, never give up and don't look back.

My biggest diet issue is getting enough free time on the weekends to RIDE!!!