Tell me it's possible without any special diet? :(

I've decided to just watch what I eat, log everything and set a realistic weight loss. I found as I'm short my calorie requirement a day, without extra exercise is set at 1200. At that level I can only expect to loose 1.5 lbs a week. That in itself is worth knowing, I've often got disallusioned when I haven't lost at least 2lb per week (and I rarely managed that).
This time I'm looking at lifestyle changes and healthy eating with sensible portions and the occasional treat. I'm not 'on a diet', because that is not something I can sustain (I know, I've tried enough times!).
When (note the when, not if), I get down to a healthy weight I'll increase calories carefully so I know what I can eat without gaining weight (rather than using the 'average' level - I'm sure I'm not an average woman ).

I did cut a lot out of my diet. I mostly just cut out red meat (for the most part) added a lot of turkey and chicken, more veggies, and more fruit. I have good days and bad, but I generally eat what I want and just stay within calorie range. There are a lot of things I avoid just because they are so high in calories that it's not worth losing half my calories for the day. I had a candy bar yesterday. I made it fit in my range. You don't have to cut everything out. Fad diets don't work.

I am losing through exercising, watching my protein, and keeping my calories under my TDEE. Yes, it works. You don't have to eat special foods.

Yep - no fad dieter here. Every pound loss was done the old fashion way...through hard work and determination.

I did Nutri-System - lost 35 lbs. Gained it abck within 2 years. I did South Beach - lost 25 gained it back within a year...see a pattern here??? Only way to lose & keep it off is cut calories, eat sensibly & exercise more. Period! Never deprive yourself of any foods (unless dr. tells you to for health reasons). Just learn PORTION CONTROL and move more. Took me years & years & years to learn this. I did & now I am happy. There are no quick fixes. You Can Do It !!! Best of luck, you are in good company here. :flowerforyou:

Just make sure you keep an accurate food diary and you should be able to eat however you want. It's just a good idea if most of what you eat is healthy.

I lost 100 lbs with just a food diary and walking once or twice a day. The only foods I cut out were things that didn't work for me personally, like pasta, to me it's not filling at all and will cause me to overeat.

There is only one program that works -- ELEM (Eat Less, Exercise More). Any "diet" that claims to delivery superior / faster results is no different than the Nigerian prince asking you to send your bank info because he needs to deposit money in the US. You don't believe that because its too good to be true -- same for any "diet" program.

Now don't get me wrong there are a lot of good reasons (religious / moral / health reasons) to significantly alter the nature of your food consumption -- i.e. if your are diagnosed with diabetes you better change and/or eliminate certain parts of your diet -- but short of that there is no reason to cut anything completely from your diet -- just eat less.

Proof in point. I have not eliminated anything from my diet. I eat less, exercise 5-6 times a week and have lost just shy of 50 pounds in just over two months. And I eat dark chocolate almost every night and half a homemade pizza almost every Friday.

Weight loss is simply -- its not easy and anyone who confuses the two and or tries to tell you differently is trying to sell something or lying or most likely both.

Actually, you're much more likely to keep the weight off if you don't follow a fad diet. You need to change your lifestyle and continue it for the rest of your life or else you'll fall back into your old ways. But you shouldn't deprive yourself of foods you love, just eat less of them. I eat chocolate every day, but instead of a whole 100g bar I only have a few pieces. It takes awhile to get used to the changes and getting over the cravings, but the longer you go the easier and easier it becomes. It can take many months or years, but it's worth it. Take it slow and don't expect huge changes. The slower you lose the weight the better chance you have of it staying off.

I lost my weight by counting my calories and not overeating. I did very little exercise. I don't like "working out" and get my exercise primarily from walking 15-30 minutes a day. If you're cutting back on your food intake, then you're going to lose weight. There's no mystery to weight loss, but exercise allows you to eat more, ups your metabolism, and helps you feel better mentally, especially if you're getting outside.

Go to iTunes and listen to a few episodes of the podcast Fat2Fit radio. These guys revolutionized how I view diet/excercise and they are the reason my ticker says "53 pounds lost."

I cannot even imagine I would ever stop doing what I'm doing to live my healthy lifestyle, and I have them to thank.

Check. Them. Out!!!

(and, good luck!)

Please tell me there are people out there who have lost their weigh by just watching their foods, eating a little less, and exercising??! *sigh*

This is exactly what I've been doing. Fad diets don't work for me in the long run - I've tried many, without success. I had to find what worked for me, and MFP has been instrumental in my journey. I eat whatever I want, within reason, and I move more (thank you FitBit!). Portion control has been crucial for me, along with daily food logging and no cheat days/meals. It's working for me so far, and I can't see why it won't continue to work for the rest of my life.

Best of luck on your journey! :flowerforyou: