How do you lose weight?

Eat at a calorie deficit

Eat what you want, in moderation. There is no point in depriving yourself. Log your foods and work out what you can have for treats.

It is great that you are motivated to get this process moving forward for yourself! I would like to ask the exact same questions of you that you have posted: What foods do you eat? How much? What workouts etc?

Each of us has different reactions to each of these aspects of metabolism so doing what I do might not work for you. I have all types of funky issues with foods: cannot do dairy, peanuts, wheat, etc etc.

Here is what I did find that works for me: I had to eat less and move more to get the weight to start moving in the right direction. I HATE to exercise in the morning so I have locked in a friend and we do 3 miles a night 4 to 5 times a week as our professional schedules allow. I feel less stressed, sleep better and have been happier with how my clothes fit and my overall sense of well being. The scale is not yet where I would like it to be but the positives at this time mean I am on the right track and headed in the correct direction!

You can do it too! Start with small changes to your diet, drink more water and less items with sugar or artificial sugar. Pay attention to how you feel each day based on what you are eating and how you are moving. Best of Luck!!

I think it is really unfair to assume anything about anyone or what they meant. People need encouragement not assumptions. This should be a positive place to ask questions.

I've never been overweight in my life until I got pregnant and started "eating for two" (bad excuse for having no self control but I just figured that the weight will come off quickly after I give birth). BIG MISTAKE! I always thought I had a fast metabolism and that losing weight shoul not be an issue (after all, it's quite simple: you just reduce the number of calories and start working out - well it turns out it isn't simple at all!). after gaining more than 40lbs I found out that something in my body changes, I had a significantly lowe metabolism and losing weight was nearly impossible! I tried cutting down on junk food, eating healthy, jogging - what not! I even went on some crazy fad diets but I would lose 4 -5lbs and gain them back as soon as I went on to a healthier diet. With the advice of my sister I went on the African Mango Diet (very skeptical at first since I've always thought of these kind of diets as scams - and most are) and to my great sursprise the weight started to fall off at an amazing rate. I'm back to eating healthy since I know that a diet should not be a quick fix but a way of life...but I really believe that it helped me get into the process of weight loss and more importantly gave me MOTIVATION to keep losing weight and not surrender to bad eating habits. I still have a long way to go (18lbs) but I'm feeling energetic than ever. Whichever diet plan you choose the most important thing is to stay motivated - thats the only way you can lose weight. [mod edit to remove link]