what diet/eating plan

Counting calories and watching sodium. Seems to work best for me. Although I LOVE my Pho!!!! I'm also forcing myself to eat fruit, don't get me wrong I love fruit but as a snack I'd rather have SALT! I have started craving apples rather than chips and haven't had Pho in eons.... Oh Pho I miss you so. Really just snacking better. Snacking is my major downfall.

Oh, I miss pho, too!!!!! I made an "easy" version at home, just used box beef broth and simmered w/ some ginger, cardomom pod, star anise, cinnamon, fennel seed and onion, bought the rice noodles (although the actual serving size and the amount you get at a restaurant are SOOOOO different!) and sliced some tenderloin thin, added the sprouts, lime, jalapenos, basil, cilantro and a bit of sriracha and it was pretty close, and about 400 calories for a bowl, with a LOT less sodium! Not too shabby, but I still wish I could slurp down some real stuff!

just trying to eat normal food and cut out snacks, also making sure i keep within calories etc, lots of water and plenty of exercise

Making a LIFESTYLE change by eating healthier and exercising. I am SO tired of people asking me what diet I am on. Diets only work while you are on them. Once you go off of them (and you will) you will gain weight back. I am only losing 1-2 lbs. a week and that is perfect. BUT I have also gotten my blood sugar back in the normal range, lowered my blood pressure and cholesterol, and the doctor has reduced my BP and cholesterol meds.

I hate the word diet because most peeps thing it means I'll do this for a time and then go back to my regular eating habits.
Nuff Said!

I've simply changed the amount I eat to match the number of calories allowed per day and yes I have started watching my sodium (very important IMO). I too have started eating more fruits for snacks and apples why apples I love them.... Every now and again I'll get a piece of candy last night I had one Reese’s cup 80 calories. Was sure I would gain weight for just that one indulgence but surprisingly enough I lost a pound. I also watch my sugars, if I get to many from fruit I don't worry so much but if it isn't from fruits or healthy foods I get concerned.

I am not on a diet, but rather am changing my habits one by one for the better. Honestly, I refuse to diet any longer: Atkins X2, Carb Addicts, Weight Watcher X many times, Deal a Meal :blushing:, Slim Fast, 3 Day Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet:sick:, Michael Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover, Volumetrics, not mention taking Alli, trying Full Bars:huh:, Ripped Fuel, Hydroxycut, Xenadrine... to little or no help- I'm D.O.N.E.with dieting.

But this-- what I am doing on MFP-- is a lifestyle change. I am logging in everyday, good or "bad", what I eat, learning how to eat real foods (not just things that come prepackaged), being aware of my portions, controlling my impulses, upping my intake of vegetables, experimenting more with cooking, getting exercise and drinking more water. As a result in 6 weeks I have lost over 17lbs. That is WAY better than any 6 week period I've had at Weight Watchers or any extreme diet I've tried. More importantly I feel I CAN and WILL meet my goals because I am loving myself in every stage of this, doing nothing out of extreme, and replacing old habits with new ones to promote a long lifetime of good health

Best wishes to you in this journey.:flowerforyou:

It's funny when I am craving something I know I should not eat it is usually salt I often wonder why.. I love fruit and yogurt but sometimes crave chips and anything with salt LOL I am doing calorie control and EA Active 2 on my Wii for exercise..I think I eat more now that I eat healthy than I did when I ate horribly.

a clean eating lifestyle change and using common bloody sense.

Eating 5 - 6 smaller, balanced meals a day.

I always try to have protein and complex carbs; and try to get in healthy fats every day.

Drinking water to thirst (which usually is tonnes of water since I BF.)

This one:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/233474-the-latest-diet

I mix between Chalean extreme and p90x

I am getting meals from My Fit Foods, as wells as eating smaller amounts when i cook or go out. I am also trying to get a little more active. I tend to sit around all day.... mostly the eating less right now is helping.

I've been following the Abs Diet for Women, which I do like. My doctor recommended it--actually, he pretty much ordered me to buy the book and read it cover-to-cover. However, much of it has just been a total lifestyle change, eating sensibly and gradually increasing exercise. I started out just by walking the dog every day, a little further each time. When that was no longer a challenge--and really high summper temperatures hit even before May ended, I signed up for a gym and started working a couple of times a week with a trainer. I've lost almost 60 lbs since February 17, and I still have a long way to go, but I can tell such a huge difference in my energy level and strength now.

I'm definitely goal-oriented, but I'm starting to enjoy the journey now.

I totally understand all that you say about making it a lifestyle and all, and I totally approve, but I was staying pretty close to the same weight over the last four years, and have only ever gained weight in bursts of unbelievable amounts of overeating (seriously, like 6k+ days on average for months or sometimes years, bingeing like crazy), so I'm calling it a diet.

I mix up what I eat day to day, according to what I've got on hand or feel like eating. I restrict calories, mainly, but I also try to keep my balance of calories to somewhere in the vicinity of 30% carbs / 45% fat / 25% protein, which after some significant experimentation is where I feel best, have the least hunger, and enjoy my food the most. I tend to eat a fair amount of nuts and nut butters (yum!), sunflower seeds, cheese (I am a total cheese *kitten*, you can take them over my dead body), chicken breasts, plenty of veggies (super low in calories, so you can get more full eating them, plus they're good for you), eggs, greek yogurt, some fruit here and there, butter and olive oil, salad dressing (I like Annie's Tuscan Italian best), coffee. The rest of my carbs come mostly from rice and rice cakes, wheat bread sometimes, the occasional tortilla, pasta sometimes, beers with friends every couple weeks. The only thing I've really cut back on or changed is my carb intake, way way down, particularly my chips and fries consumption. I also eat more meat and nuts now, it keeps me full for hours, and unlike chips and such, I can hold myself to a couple hundred calories worth. Also I don't put gobs of cheese in basically every dish I cook now, which helps me spread my calories across the day. I'm planning on cutting out coffee and beer (coffee makes me anxious and beer is calorific and excites my gout, even more while dieting than usual) over the next month, see if it improves things.

My top 3 diet tips:

Spread it across the day. I eat 4 times a day now instead of my more usual 2. If I eat a big meal, I know I'll be hungry either before or after, and I will have a harder time keeping from going crazy and overeating, which aside from going over on calories, makes me feel tired and a little ill. Also, this cuts WAY back on the crazy energy swings.

Eat your veggies. There are so few calories in some veggies that it actually takes more energy to break down the fiber than are contained in them! Meanwhile you get all full, it regulates your digestion, and you get tons of nutrients. Veggies rock.

Track it. MFP is awesome for that. If you play around with what you're doing, eat things you love from time to time, and just make sure you keep your calories contained, you shouldn't have any trouble staying on the straight and narrow. Notice how what you eat when impacts how you feel, and eat accordingly. If you try out different things, like cutting out gluten for a week, or going low carb for a spell, or eating tons of fatty food, you will seriously learn things about how your body works.