What eating plan has helped you lose at least 30 lbs?

I eat normal food. That's all. No magic eating plan. All those magic eating plans just trick you into eating a calorie deficit, so eat the foods you like, just watch your calorie totals.

Exactly. I have lost almost 30 pounds by eating smaller portions. That's it. I still drink wine, have dessert, etc (not every day, of course).

I agree with these two comments. I have lost 25 pounds since October just by cutting my portions and exercising. I have not cut out any one food group or type completely. I just dont plan to live the rest of my life that way so why do it now? Why not go ahead and learn a new way to live for the long haul?

This is pretty much what I do as well. I have not really 'cut out' anything feeling like I 'have' to to be 'on a diet'. I've made my portions smaller (i.e. actualy correct portion sizes) and I've substituted in some healthier choices here and there - specifically more fresh produce and having grilled chicken instead of fried chicken or burgers, simply b/c those were huge calorie expenditures for me before, but those items are not off-limits, I simply choose what I need to choose each day based on the calories I have available (my goal on here right now is 1370, but with my exercise credit I normally get to eat somewhere between 1600-2000 each day and still lose weight steadily, no plateaus). But I still enjoy most of the things I used to enjoy, just in smaller portions or not quite as often.

I do eat more protein than MFP recommends, largely b/c it helps me feel full longer. More fiber too. I don't stress over carbs or fat, if I'm over on those recommendations it does not bother me and it also has not affected my weightloss. I started last July and I'm down 35 lbs. I started out losing 2 lbs per week but steadily decreased that rate as I got closer to my goal - I'm at 1/2 lb per week now (although sometimes I still lose faster than that). I have done this by sticking close to the calorie goal that MFP gives me, and eating my exercise calories when I workout. But I don't stress out over the 'diet' aspect, I just stick close to my calories and try to make better choices than I did before.

Also, I don't view my calorie goal as a limit that's written in stone that I'm not allowed to go over. Some days I go over a little, some days I go under a little, occasionally I'll have a day where I go over A LOT and then I'll go a little under for a couple of days to balance it out. You don't have to be perfect all the time to see results. Just thought I'd throw that out there. :-)

Weight Watchers On Line. 6 years ago. Lost 48 lbs. Found 20 over time. I'm doing well on MFP. Its free, and there are great supportive -real people here.

In 2006, I followed the strict 3-day diet for about 7 months. While on this diet, you would follow the diet for 3 consecutive days, then eat 'whatever' you want for the next 4. Again, I was on this diet week after week for months. Many say this isn't a good diet, but my dietitian friend stated otherwise. I went from 210lbs to 135 in 7 months. From a size 18 to a size 6. Now, I'm using MFP to help me lose the last 10lbs. Good luck!

I've done low carb, I've done weight watchers...but nothing has worked as well as MFP.

I follow the basic recommendations for MFP. I started with 2lbs a week goal when I lived close to the gym. Now that I moved far away from a gym, I changed it to 1lb a week because I can only run on a treadmill and I don't burn as many calories with running only. I really only pay attention to the calories not the carbs, protiens and fats. I glance at them but I would go crazy trying to monitor those too.

One thing I do, is I allow myself at least one "cheat" meal a week. Sometimes two. Before I moved, we ordered pizza every monday night...we made adjustments like thin crust and cutting the extra cheese and stuff. We also looked at different companies to see which had the least calories.

I also save enough calories for a sugar snack later. Like a granola bar or a piece of chocolate or a serving of frozen yogurt.

I've lost 50lbs so it's working

For the past week or so, I've been eating "clean" for the most part (not too many processed foods, and when I eat them they are usually organic.) I have to say, I feel great doing so and do not miss processed food I haven't seen results yet because, well, it's only been a week, but I FEEL great! The key to staying away from processed foods (IF you want to, that is) is making everything from scratch. Really it isn't that hard, especially if you like to cook.

So far I've lost 41.5lbs. I use the MFP calorie goal and stay at/around it, usually eating back 80% of my exercise calories, but making sure not to go over 1400 total. I also cut out white bread/pasta or anything with white enriched flour and I stick to whole wheatwhole grain things. I read all the labels of the foods I buy, and try to stick to things without labels (fresh fruits/veggies) I recently cut out red meat as well. I could never do low carb or anything like that because I love food and eventually I would be eating them again and wouldn't want to risk gaining back the weight. Oh, and I have a serving of milled flaxseed once a day.

I eat normal food. That's all. No magic eating plan. All those magic eating plans just trick you into eating a calorie deficit, so eat the foods you like, just watch your calorie totals.

Exactly. I have lost almost 30 pounds by eating smaller portions. That's it. I still drink wine, have dessert, etc (not every day, of course).

Same as both of these. I just stick to the calorie recomendations on this site. I do agree with the quote about these eating plans just tricking you into a calorie deficit. If you pull apart the diets you realise that the reason you lose it that you are cutting something out.

Whole food vegan (low salt, low sugar and moderate fat). And by moderate fat, I mean less than 20% calories from fat, and mostly healthy fat from whole foods.

MFP calorie counting and better foods! I feel amazing! I don't exercise like I should, but I've been losing 6-10 lbs/mo. I will incorporate more when my knee is better. :-)

I eat normal food. That's all. No magic eating plan. All those magic eating plans just trick you into eating a calorie deficit, so eat the foods you like, just watch your calorie totals.

Ditto! I've lost 41 lbs by sticking with MFP's basic plan and working out 4 days a week. There are no magic bullets. Lower your intake and exercise.