Mon dieu!

I've never used a particular diet either. The basic principles of dieting are the same, eat at a 500 cal deficit, eat lots and lots of protein and eat a moderate amount of wholegrain carbs. Exercise is good too, but you'll never lose weight just with exercise. What you eat and how much you eat makes up 90% of the problem.

Brilliant!

Hmmmmm I disagree. I lose weight through exercise. Exercise burns calories doesn't it? And builds muscle. The more muscle fibre you have the more calories you burn at rest.

If I currently ate 2000kcal a day and burnt off the same doing nothing, if i thrn upped my exerscise and burned 2500kcal a day, without remotely changing my diet I will lose weight.

In the days when.I went running nearly every morning I ate constantly, lots of carbs, junk food etc and never put on weight.

I've been calorie counting for the last 3 months and have lost a stone.

My principle problem was always portion size, and not knowing when I was full/had eaten enough.

I now feel much more in control of my eating, and can still enjoy 'normal' food without feeling deprived. I have a much better perception of what an average portion size actually is, and whether it's 'worth' the calories.

It depends what your objectives are - do you want to lose weight, or aim for health? (The latter probably includes the former for most people)

If the latter then a species appropriate diet (& lifestyle) is key, probably after you've done a detox.

Some good advice already. Unless you have an iron will, I wouldn't aim to deprive yourself completely of anything "naughty" you really like, but limit it. Also, try to find exercise activities you genuinely like and are likely to want to keep up. It doesn't have to work out expensive either - you could go running, walk further, do a combination of both, skip with a rope in front of the tv, do step-ups on the stairs, etc. Or you could try find new activities you've never done - dance classes, squash, tennis, circuits, kick boxing, swimming, cycling etc.

If edible "treats" are a problem, it might be worth finding ways of treating yourself that don't involve eating/drinking.

Thats all right if your all ready at an appropriete weight but not if your overweight.

Theoreticly speaking surely if you are overweight the last thing you want to do is build muscle untill you have lost the weight you need to loose. Muscle will surely add on weight no?

I went to WW several years ago and because it was the first time I had dieted' properly' I found I was really focused and it worked well for me, albeit it took me a long time to lose 28lbs. Since then I've gone back a couple of times when I've gained a bit of weight and it always worked. I am finding now though doing it on my own just isn't happening for me and WW is very expensive over here so have joined another online site which I am finding really good and it's giving me the incentive to eat more sensibly and really focus on a more healthy diet. Will have my first weigh in tomorrow so will see how I do. I did try the cabbage diet years ago before my WW stint, it didn't work and stunk the house out. The Cambridge diet gave me bad headaches and I nearly fainted in the supermarket! but the month I was on it, it did work but I soon put the weight back on once I had finished it. I agree that eating less and more exercise is the way to go.......but if it was that easy for us lesser mortals then no one would ever be over weight...

I know that once I get a job I will loose the weight I have gained but as I don't know how long I'll be unemployed for I want to keep the weight off.

I am all ready pretty healthy I have ditched KFC's I almost never eat Mcdonalds, I almost never take aways anymore I have never been big on alchahol I don't like it at all actually. I walk with the dog almost every day, I am in the garden most days and I've got the chickens.

Meals are reasonably healthy too I have opted for more fish and veg in my diet. I wan't to reduce the amount of bread/potatoes I eat and I am not baking at the moment because that will help put weight on o.0''