Okay, I will make a few comments. I have not read the rest of the thread, and I am not super knowledgable, but I DO know that I've gone from 205 down to 172 (as of today) with minimal effort on my part.
I do not exercise regularly. I should, but eh.
1) Cook your own food. Even if you cook some greasy-ass just god-awful food, it is STILL hard to beat fast food fat, sodium, and calories. Quite frankly, I've been cooking for myself for months now, and I cannot even fathom what I'd have to create to make to equal fast food. (Example: A whopper + fries = 1200 calories etc ; Chik-fil-A sandwich, fries, drink combo is 1,000.)
--- 1A) To help you find foods you can cook, consider these options, which is what I've used:
--------1Aa) supercook.com - This site lets you plug in all the ingredients you have in your kitchen and tells you what you can cook with those ingredients. (Recipes come from other websites.) This is not only super fun to see what kind of interesting food you can cook with all your random ingredients and spices, it helps stretch the stuff you don't know how to use.
--------1Ab) Yummly.com - THIS website lets you seek recipes specifically and lets you choose certain criteria to filter recipes-- for example, one I did the other day for my lactose-intolerant, dieting, but in need of chocolate NOW girfriend: brownies, filtered to less than 120 calories per serving, dairy-free.
--------1Ac) Pinterest. Pinterest is full of insane women who want to be sexy and thin, and they repin nothing but health food everywhere. My girlfriend loves this site and constantly picks out surprisingly delicious, filling healthy foods.
2) This ties in with #1, but don't eat fast food. At least not often. It's okay to treat yourself here and there. If you have to get fast food, google "healthiest fast food options" and it'll tell you what on the menu will be best for you. Or, use common sense. If you end up at Chik-Fil-A, go grilled instead of fried.
-----2A) Subway is -somewhat- exempt from this rule, as it is generally healthful and cost effective. Get a footlong black forest ham sub (do NOT get mayonaise. Cheese is not suggested, but I fucking love cheese so I put it on anyway.). It is cost effective ($5 for 2 meals), and each 6" will put you at about 310 - 370 calories depending on your cheese choice. It's a perfect lunch, as I try to go 100-200 cals for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch, and whatever is left before hitting 1200 for dinner. Take note, though, I usually come in WAY below 1200 after dinner. I've been SHEDDING weight like this and have felt perfectly satisfied, healthy, and even energetic this way.
3) Pay attention to serving sizes. This will be difficult at first, as you will constantly go "Man I want some morrrrre", but my stomach quit that crap, honestly, after 2 weeks. Once upon a time I could eat a full footlong from Subway. Now I go, "FUCKING HOW!? That is so much food!!!" Something that helped me is that I got cups (like drinking cups) that are 1 Cup in capacity. So when I drink my sodas (See below) I'm getting only 1 Cup worth, which is actually less than a serving size of soda. This helps for ice cream too. People try to fill their plates, bowls, glasses, etc based on their mind's appropriate percentage. Get a smaller plate-- you will eat less food. (Don't go for seconds.) Get a smaller bowl-- less food. I put ice cream into my 1 Cup sized glass because it helps me judge about half a cup, which is the proper serving size, and actually half the serving size depending on the brand. Half a cup of ice cream, with honey or whatever topping you want, is surprisingly satisfying when you have a sweet tooth. I know it sounds like "A FUCKING HALF CUP, DOOMDRAGON. REALLY?" Yes, really, I thought that way too, but I've gotten to the point that if I get more, I'm like "That is a shit-ton of ice cream."
4) Soda. Touchy subject. If you already avoid soda, fine, keep at it. I fucking love soda. I personally would feel fine including it in my diet because I love it so much. However, I've found a (cold) apple peach tea that I can make that is healthful, delicious, refreshing, and satisfying. I've been drinking that and went without soda for a week before I ended up at a fast food restaurant with some friends. So basically, try to find a drink that is healthful for you that you ENJOY. Don't try to suck down some crap you don't like. My parents love sweet tea, and they sweeten it with honey, which is infinitely better for you than sugar, though is does affect taste.
5) Frozen food. Don't have time to cook? I get that, I do. I personally love cooking and love it when my entire day is nothing but cooking fun foods. Sometimes, or always, you don't have time. You can buy frozen "Smart Choice" or whatever brand you want foods for $1.50 - $3.00 per meal that are only 200 - 350 calories per meal. Are they small? Yes. I personally eat them for lunches, not dinners. I think they are too small for dinners. And know what? It's OKAY to eat 2 for dinner! Think about it, even if you eat 2 for dinner, that's 400-700 calories, which is a perfectly acceptable dinner amount. Again, I go for 100-200 breakfast, 200-400 lunch, and leave 400-700 for dinner.
Again, I am not "savvy" about health much at all. I'm just letting you know what my personal observations have been, and that this has worked, and is working, for me. Last week I was at 176, and now I'm at 172. The week before last I was at 179. Before that 182, then 185, etc. As you can see it's a steady drop of 3 pounds per week, which as I understand is about average for safe weight loss.
Hope this helps.
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