My engineer's diet worked great for me. I lost 30 pounds in 3 months, and cut my cholesterol level from over 300 to 150.
The trick to losing and maintaining weight is to keep a journal of absolutely every bit of food or drink you put in your mouth. Get to know the nutrition values from the label on the food or look up the values online. Measure and weigh the food you eat, so you have an accurate log.
For my diet, I counted calories, fat, saturated fat, and fiber. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day. No more than 25% of my calories came from fat. No more than 6% of calories from saturated fat. At least 28 grams of fiber.
The program is that simple. If you are over 6' tall, you might go to 1700 calories or even 2000 if you're really active.
The formula to calculate calories from fat is fat (grams) * 9 (calories/gram). I provide this info so you have everything needed to follow the diet.
If you want to count sugars, carbs (are sugars), sodium, etc., then do so.
I created a form in Excel that had a wide column for description of food, and columns for each of the things I was counting. I printed out 7 at a time (per week) and religiously logged what I ate and drank.
I also tried to walk 1-2 miles a day, minimum. Any kind of exercise will help, even walking.
1500 calories may sound like you'd starve, but you won't. The trick is to figure out various recipes and combinations of meats and vegetables that fit into your budget.
For example, I ate a rather decent breakfast daily. 1/2 cup egg beaters, 1/4 cup non-fat cheese, 1/2 slice Farmer John's ham, 3/4 cup has browns, and either a (small) bagel or 2 slices of 45 calorie bread/toast or 1 fat free Eggo waffle. 400 calories.
For lunch, an apple and a sandwich on 45 calorie bread and a serving (14 chips, whatever) of baked potato chips or pringles is about 350 calories.
For dinner, 1 cup of cooked rice is 240 calories. Rice is nutrition that feeds about 2/3 of the world. A 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast is only 236 calories. A 6 oz lean (top loin) pork chop is about 250 calories.
Almost all vegetables are 0 calories or very low and easy to budget. You can have a really full dinner plate if you eat lots of veggies.
And almost every day, I had a nice dessert - like a cup of fat free frozen yogurt (chocolate or strawberry) for 165 calories.
I invented quite a few recipes that fit my diet strategy. A spaghetti sauce with ground turkey and turkey italian sausage. Pizza on low calorie pita bread with turkey pepperoni.
Other tips are to get rid of all the really "bad" foods in your kitchen. By "bad," I mean those that are high in fat and calories that will only put the pounds on.
And mook, I recommend you get a gun and hunt for your own food.
