It took 98 pounds for me to start getting excited. Late February of last year was when I started losing weight and today I'm at 98 pounds down (a personal record). I'm around 10 pounds away from a regular weight! How did I do this? 1. Caloric Deficit, The average adult male should eat 2500 calories in one day. I started by eating only 2200. Then I went to 2000 and finally 1400-1800 gradually (currently around 1900 since I'm rather close to my goal). 2. I avoid starch (no potatoes, except plain sweet potatoes every once in awhile. Limited bread intake/Pasta intake and when I do eat bread I only eat whole wheat/high fiber breads (never liked white bread anyway). I avoided cereal more often, although I still would eat it occasionally. Ate more nuts, but not too much (lots of calories in small amounts of nuts. 3. Replace the grain with more veggies and more lean protein (no fast food/no red meats/pork) such as poultry and fish/egg s (lots of protein but virtually no calories, most calories and fat are in the egg yolk). 4. Avoided saturated fat and trans fat by not eating cow products at all, instead eating lower calorie plant-based alternatives. 5. I only drank dairy alternatives and water/ highly diluted fruit juice (especially I when I got an unwanted urge to eat someg). 6. This one was important, treat yourself every once in a while, but do not over do it. 7. Exercise 2-3 times a week. 8. Eat whole fruit. Summary: Limiting bad fats and carbs (especially sugar carbs and grain), whilst replacing them with more veggies and more lean protein. Side note: When ever I have a meal, I make sure I never feel 100% full (70-80% full is decent), if I do feel that, then I have eaten too much. No Pizza. Pizza, although delicious, is high in bad fat, calories, and has little nutritional value. Not only that, it never makes me feel full. A tiny snack in between lunch/dinner is ok. I would have never been able to do this if I had been depressed. I was no er depressed in September of last year so that sped up the weight loss time. Hope this might be inspiring or helpful. I made this diet up myself.