I lost 40lbs about 2 years ago and have kept it off, by keeping a daily food diary, in which I keep track of digestion issues, medication issues, every meal and snack, exercise, and mood for the day. I try to look at it as a plan of being healthy for life. It also helps me see what foods affect my mood, or if I gain weight, what am I doing differently..I keep it in a binder and generally just track what is going on.

For instance, I was putting on a few pounds and I looked at what was different, and I noticed I had been guzzling lots of gatorade after exercise, and I realized gatorade is loaded with sugar, and calories, as much as sugary sodas. OR I am having anxiety, so I am eating because of that..

I did see a nutritionist about 2 times to get me started. I use the FDA Pyramid as a guide. Eating the recommended daily allowances of fruit and vegetables, at the recommended serving size. I felt like milk and dairy were causing me to gain, so I cut it out, except for yogurt, which is good bacteria for the stomach. My nutritionist had told me to avoid soy milk or soy in general, something about it can cause digestion issues for some peoples.

I generally eat the same fruits and vegetables every day, but I do have one cheat day. Less daily variety for me means, anything on cheat day will make me happy.

Just sticking to fruits and vegetables and chicken or fish. From what I gathered from the nutritionist, everything is about proper digestion and high fiber choices.

I eat stawberries, blueberries (berries are lower in sugar) and romaine with green peppers, broccoli, chicken or fish, and yogurt or sugar free things for snacks.

I do have a penchant for eating bad stuff at about 8pm, so I have tried to do cinammon raison english muffins, with peanut butter and maybe a few cookies, but not an entire box. I used to buy low fat cookies and such, but I realized just eating the reese cup, is less calories than eating a bunch of fat free grahmn crackers!!!

I do take 900 mg of seroquel, which can make you want to eat the entire house, and I take nothing for anxiety, which causes me to eat a bit more also. I am usually a "all or nothing" person, so I am just trying to learn balance.