1) Low-fat diet. Worked until I started eating sugar instead of fat. Gained more weight immediately following.
2) Low-carb diet. Never actually worked.
3) Low-glycemic index diet. Also never worked, and gained more weight afterwords.
4) Going vegetarian. Just ended up eating more unhealthy non-meats.
5) Calorie counting. Never was able to count calories correctly.
6) Low-calorie fad diets. Couldn’t stick to them, I was too hungry.
7) Forcing myself to get really hungry before I ate, and then eating only until I was full. Worked until my body decided I was not going to go hungry ever again.

In the end, the only thing that has worked for me is to eat more vegetables as a percentage of my food. That’s it! Everything else was either too much hunger, too much effort, or was even counter-productive. If you eat more vegetables, you are fuller, you don’t crave vitamins and minerals (because you’re eating them), and you simply can’t fit in the extra burger and fries after you’ve had a tasty salad. It’s also the lazy way.

I also read The Hacker’s Diet, and I also highly recommend it, because it forces you to understand it in a logistical, mechanical, biological way, rather than from a discipline-oriented, force-yourself-to-make-an-effort sort of way. The diet industry loves to make you think you’ve got to put in either a ton of effort or none at all. A little effort when you choose what to eat is all that’s required.

I truly enjoy your writing and look forward to each days entries. Although I have very little debt, I never had money for the things I wanted to do; travel being the main one.

Reading your and Simple Dollar postings the last two months has enabled me to set goals and put some automatic processes in place. I moved money that was languishing in a 401k into a managed fund with a much better return and set up an automatic weekly payment from my checking account into my travel fund. Interesting that I still have the same amount of money each month that is “disposible”….

I too am looking to get my weight under control…again I am sure it has to do with goals and follow through, but after losing 30 pounds in the last 18 months and now stalling I really want to get with the program.

I live just accross the river from you, so if you ever get together a “Fit Group” please let me know.

Keep at it. I look forward to seeing what comes of your big move to more full time writing.

It is very much like the money stuff, although sort of in the opposite direction: you want to take in less than you spend.

I think I’m having the opposite journey to yours — I spent most of the last year working on my weight & eating habits and now gearing up to do the same with my money habits.

Running is the fastest way for me to burn fat. Starting around May of 2007 I’d get up early every weekday morning, get in my car, park in a nice neighborhood and run for 20 minutes.

A few months later my endurance increased to 30 minutes, 3 miles. I also now run on an outdoor elementary school track in my neighborhood.

Before running I’d exercise with some weights and a home gym. If I’d get up late I’d skip the exercise and just go running.

The exercise forced my body to only crave healthy things. Since I don’t get bored of eating the same food every day, I’d eat oatmeal for breakfast and salad for lunch. For dinner I’d avoid meat. Thankfully my wife was on board with the good eating habits. Soy cheese has replaced real cheese. I pretty much stopped eating meat.

Weekends I relax and don’t stick to my heath routines as much.

I do this in the mornings so I get up at 6:30 am. This requires me to adjust my evening routine to be in bed by 11:30 or midnight.

I’ve lost an average of 1 lb. per week without killing myself.

The benefits are more than just losing weight. Every single breath I take is better. I feel stronger just walking from my desk to the bathroom. It’s great not to get winded by walking up stairs. My brain works faster. I have more energy. In the past I’d practically fall asleep at my desk after lunch. Now I don’t feel like an old fart at 40.

It’s the winter now and often too cold for me to get out and run. So, I’ve mentally prepared myself that I’ll gain some weight. Then lose it again when it gets warmer. I’m also trying to brave the cold so I can run three miles without having to ramp up again in the spring. I also have knee problems which flare up when my legs are weak. Running keeps my legs strong and my knee problems at bay.

Anyone can do it. Trust me.

My debt (weight) has been beyond what I am comfortable with for as long as I can remember. A couple of years ago, I started to get it under control, through cutting out impulse spending (eating an astronomical amount of sweets). Beyond that, I started actively saving (exercising), and keeping a budget (check out physicsdiet.com).

I’ve fallen off the wagon every year around Thanksgiving, through Christmas (including this year), but I’m at a net gain (weight loss) from when I started, and now I know I can do it when I keep with it.

As for a good resource to read, check out The Hackers Diet (free e-book, written by the creator of AutoCAD, what physicsdiet.com is based on). It’s a great source of information on the mechanics of how your body works and how to lose weight within that system. I know a lot of technical people besides myself who have benefited from using that perspective. Regardless, it’s worth a look. If you’re interested, I can email you the forum that hosts the group that I use for support in my weight loss efforts.

The answer: the old AT&T rotary-dial phone from the ’70s. So I went on eBay and bought one. The difference in call quality between that phone and today’s garbage is astounding. Jaw dropping. I had forgotten the magnitude of how bad it had become.

Plus, the real bell and the rotary dial are wonderfully satisfying.

I can summarize it pretty easily. A reasonable way to attack weight is to be informed about the cost of foods you eat and then choose accordingly. People often eat what they perceive to be healthy foods that are actually calorie expensive. A good example is dense breads like bagels. Dense breads contain an enormous amount of energy, and can easily undo your weight loss desires.

Cheese is the nuclear fuel of food. Lots of energy in a tiny space.

If you know what you are eating, you can decide what you want (relative to its cost). If you want a bagel and you know what it costs, you can eat less of something else. Or you can eat half and save half, or whatever.

Since you’ve just gotten out of debt, I suspect it is the kind of thinking that you are comfortable with. You learn to buy the things you want within a certain budget. If you forgo on some of the things you only want a little, then you can afford something more expensive (in moderation) when you really want it without getting into trouble.

The trick with food is that the price isn’t written on it, so it is harder to know when you are being frugal.