I have not read all the posts so there may be some duplication here. Most of us are smart enough to know that there is no easy route to weightloss and fitness, or else there wouldn't be any fat people. Calories in must be > calories out. A calorie is a calorie, this high fat, low fat, low carb stuff is just to sell books. A balanced diet is the only way of eating that you can stick to ( a lifestyle change really, not a diet) You can only go Atkins for so long before you would want a crust of bread instead of a NY strip. After many years of being enticed by the fads, I have come to the conclusion that we just eat too damn much. Our portions are much bigger than we need. For that, we have the restaurant industry to thank. People have grown accustomed to big portions, when served a normal portion, they think they are being cheated. And then, we top it off with dessert. We eat when we are not really hungry, be cause it is "time" to eat, or we are depressed. We eat at night in front of the TV, we eat fast food because it is convenient or the kids want it (consequentially, we are raising the fattest generation of kids ever ). The solution - it depends on the individual. But generally, cut back on the portion size, eat more vegetables (they fill you up), don't cut out any food group, and get your ass moving - walk the dog, take a walk with the wife, just get some kind of exercise. Don't go out and buy a $2000 Bowflex to start a workout regime, you will end up handing laundry on it.