Some go low-carb. Some do intermittent fasting. Some do zero-sugar. Some go Paleo. Some go gluten-free. Some go vegan.

For me, I started with the MyFitnessPal app and a small kitchen scale to log everything I ate. After that, I didn't specifically stop eating anything. But understanding how many calories things have in them did change the choices I made for every meal.

You learn things like a 5oz steak has the same calories as ten Ritz crackers. So you choose the steak. You learn that if you have bacon, eggs, toast, and OJ for breakfast, the toast and OJ have 3/4 of the calories of that meal. And you REALLY learn about portions.

One thing I never did was proclaim I was on a diet. The thing about being on a diet is that all you are looking forward to is the day you can go off this diet. You need to find changes you can live with. When you say bourbon & steak instead of beer & pizza and bacon & eggs instead of toast & cereal, it doesn't sound so bad.

You need to find something you can live with so that the moment you hit your goal, you don't revert to old habits.


And yeah, eating out is generally horrible. If you want any hope of success, there are extremely few restaurant options that work. Portions tend to be insane, and it is really easy to think you ate a 1000 calorie meal at a restaurant only to find out it was closer to 2000 calories.