Update XVI: Sidejackin' it in the Train Room.

[bedstuy]

Just for contrast, I went on a diet over the summer.  I was like 5'10, 160, 31 waist at the start and I wanted to be about 150, closer to a 30 waist.

I ate basically the same thing every day.  One egg and a black coffee for breakfast, protein shake or skinless chicken breast for lunch, rice, beans, a couple of skinless chicken breasts and steamed veggies for dinner.  Sometimes I had a glass of red wine, but I had no other alcohol, snacks or sweets, no exceptions.   That's about 1000 calories max depending on how I cooked the chicken.  I also lifted weights three times a week and probably walked on average 3 miles per day and aimed to drink one gallon of water per day.  I lost weight super fast and I lost about 12 lbs, almost all fat in about a month.  That's a diet, drinking soda, eating tons of carbs and sweets is not a diet.  It's not fun, but that's what a diet is like.  You just need to make peace with the fact that you're going to feel hungry, but it's OK to feel hungry.  Once you get used to calorie restriction and the feeling of an empty stomach, it's not so bad. 

If you want to go on a diet, that's my advice.  Just eat the same thing almost every day, pick a low calorie carbohydrate to eat, and totally cut out the things like bread, snacks and sweets.   Once you start eating carbs or sweets, most people don't have the willpower to moderate themselves.  I don't either.  I can't just moderate myself to a recommended portion of ice cream or pasta or sweets.  But, if cut out unhealthy stuff entirely, you create habits and find healthy foods that are palatable.  You can adjust to less food.  It's not like anyone besides maybe Shaq requires 4000 calories a day.  People overeat because they listen to their appetite and not their common sense.  It's just like a heroine addict's brain telling them that they need more heroine.  Your brain lies to you about things like that.

[bedstuy]

Yeah, might have been a bit low, but I think I probably hit 1500 a lot of days and was closer to 1000 other days.  You end up eating a little more than you planned on any particular day.  But, my point is the same whether you're at 1200 calories or 2000 calories.  Making exceptions and trying to moderately eat sweets is not going to work.

[bedstuy]

1000 calories to go from 160 to 150 quickly is about right. To be where Bushie is and lose weight, you simply have to eat like a normal human being.

Right, but the same idea applies.  I would just treat overeating as an addiction.  It's much more effective to go cold turkey on soda, sweets and processed food than it is to learn how to eat like a normal human being.  Or, if you're really fat, just saying, no soda and no fast food would be good.  It's just easier to make ironclad rules and focus on your habits than it is to say to yourself, "that's enough french fries."