[carlosgg]

Different things work for different people. I lost about 70 pounds over 10 months in 2006-2007, and have mostly kept the weight off so far. I am about 5'9. My strategy consisted of eating a good lunch portion every day: rice and meat (mostly chicken), and some vegetables if possible. It could be Thai or Mexican or Chinese or Indian... Didn't matter, so long as it had a good ration of rice and meat. Make sure it's enough so that you are not dizzy from hunger in the afternoon, but not too much so you don't go back to the desk feeling sleepy. As you are finishing the lunch, before each of the last few bites, ask yourself if you are full. In the evening, I had Lean Cuisine and a banana. LC boxes don't have too much sodium, and a lot of them are actually quite tasty (Swedish Meatballs!). You can get them at Target. I always went for the ones that maximized the proteins/calories ratio, at least 15 g of protein for a 300-calorie box. At home I kept some diet soda (0 calories) around to quelch the "sweet-tooth" cravings. Obviously, lay off the greasy stuff and regular sodas. At the Mexican places, skip those items that appear to be swimming in cheese, and also those "refried" beans and the chips-and-salsa are not good for you. At the Thai places, the rice-with-some-meat items are nice; lay off the pad thai.

Bananas and apples are good because they are so large, they take a while to eat, and don't have too many calories; grapes, raisins, and strawberries are not so good because I can eat like 30 of any of them in one sitting and not even notice. They are all "high-energy-density" foods (a lot of calories in a small volume of food). Not good. Once you get to your target weight you can dispense with the Lean Cuisine.

On days that are particularly stressful you might have to compromise, just don't go overboard. Don't eat like 3,000 calories or something. That's actually pretty important: on the days in which you have to take a break, take a break, not a BREAK. Don't kill your momentum. The hardest part is the first two weeks, when you are getting started. BTW, the body adjusts and tries to conserve energy in that second week, so you might lose little or no weight on Week 2. Maybe don't weigh yourself the second week. Good luck.