No one addresses the psychological aspect of weight control. It is different for each person IMO. The big hitch is how to get you appetite under control. Like many fatties I realized that I would get hungry enough to eat the paint off the walls an hour or two before the next meal. I realized that if I ate certain things at the previous meal it would be worse.
I have never been a serious overeater. I exercised, I ate a healthy, low fat diet, I did not sit on the couch in front of the TV and eat snacks - well, maybe some low fat popcorn ;-) - but I ate enough to gain a few pounds a year and it slyly added up.
You know the drill "I tried every diet and could not stick to them for long" or "I lost weight and gained it all back".
For the average Joe or Jill the cost of those brand name diets add up. What are you going to do when you have to eventually stop depending on someone else to weight and measure what you eat? Are you going to eat frozen meals all your life? What about all those little "extras" you eat? There you go. You are on the diet plan plus!
Can you stick to those overly rest restrictive diet plans in books? Are you going to plan your meals around a list of foods you never eat? Do you feel restricted and cheated.
Dieting is for life. When you eat a certain amount of food every day your body adjusts - up or down - until the intake equals what is burned off or it is stored as fat for the next famine - that never almost comes in our society.
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I finally realized that I had to devise something what worked for me and no body else could tell me how to devise a plan that would work for me.
That is not to say that I did not learn from the books I read or the diets I tried. The most important thing I learned from the low carb fad was that I did not suffer serious hunger pangs if I did not overload on carbs. I just could not stick to the menu's in the books. But a little light clicked on that I was someone who was carb sensitive. Now I know that not everyone is carb sensitive. My husband can eat anything he wants and just stops eating when he has had enough - no matter what it is. But one thing that is noteworthy is that he eats sweets in very small quantities. I mean SMALL. He has no desire for overeating sweets. He has never gained or lost significant weight throughout his life. We are about the same size and weight (yeah he is a small guy - but jems come in carats, not pounds!). Imagine weighing more than my husband - yikes!
I reduced sugar drastically in my diet and lowered the white carbs (that quickly convert to sugar). I eat meats in small quantities and eat lots of cooked and raw veggies (fruits and drinks are loaded with sugar wbich I avoid). I am back to my ideal weight (by waist size and BMI) for the first time since my wedding and have lost over 75 lbs. I look 20 years younger, all my aches and illness are gone. It is a huge psychological upper. Best of all I taught myself how to control my appetite. It still requires reasonable self-control and I eat real, tasty food. I use only a few "diet" products such as 0 fat butter spray and Splenda. Overeating is an addiction you can't pour down the drain. The proof is that I have maintained my weight for 2 years. I lost all my aches and pains. I am not a fanatical exerciser. Too much overexercising is creating a generation of people who wind up having joint injuries. I do walk briskly almost every day for half an hour.
This is a general overview.. More on the different aspects mentioned later.
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