On my YouTube DietHobby channel,
I frequently get messages like this: 

Grandma,
I need to lose weight fast, please help,
what should I eat and not eat. 

Here is an example of my reply:

My website, at www.diethobby.com is where you should go

for information about dieting and weight loss.

That is the way I can give people information

without saying the same thing over and over. 

But I do have a little bit of time right now,

so you can start with this information,

and then for more information go there. 

Almost no one loses fat pounds fast. 

During the first two weeks of sticking to a diet,

most people lose about 5 to 7 lbs, but most of that is because

a person has less water and waste in their body. 

After a couple of weeks their body stops losing weight

until their water/waste issues readjust,

that is when most people quit their diet.

When they quit that water/waste weight returns immediately. 

If they stay with it, then eventually they will lose

an average of about 1 to 2 lbs of fat lbs per week. 

In order to lose weight, how much you eat

is much more important than what you eat. 

Food provides energy for the body.

The energy in that food is measured

by the number of calories in it.

In order for your body to lose weight,

it must take in less energy than the body uses. 

Almost all diets say to avoid foods that are fried

(like french fries, potato chips etc),

or high fat (like butter, salad dressings, oils, cream, cheese),

and foods made with sugar (candy, cake, pie, cookies)

and white flour  (bread, crackers plus cake cookies biscuits.).

and to eat only small amounts of carbs

(oats, wheat, grains, rice, potatoes, corn, beans) 

This is because these are the foods that have

a lot of calories packed into a small amount of food. 

Most diets also say to eat mostly lean meats, eggs,

green leafy vegetables, and vegetables like green beans,

brocolli, cauliflour, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes.

This is because these are the foods that have lots of nutrients

but less calories and so people can have larger amounts of these foods. 

Personally, I think the best diet is a diet that a person can live with

and stay on forever.  If you want to know what, and how much that I eat,

watch my cooking videos. These can give you ideas

of what and how much to eat if you want to lose weight. 

Most people do better by limiting the times they eat also

...like eating only 3 meals a day without snacking,,,

or no more than 1 very small snack between each of those meals.

If you are going to have a meal consisting of things

like a hamburger and french fries and a soda,

then you would buy one hamburger and eat only about half of it,

and eat only about 10 of your french fries,

(give away or throw away the rest) and drink a diet soda.

These are very general ideas about dieting.

For specific ideas, read the information at my DietHobby website. 

   Dreams and dedication IS a powerful combination.
Successful weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss
takes both of these elements.

If one didn't have the dream,
there would be no incentive or motivation to make it happen.
If one doesn't have the dedication,
one won't follow through with the effort that it takes to make it happen.

  And, make no mistake, a Great Deal of Effort is needed. 
Marketing interests that tell you different are lying to you. 
Yes, they are allowed to do that. 

For those of you who are following my “Ask Grandma” video series
Click : “Getting Along With Parents" to see my latest video,
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

A Diet isn't something we go on and off of.
About 95% of dieters regain the weight they lose.
And, in many cases, the dieter will yo-yo to a heavier weight
than what they were when they started the diet.

For a diet to be effective,
it has to involve a lifestyle change
– a way to eat and live that we can stick with.

A diet is not something we go on,
then go off after we've dropped a few pounds.
The definition of diet is simply ....
........“the usual food and drink of a person or animal.”
So to lose weight and keep it off we need to
consume food and drink that promotes health, not deprivation.

Pick a lifestyle you can see yourself still following
and enjoying when you are 80.

It's All About the Calories
The list of diets goes on and on.
But recent studies have proved
that it really doesn't matter what type of diet we follow.
Pick the one that appeals most to you – the one you can stick with for life –
because the bottom line is all about reducing calories
and burning more calories than consumed!

The simple secret to effective weight loss:
Eating fewer calories than one burns.

An effective weight maintenance plan then is
eating the same number of calories that one burns
through normal body functions and exercise.

Slips are Going to Happen
Trying to remain perfect while following a diet
is setting ourselves up for failure.
We didn't gain our extra weight overnight
and we aren't going to lose it quickly either.
There will be slips on our way to a healthier weight.
Don't ever quit!

Rather than quit when a binge happens,
we need to pick ourselves up, dust off the crumbs
and climb back on the dieting wagon.

We're in this for the long haul.
Being “good” and following a healthy lifestyle
the majority of the time should be our goal.

There will always be temptation,
so we must learn to give ourselves a few guilt-free passes
for those occasions when we eat more than we should.

  About loving Today....
I do love "Today" in general,
but this does not necesarily apply...specifically...to the activities of any one day.

It's my job to focus on the positive in every situation.
For example, ....this day, today, .... I have 2 painters in my master bedroom
repainting the walls and ceiling due to the necessary repairs that I've shared with you before.
My cat, Boodie, and I are holed up, with doors closed and locked, in my living room
to avoid the chaos in the rest of the house.  We will be sleeping here on the couch tonight.

The kitchen is nearby, so food...as always... is at ready access. 

The video I posted today is of one of the stained glass windows I built.
I find it almost impossible to get the correct light in the window and at the same time
geth the correct light needed to shoot me in a video, so I used the greenscreen process
to get us both together. I'm very pleased about that, and will probably do it again.

You may wonder what this all has to do with dieting and weight-loss.
This website, DietHobby, is a lifestyle guide for weight-loss and maintenance,
and managing to eat within one's calorie allowance... or close to it...even in situations
that we may find emotionally uncomfortable, is the biggest part of that Lifestyle.

             
Weight-loss and Maintenance of that weight-loss is hard work. This is a Truth that needs to be faced in order to achieve long-term success.  Everywhere we turn we see advertising statements about how quick and easy weight-loss is... IF you just buy and use that One Specific Product.

That product could be a food, a supplement, a diet plan, exercise equipment, clothing, a book, a video, or an idea. It could be just about anything that can be sold for money.

Those marketing lies are common, but seldom do we see in bold black-and-white the truth that no matter what product we might use,
weight-loss is slow and hard, and maintenance of that weight-loss is seldom achieved.

There are now quite a few "reality" TV shows concerning weight-loss. These consist primarily of a trim and muscled, naturally thin, person, setting forth difficult physical tasks for very fat people, then berating and encouraging those people in order to "help" them "start to live their lives".

I find this prejudiced-against-fat people statement particularly offensive, because fat people have lives that are just as productive and enjoyable as thin people.The quality of one's life depends on that person's attitudes and thoughts,
not on their physical size, or even their physical condition.

I didn't start "living my life" only when I was a normal weight,
I've lived my life for all my life, whether fat or thin.

Sometimes it seemed good, sometimes it seemed bad, but it is the only Life that I have here on earth (as far as I know), and it's been continuous since I was born.  It didn't only "start" after weight-loss.

The action shown in these television shows mostly involves physical tasks, including exercise.  Because, otherwise, for long periods of time, we would just be looking at people NOT EATING the amounts or kinds of higher-calorie foods that are currently considered socially acceptable and desirable in our culture.This would be about as entertaining as watching paint dry.

Everywhere you hear people being told to "change their lifestyle". Like THAT is a different process than dieting forever. But, it isn't.

Our lifetime eating habits are culturally and emotionally based, and are extremely difficult to change long-term. To make it even harder, habit and emotion are only part of the equation, because physical elements are also involved. 

The bodies of the "reduced obese" do everything possible to return that person to their previously obese condition. There are quite a few articles already here at DietHobby addressing this issue,and this will continue to be an ongoing topic here.

Accepting the rather unpleasant Truths about weight-loss and maintenance has helped me become successful in that area, and personally, I don't see how it is possible for an obese person to achieve long-term weight-loss success without coming to terms with those Truths.