This worked for me...

Well, this could be kinda fun! Feels almost like a Weight Loss Anonymous meeting.

"Hello, my name is Derek and I like food ... and it has been 2 weeks since my last carb...."
;)

I've had a bit of success lately and have spent a fair bit of time internally analyzing why that is. None of what I'll say is likely news to anyone, but it might come in handy. Here are some keys to my progress:

You can't outrun your fork*
In the past, I've always tied a weight loss goal to starting a new exercise regime. Oh sure, I'll convince myself that I'll eat better too, but it was always "I'm gonna train this fat right offa me!". However, it's impossible (or at least highly impractical) to train every single day (especially when you travel like I do). And even if I did train regularly, my brain has a remarkable capability to rationalize - "hey, you ran for 10 minutes - you totally earned that DQ Blizzard!". There's no exercise regime that can't be outdone by a poor diet!.
* I got this line from Nerd Fitness - see links at bottom

fix your diet - but don't Diet!
As a follow up to the previous post - if you find a diet that works for you, you'll get results! Now, pay attention to the capitalization in the title. Make that distinction in your brain and you'll go farther. Changing your eating shouldn't be a temporary mindset - "oh, I'll just eliminate all carbs until I'm at my goal weight". That's a great way to bounce back once you start eating carbs again. No - change your philosophy about eating altogether. This isn't easy - but it's totally worth it.
A Diet can by helpful to start the ball rolling - it's awesome to see some results for motivation to keep going. But expect to change your diet in the long-term to ensure continued success.

The principle is more important than the details
This finally clicked for me when I read through The 4 Hour Body (by Tim Ferriss). His book has many fantastical ideas and claims (they could all be true - I've yet to test many of them) - but that statement really stuck with me. If you stick to his Diet letter for letter, you'll lose a ton of weight very quickly. However, the principles behind the Diet make for a fairly easy to follow diet. Cut out the refined carbs, eat more protein, eat more veggies, give yourself a break, etc - that's way easier to follow than "I need to eat 120g of chicken and 4 clumps of broccoli or I've failed my Diet"...
Find something that makes sense to you & works and hang on for dear life! I haven't done as much research into the Paleo Diet, but it sounds pretty similar. Again, don't get bogged down in the details - stick to the principles and you'll do okay.

Give yourself a break
This was one of the principles (mentioned above) that helped me get over the hump. One big challenge with any change in diet is the fear of cravings. I'll admit it - I like pizza, chocolate, sugar - all that good stuff. It's why I'm writing on a blog like this! :) I like food and sure I may use it as a crutch or consolation prize sometimes - but I also just like the flavors! So the idea of cutting that out forever sucks.
What Tim Ferriss suggests (I doubt he's the first to say it - that's just where I read it), is that you can get good results with a strict Diet - but then give yourself 1 day off each week. If you know you can eat WHATEVER YOU WANT on that one day, it makes eating "right" the rest of the week much easier. Put that chocolate bar craving into the mental bank for Saturday (my usual day off). Stay the course for 6 days and go bonkers on the 7th! You'll feel sick by the end of the day and will look forward to getting back to your healthy habits. And really, you can be strong for 6 days at a time, can't you? It's way easier than saying "I won't eat another carb for the next 3 months!"...

You WILL fail
Yep, just call me Mr Sunshine! :) But the fact remains, there are very few of us with iron-clad self-control. And if you do have superhuman self-control, chances are you're not reading a blog like this (except maybe to laugh at us). So, accept the fact that you will fail - but DON'T let that stop you! If you trip, get back up before anyone notices and keep going as if nothing happened! If you lay on the sidewalk and cry/eat out of self pity, that doesn't do anyone any good. But if you brush yourself off and keep going, you'll keep making progress. You may be a little scuffed up, but chances are nobody will notice. 
Don't use that as an excuse. Fall down enough times and you'll look like a bum with ripped clothes and a bloody nose (or a beer belly & double chin). But a trip once in a while will not end your journey. And if you recognize where you stumbled, you can step over that section of the sidewalk next time! If you find yourself ordering a cookie with your morning drive-through coffee, here's an idea - skip the drive thru!

That which is measured can be managed
If you just "want to lose weight" and don't keep a track of what you're doing then you won't know when you've had success. But can I suggest something odd? Don't make the scale your measurement. Chances are, when you break it down, you don't really want to "lose weight" - you probably want to fit into those old jeans again ... or take your shirt of at the beach without being self-conscious about your moobs ... something like that, right? So measure what you really care about!
I implemented the principles above and sooner than expected, I had to go out and buy some 36 jeans (I've been a 38 for longer than I care to admit). I weighed myself at the beginning (just for a baseline), but honestly I didn't step on the scale for months thereafter. Feeling my jeans fit looser was the measurement I needed!
However, if you need something more precise to track, try some other measurements.

Ummm - what about exercise?
Yeah, what about it? No doubt, exercise will make you fitter, stronger, faster, etc - but you don't need to do it to lose weight. After losing the weight/inches I've lost over the past while, the first question people tend to ask is "damn, dude - you been working out?". And quite honestly, not really. Yes, I've been taking boxing lessons* once a week - but that's literally been 1 hour a week (if that, with my travel schedule). I should be exercising more to improve my skills from week to week, but I just haven't. Any progress I've made, I attribute solely to a sensible change in my diet.
* - I signed up for them because I wanted to learn a new skill - but that's a topic for another blog post...

Well, that went on for way longer than I expected. Apparently I've been wanting to tell someone about this. I hope it helps. If you have any questions, let me know!

Cheers,
Derek

Helpful links

• Nerd Fitness - useful blog posts, great community - all it's written with a healthy dose of attitude & humor
• 4 Hour Body - somewhat sensationalistic in content, but the sections on weight loss really made sense to me and it got me over the hump of actually losing weight to the point where people commented on the change. I'd recommend the e-book if you have an iPhone/iPad/similar (fraction of the hardcover price, much easier to reference on the go)...
• Here are the basics of his "Slow Carb Diet". If you want a "kick start" to give you visible results with motivation to keep going - give it a shot. Actual quantities of weight lost may vary, but results are results!
• Tim's blog - for some generally interesting ideas & articles.
• Shovelglove - I've stopped doing this for a while (no reason - just laziness) - but it's a ton of fun when you really get into the habit. I'm a big fan of functional fitness and I know I felt better when I was doing this regularly. If you find his website too hokey, this guy took it to the next level (just give in to the goofiness - you'll dig it).
• No S Diet - once you've lost a good chunk of weight with the Slow Carb Diet, the No S Diet would be a good maintenance diet, methinks.