Let's face it: we want to lose NOW! Yesterday would be even better if we could, but the truth is some of us are extremely slow losers. I am one of them. Am I discouraged? No sir! Because I am still losing, and in the end, that's what really counts. As I wanted this to be the very last time I would be on a diet, I decided to use a different approach: I wouldn't diet from the start, but rather do an entire overhaul of my eating habits. I see no point in dieting, losing the weight, then going back to my old eating habits (you know? The ones that got me fat in the first place!). AH! I see you are getting my point. I will do a proper diet, but only when my new eating habits will be that. Habits. Then, when I do diet, what I will return to when the weight is all gone is a sensible way to eat. That being said, the simple fact that I have changed my habits is actually making me lose weight, even if slowly (about 1/2 lb a week). Clearly, I'm doing something right. And the beauty of it is I'm never hungry (I have a big appetite and when I am hungry, I am no zen master). So I'll keep doing it as long as it works, and when the losing stops, then the real diet will kick in.