A really good book that explains why low-carb is not only the best way to maintain proper weight, but also the most heart healthy diet:
Read the book, followed the diet.
To kick start the diet, I ate 200 calories of no-carb food every two hours, except for dinner. For dinner I ate medium portions of what everyone else was eating (except no dessert), and half a medium portion of the starchy food. I did this for two weeks to wean myself off sweets and starches, and to shrink my stomach. Then I went no-carb/high fat.
I've lost 35 pounds since June and I'm never hungry. I also eat very small portions, frequently. I'm munching on pepperoni as I type.
I totally agree about that book! It will scare you off carbs for life. I already had to give up gluten because I was diagnosed with celiac disease a year ago and I lost about 30 pounds from that alone. But I had stalled out and my diet was incredibly rich in starches.
I read Why We Get Fat and immediately stopped starches, greatly reduced my carbs, increased my fats and I lost 13 pounds in 5 weeks! That’s super fast for me. With the knowledge of that book, it’s no wonder this study didn’t work.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350755755&sr=1-1&keywords=gary+taubes+why+we+get+fat+and+what+to+do+about+it
I also read this book. It is excellent. The real issue is not how much we eat, but what we eat. The carbs/sugars are killing us. I began a high fat/low carb diet 6 months ago. Now I weigh what I did in college. My lipids are excellent and my allergies vanished. It works.
She followed his advice, lost a lot of weight and now is a much happier girl.