Which diet tips and tricks actually work?

Almost everybody I know that has tried to lose weight has tried many different approaches. Some successful but some aren't and I want feedback to see what has worked for different people. For me personally, it seems that if I try something and it works, later on if I try it again it won't.

Years ago, probably before I was even old enough to take the pills, I took diet pills similar to hydroxycut and they worked. I was also working out a lot which was new to my daily regimen, but I lost about 30 pounds in a few short months. I gained it all back over the next few months. I tried doing the same thing again and it did not work.

The next diet that I tried was eating oatmeal every morning and adding 2 TBSP of ground flaxseed to it. THAT WORKED! I lost 10 pounds in a week and I bet it would have stayed off if I had continued to diet but for whatever reason (life) I didn't continue and it all crept back up.

Maybe a year or so later I went to see a personal trainer who offered me some advice. He told me to eat 5 small meals a day and it doesnt matter what I eat I will end up losing weight, and make sure that I eat within 30 minutes of waking up to jump start my metabolism. He said that it would be about a month before I saw any results but to keep doing it because it will happen. After 1 week I had dropped 10 pounds and I was ecstatic. I kept this diet up for a long time and I couldnt seem to lose anymore weight. I was able to keep this 10 pounds off but couldn't shed any more. Just to give you some insight, I wasn't just trying to lose those last few stubborn pounds, I had a good 30 or 40 pounds I could still lose to be "right where I should be".

The last thing I tried was the HCG diet. I know there is some controversy over the HCG diet but after doing a lot of research on it I felt like it was a good idea. I was suprised at how easily the weight came off, and stayed off. I lost 28 pounds and I've been able to keep about 20 of it off, and I did the diet 8 months ago. I fluctuate and they will even tell you that you will gain a few back once you stop using the product, but just a few. I have since found out that I was the exception to the HCG diet because everybody else I knew that did this diet gained all the weight right back. I took something from this diet though that I think is the reason I was able to keep the weight off, and gain some of my health back too.

Before the HCG diet I HATED cooking, like I REALLY HATED cooking. I had no interest and rarely did I cook. If I did cook, it was hamburger helper or something that only took a few minutes. Luckily, my husband has always enjoyed cooking and is good at it so I didn't feel as bad. While I was on this diet, I had to get creative so I wasn't so bored and felt the need to cheat. I looked up recipes and played around with what I was doing and in just 3 weeks I developed a LOVE of cooking. Not only that, I only use organic food (unless it's not available). I feel like I have become a pretty good little chef and I am always looking for new healthy recipes. I make it a point to have lots of fruit and veggies throughout the day and just as important as eating them they need to taste good.

The HCG diet only worked for me because it caused me to change my lifestyle. I didn't go back to eating nothing but junk and not watching what I'm eating cause obviously it would just pile back on. I discoved that stevia is the best sweetener if I want things like Tea, and if I'm baking sweets I will use a mixture of stevia and honey but never refined sugar. Temporary diets don't work, but lifestyles changes do. All of that worked for me as far as losing the weight that I did lose, but I still have a little ways to go and even though I eat 90% organic and healthy I am still having trouble losing weight any further. I don't get a lot of exercise which I'm sure would only help, but I have medical issues that make working out a bad idea most of the time.

I would love to hear about what actually worked for you!