I can only tell you what worked for me. To lose 30 lbs I was working out twice a day - usually an hour of spin in the morning and swimming a mile in the afternoon. I stopped eating anything that I didn't bring to work. There's always a ton of junk food at my work. I had my own little treat to keep myself from feeling deprived. I also logged on to the Healthy Eating Index

http://147.208.9.133/Default.asp

just about every day and tried to be absolutely honest about what I was eating and how much - weighing and measuring portions as needed. This helped me keep my diet balanced and let me see where I needed more nutrients. I tried to keep my calories around 1800. It took me about 5 months to lose the thirty pounds and I've kept it off for nearly two years now.

Good luck!

Veronica