We had a weight loss competition at work. The rules were simple: Put money into a pot, and anyone who loses 7% of his or her body weight by February 19th, gets the pot.
Out of 17 people who entered, I believe 14 people actually won. It was not a fun month, to say the least, but I learned a lot of things.
1. Interval workouts burn fat.
I worked out about 5 days per week, for 30-50 minutes each time. Since sweating is the key to a successful workout, I needed a way to get sweaty, and fast. I used a homemade interval technique through trial and error. It consisted of a 2:1 running, walking ratio. I started at 6mph/3.8mph. I repeated this interval workout for as long as 50 minutes on some days. It would take only 8 minutes from the start to get the sweat pouring out. The constant increase and decrease of your heart rate makes your body sweat off the pounds, and if you stick to it, it works.
2. Avoid Saturated Fats at all costs.
I love bacon, cheese, rich desserts, and all those other wonderful things that are loaded with sat fats. I had to almost completely cut them out during the competition. One of the most important lessons I learned from the Abs Diet Book is that saturated fats are what help pad your stomach. It hurt, but the two notches I lost on my belt indicate that it worked.
3. Don’t eat less food.
Unless you incredibly strong willed, you will not ever successfully lose weight by simply eating less food. If we had that kind of self control, who would ever need dieting and exercise to begin with? The trick is the eat the same amount of food, if not more, but fill your diet with tons of vegetables instead. I ate salads,by the truck load, and used either Fat Free, or small amounts of low-fat dressing.
4. Protein, Protein, Protein.
With my trusty flavorless Whey Protein powder, it was easy to add some extra protein to my diet. My choice method was mixing it one full scoop with my plain oatmeal in the morning. Flavorless whey is definitely the way to go, by the way.
5. Drink lots of water.
Yeah, this one does not sound so important, but it makes a big difference. Get a big water jug, and go crazy.
Matt is a serial entrepreneur who is obsessed with technology. 
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Congratulations on your success.
I almost didn’t comment. It’s hard to admit to the world that you are struggling with your weight. I lost 35 pounds once and am proud to say that I didn’t gain it all back. That’s not really saying much since I came close enough that it’s a rather farcical pride.
What you say here about losing weight is very true for the short run but I don’t think, at least for me, it’s sustainable. The real challenge is to change your preferences, or convince yourself that you’re happy with less, both daunting tasks.