I'm lucky in that I am quite slim and don't readily put on weight so I probably should not be commenting here but... have you heard of the 5:2 fast diet?
It's not a diet as such, more a way of life - Personally I don't think short terms diets are worth it, people lose weight only to pile it back on as soon as they come off the diet - much better to make a change that will last and only go through the "pain" once. I first heard about it watching Michael Mosely on Horizon last year and since his program, it has become very popular.
If you're not bored already, the idea is this. On 5 days a week, you eat absolutely whatever you like just as normal - yes, really! On just 2 days a week, you eat only 25% or the recommended daily amount for a man or for a woman (they are slightly different). You can eat that 25% when you like, e.g. split between breakfast, lunch and dinner or you can drop one of those and alter the split - it does not matter.
There are two reasons why the "diet" is good:
1) weight loss - even if you find you eat a bit more than normal on the 5 normal days, you still overall end up eating less during the week so you will lose weight - despite being calls the "Fast Diet", it is a pretty gradual weight loss (the fast bit means fasting, not rapid).
2) health benefits - there are a whole range of different health benefits that have been proven by studies and another raft of benefits that are claimed but not yet proven.
Anyway, after watching the program, I was so impressed by the science that I decided to make a change and follow the "diet" to get the health benefits. I have been doing it since January (started just after new year) and although I found the first couple of weeks to be hard (hunger pangs on fasting days) it now hardly bothers me at all. I save all my 25% calories for evening meal and I can happily get up and go all day without eating barely noticing it. (NOTE, I find that I have to drink a lot more than usual on fasting days - I have a drink every 30 minutes or so and more often if I do feel peckish).
Back in January I weighed just under 11 stone. I am now just under 10 stone. I don't intend losing weight particularly so I am thinking of switching to 6:1 (6 normal days and 1 fast day) because this is called the maintenance fast - studies show you still get the health benefits without significant weight loss.
If you are at all interested, I'd thoroughly recommend it. It does not cost anything and is pretty easy to stick to because you can think "I only have to do this for another few hours then I can eat what I like again". I did buy a 5:2 recipe book and made some meals the first couple of weeks to ensure I knew what 25% of usual looked like. I can't be arsed now and just have one large bowl of porridge in the evening (I'm too lazy to count calories so once I knew how much porridge was 25% I was sorted :lol: ).
If you want to read more, Michael Mosely's website is
here and the BBC2 Horizon program details are
here. It's not available on iPlayer any more but you can get it on the web - e.g.
here.