Lyle Mcdonald writes:

The problem in modern society is both

  1. Getting people to eat that way in the first place.
  2. Getting them to keep eating that way in the long-term.

And, in a lot of ways, ‘b’ is probably the more important of the two. Everybody knows that all diets will work in the short-term. Where dieting invariably fails for most people is in long-term adherence. People fall off the bandwagon for a variety of reasons.

He’s dead right.  The most important rules are the most basic.  Eat a good diet, and be consistent about it.

What constitutes a “good” diet?  Just about anything, as Lyle points out.  So long as you are exercising, and your calories are sufficiently low, you’re OK.  But, only if you stay with it.