Exercise is really great, if you can do it. I can't. But I still managed to lose weight, by modifying my diet.
Things I have learned -
1) Cut back on carbs, but not to Atkins level. Instead, switch to wholegrain where at all possible, and cut out all refined carbs. No more sugar of foods containing sugar. This includes natural sugars. You will quickly find that the sour taste in your mouth that you get about ten minutes after eating carbs, has gone. I used to find that it was that sour taste that had me heading for more carbs of the same sort, to take away that taste. And of course it only gave me a ten minute break from the sour taste.
2) "Fruit and vegetables" SOUNDS really healthy, but not necessarily so. Some vegetables and mostfruits need to be cut back or eliminated. Sorry. While some vegetables can be eaten in unlimited quantities, some are taboo.
The ones to avoid are the ones loaded with natural sugars - kumara is a no-no, but it's taste-alike pumpkin is OK. Potato is really bad because it's almost pure carb with little else. When I cook a roast dinner, I don't eat any potato but I add an extra carrot to roast, for me. Cauliflower is perfectly OK. Fruit - if you're middle-aged, female and not very active, one serve of fruit a day is your limit. That means fruit juice similarly, is bad. One serve a day means a piece of fruit OR a glass of juice. If you exercise a lot, you can have a second serve of fruit. No more.
I used to have a lot of fruit, every day. I would start the day with a fruit smoothie. By mid-morning I'd be ravenous. Now I start the day with my home-made oat-free muesli and I can go through to lunchtime really easily.
Fruit that is the exception - fruit you can eat without counting it in your allowance - strawberries. Carb vegetables you can eat without counting it - sweet corn (preferably on the cob).
I switched to brown rice and keep some cooked in the fridge so I can quickly heat some up to have with a meal. You can do a lot with cooked brown rice.
Basic rules -
1) No fat. That eliminates cheese except as flavour garnish, or the occasional small piece. Very small.
2) No sugar.
3) Wholegrain carbs (moderately) unlimited. White carbs - if possible, eliminate entirely.
3) Coloured vegetables - unlimited. Exceptions - avoid sweet potato (kumara) and potato. Avoid white rice. Use your common sense and avoid the foods that leave that high-carb post-eating sour taste in your mouth.
4) One serve of fruit a day. If you want, make it fruit juice, frozen, for evening dessert.
5) Drink lots of water (aim for 2 litres a day). Do not drink anything with sugar in it. None. No alcohol, either. None.
6) Take vitamins and minerals. Don't combine calcium with Vitamin C. Get sugar-free supplements.
7) As a reward, and to boost your vitamin/mineral package, eat 2 small squares of good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa or higher), every day. It's OK. It's the exception because it's a valuable vitamin pill.
8) If you can stand them (I quite enjoy them) you may find you need to eat prunes. The dose varies according to how your body works. I find 10 - 15 prunes a day is about right for me.
Try to not let yourself get too hungry. Having another watery drink can help with hunger pangs. If I'm peckish I often have another bowl of muesli. Keep your serve sizes small, but eat more often if you feel too hungry.
Your aim is to convince your body that you don't need sugar hits, you don't need carb rushes so your body no longer needs to pump out sudden surges of insulin to handle what you just ate. Over time, your body will adjust back and it should ease the faintness and mild nausea you get from an overdose of insulin. A small amount of brown rice can help with a sudden hunger surge.
Exercise where you can, but be gentle with yourself. Walking is great. So is swimming.
I hope this helps. It's pretty much what has finally helped me take off weight (a lot of it) where nothing else has worked for decades. Literally.
It's been a year for me, almost. I've not regained any weight, except for a kilo or so over Christmas which I've quickly lost again. People tell me I'm still losing weight, but the scales don't agree. However, I AM maintaining.
Nothing else has worked for me before. I did have help with diet pills, but I've been off them for months and according to the literature, I should have regained some weight as soon as I stopped the pills. But I didn't. The doctor says it's because the pills weren't what did the trick, after all. It was probably the diet, and just the diet.
Marg
Ok fellow healthful living compadres - I need you!!!!!!!!!!!!
. I can't say that I'm back to my old eating habits because I'm not really eating out (have eliminated fast food with the exception of pizza and subway now and again), I'm eating much more fruit and veggies - but I'm craving CARBS and CHEESE. 
