I'm pretty happy with myself just now as I've lost half a stone over the past few weeks, and even with a brief chocolate interlude at Easter.
I was finding it much harder than before (it's certainly become harder since reaching my mid-twenties) initially, but I've since realised that the easiest way to do it was to increase the number of meals and decrease the amounts of food in each. I'm also getting as much exercise as I can, but it's no longer just the gym. If I replace the gym with a good bout of housework or a day with lots of walking, the effect is the same.
On days when I do go to the gym or am planning on doing something after work that involves a lot of exercise, my new eating plan consists of: Breakfast as normal; Low calorie snack at noon; Low calorie soup (nothing on the side) for lunch; Cold pasta meal at 4pm (so I'm getting some carbs in 2 hours before the exercise); healthy meal after the exercise; snack later in the evening if necessary. This plan gives me the right amount of calories but also keeps me from ever getting too hungry (even after the gym) so I'm not tempted to ever eat too much.
I also no longer eat dessert after any meal and instead eat those desserts as snacks, in other words at a time of the day when I actually need it, rather than simply using it as a top-up after a meal.
It's incredible the difference these little changes have made, so far at least. I went to a ball the other night and realised at the last moment that the red dress I'd been planing to wear (which had been my 'fat' dress, but I adored it) was too big, and I had to wear something from my old wardrobe.