Losing weight is like investing. The key is success is to avoid the big mistake that hurts you. In terms of weight loss, the first big mistake that hurts you, is freely feeding on protein and fat. You absolutely, positively cannot eat as much dead animal and fat as you want, and expect to lose weight. If I ate as much steak and ribs and hamburger as I wanted, I’d gain weight every week, and I’m on maintenance. The second mistake is eating cheese and nuts. It’s almost impossible to lose (or maintain) weight, eating any significant quantity of cheese or nuts. Way too many calories (in both) and carbohydrates (in nuts) way too fast.