Not eating every other day, or dropping your calories to 500 every other day, is worth trying if you haven’t. Every other day dieting is one of the most practical approaches for both weight loss and maintenance. As a weight loss program, control yourself on your off days, don’t go too crazy, don’t eat any sugar – and you should lose 2-3 pounds every week. As a maintenance program, you can eat with abandon on your off days, stay away from sugar again, and you might find this the easiest maintenance on the planet. The great thing about every other day dieting, is that there are no forbidden foods. You don’t have to eliminate sugar, but most patients do better and feel better switching to artificial sweeteners.