Originally Posted by monet View Post
One thing is to cut out all empty calories like beer, soda, chips, candy... etc etc.
I suspect that we (as a country) would be far skinnier/healthier if we did nothing other that limit our liquid calories and fried foods.

It appears when a person hits a plateau or wall for 3 or 4 days of not losing weight you can break that wall through long term fasting (3 days).
Everybody hits a plateau/wall eventually with a diet. 2 possible reasons are a) much of the weight you lose at first is due to no longer retaining water because you've reduced sodium intake, and b) your metabolism adjusts to your calorie intake (hence the reasoning behind cheat days). After the initial week or two, you shouldn't expect to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week, unless you're still severely overweight. I wouldn't suggest fasting for three days