I lost about 25 pounds without any stupid diets; I didn't count calories and I had bacon or carbs when I wanted them. There's no real trick to it, no secret. Everybody knows that eating well and exercising will help you maintain or lose weight. You just need to find a food plan that works for you, stop eating when you're not hungry, and find exercises that are fun. For me, it's bicycling 30 miles a week when the weather is good and playing DDR for an hour or three a week. The weight loss was nonexistent at first while I gained muscle and lost fat, but the body only wants so much muscle and after a few months, the weight started dropping off.
I don't have much more to say about exercise, but I hope you'll find my recipes helpful. I seldom measure ingredients when cooking and most recipes I get from family don't come with precise amounts for anything. Much of Chinese and Vietnamese cooking is "to taste" so they're really more like guidelines than recipes anyway.
Baked:
Soup:
Dessert: