There are ways to follow everything you recommended and still not lose weight. I mean most of these are good tips, but I’m certainly not going to follow ALL of them. I like cake. I like potatoes. And if I avoid them now, then when I start eating them again, I will just start gaining weight again. The best advice you gave was right at the beginning: there are no shortcuts. The best diet is the one that you can follow essentially forever, the one that takes weight off slowly while not making the dieter feel like crap.