My answer is going to be controversial: I don't control my diet (much). Instead, I burn the equivalent caloric intake. The math is simple enough for engineers.

My answer is going to be controversial: I don't control my diet (much). Instead, I burn the equivalent caloric intake. The math is simple enough for engineers. Nutrients and vitamins are important, but most of weight is calories in vs calories out. ~3500/pound of flesh. What did you weigh 6 months ago vs now? Multiply by 3500, divide by 180 and there's your additional calories burned per day you need to hit. (I prefer to aggregate by week and do fewer, longer/harder sessions). Take a morning 30 minute walk. Run the neighbourhood three times a week. Whatever it takes. I find that being aware of the pain of burning additional calories also tends to make me be a bit more aware of what I'm eating. I love these muffins I can get at my local grocery store, but when I realized they were 500 calories each I went "hold on, that's a half an hour of hard running on the treadmill!". I found that for me, paying a personal trainer was worth the cost because I have a hard time going to the gym otherwise. I'm still working on that, finding a way to force myself to work out without the trainer, but I like the guy and he really does make sure I get the most of my time at the gym.