[Katana]

Katana,
Salads.
I hate them, but... Salads.
Kale, lettuce, field greens, etc.
Avoid root veggies, grains, sugars.

I've lost weight while doing moderate carbs, but it took much more physical activity. And you need multiple ties during the day. Lots of walking, some lifting, nothing too heavy - but activity during the day.

The "avoid" items all spike insulin, so they put your body in fat-storing mode. Includes fruit drinks, BTW, and even fruit; look up the glycemic index there. Low GI > high GI. Apples > grapes, for example. Or berries...

Seriously the diet was something like:
Small oatmeal for breakfast.
Lunch was 2.5 cups of chicken chili.
Snack of a ramen and an apple.
Dinner of 1/4 pound of meat.

And I was lifting 99# of human once or twice a day, and walking a few hundred feet back and forth, cube to cube.

Nothing else!

Now, if you need to fiddle... Add "fasted cardio" in there. If possible, walk for a mile each morning before breakfast. Walk, and easy walk. That'll spare the muscle and burn the fat. I started adding that into my mix this Sunday, it's based on a T-nation article on same concept.
Next up would be 20 minutes HIIT or weight loss yoga (Elements line - that's an hour, though.) Works wonders, but you risk some muscle being catabolized.

Burning fat requires lots of low-level activity (direct fat burn) or periods of HIIT followed by rest. If you have limited time, do 10 bodyweight squats after getting up. Better, do the Agile 8, then squats, then pushups, then a bridge. 15-20 minutes, probably. Just to get blood flowing.
If possible, repeat the squats, pushups, bridge a few times during the day. Maybe a Downward Facing Dog, and a Cat pose, Cobra, etc - to counteract computer posture. Select based on your needs.

Yes, I look like a disaster, but I still know what needs to be done - I just haven't been able to do it. (E.G., if I don't eat everything on the plate, the woman complains... )

Quarter chicken, dark meat; five servings of beans; maybe potato as well...? Gee, why am I gaining weight?... ;-)

-Dianna

Haha, please tell that to my partner. He is the fussiest man in the world! He wouldn't want (for example) a chicken salad for dinner, he would rather have southern fried chicken with fries. We can't really afford to be buying different meals for me, it's just easier to eat whatever he is willing to eat xD
I've been slowly switching in healthier things, or asking for less fries and putting salad on the plate. I think its working, I'll be posting a full body pic later for comparison in my program thread.
Our main problem is this:
Ingredients for a salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, etc) can add up to about £2 which doesn't sound like much, but we can also get a bag of 40 sausages for the same price. Which will fill us up better and last us longer, and which is my partner more willing to eat for dinner? (we are on an extremely tight budget lol)