I've tried some of the fad diets in the past, and they just never really worked for me. I've found that just counting my calories, and working out EVERY DAY is the only real way for me to lose. I made a New Year's resolution this year to lose about 15-20 pounds -- so far in the past couple of weeks, I've lost 3. It's hard work, but I figure I can manage to do it for just a couple of months.
The other thing I've discovered is that you have to cut out snacking on anything naughty completely -- I follow a very stringent schedule...breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one snack before bedtime (I do occasionally have some fruit or nuts in between meals). I remove all yummy stuff from the house. And I get one "cheat" once a week -- last week it was some ice cream, this week I'm planning on having a candy bar. Looking forward to that one cheat helps get me through the week.