Did you already lose your water weight? If not, drink 10 8-ounce glasses of water a day, and you'll lose 10-15 in less than a month.
I don't know about this "one big meal a day" stuff. I used to do that as my normal diet in my early to mid 20s (not trying to lose weight) and it did not keep me in shape. I lost weight when I started eating more, normal sized meals (yogurt or granola for breakfast, sandwich and apple for lunch, fish and rice for dinner).
Thanks Matthew, will pay more attention to the water.
Also, I'm in Brazil and our culture is to eat the big 1000+ calorie meal at lunch and very little in the morning or at night, I eat pretty much what you described but the rice/fish is for lunch and sandwich/apple for dinner, I do go a little off on weekends with the eventual pizza/pasta/barbecue (the Brazilian type, which I think is rather unique) in rational portions.
The one thing I have the most trouble is that I usually drink a can of soda everyday day (10 ounces I think?) and have been trying to move that to weekends only -- this is the thing I have been struggling the most, I don't drink/smoke so it probably counts as my only addiction.
And to everyone trying to hack their diet, internet hugs to them.
Yeah, my experience has always been that it's the seemingly little things that get you. I used to be addicted to ice tea. I'd drink a pitcher a day by myself. It's a liquid after all, you don't get fat from liquids, right? 5 ice-cream scoops of sugar per pitcher. Now I have no desire for it, ever.
Where did you get this idea from? Drinking water isn't going to help you lose much weight, especially not 10-15 lbs in a month.
1-3 lbs a week is a normal rate for people dieting, water alone isn't going to come close to that. It will help keep you satiated but not enough to cut 500 kcal out of your diet a day.
Water retention is definitely a cause of extra weight. We are used to/trained to not drink as much water as our bodies actually need. Fixing that by drinking a lot of water is a quick way to lose some pounds. Of course it doesn't work if you're already properly hydrated and it only works until the problem is remedied; you will hit a plateau early in your diet. And it doesn't work if your consuming more calories than your burning. But if you're already dieting (which the grandparent was), it's absolutely a good way to kick start your diet.
I don't know about this "one big meal a day" stuff. I used to do that as my normal diet in my early to mid 20s (not trying to lose weight) and it did not keep me in shape. I lost weight when I started eating more, normal sized meals (yogurt or granola for breakfast, sandwich and apple for lunch, fish and rice for dinner).