Once a yo-yo, always a yo-yo?

Ah, yes. One week has already gone by since I joined the sisterhood.

First challenge: deciding what to do with my eating. I am already a healthy eater: mostly organic, no processed foods, no refined grains (except for when I make risotto), I rarely eat fried foods, and we don't keep sweets in the house.

I know excluding sugar, wheat and dairy would already do marvels. But I do best on structured plans, which leaves me looking for a plan that may be good for me.

What to pick? Plans by celebrity trainers have great reviews, and great testimonials: who can forget Heidi Klum stepping on the catwalk at the VS show only 6 weeks after delivering her second child? She had David Kirsch to thank for that – who is also the fitness guru behind Extreme Makeover.
I'm no Heidi Klum, but I sure could use a makeover (not an extreme one though – I'll stick with my imperfect nose, thank you very much).

I have 3 of his books. The Ultimate New York Body Plan is hardcore. I'm really not ready for that. The Ultimate New York Diet is basically a less demanding version of the UNYBP, but the eating guidelines for the first phase are pretty strict. Eating only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., no fats except 1 tsp of oil a day and fish oil supplements, no egg yolks, no dairy, no alcohol, no grains, no starchy vegetables, no beans, no fruit. I can do everything else but the 1 tsp oil and no fruit rule are tough for me. I can limit my fruit, but cutting it out is hard.
The third book, Sound Mind, Sound Body, is actually an older one, from the days when he didn't think you could lose weight fast and keep it off. The eating plan allows for more variety, but the exercise plan is stricter. Of these three, the one that appeals to me the most is the Ultimate NY Diet, mostly because of the flexibility – so we have our first contender, ladies and gentlemen.

Others I'm considering:
One Body, One Life by Greg Joujon-Roche. His philosophy is very similar to mine, as he believes in detoxing, good-quality food, and variety both in nutrients and in types of exercise are the keys to weight loss and well being. So there we have it, our 2nd contender.

Dr. Perricone Weight-Loss Diet is great for general health and skin health, but I found it hard to follow for weight loss. It allows a lot of things, so you need more willpower. I think it makes for a great maintenance plan, though.

Jonny Bowden's Shape-up Plan is great if you like to go gradually. It also comes with a workbook (sold separately) and it contains great info of health and weight loss, without dragging it on and on. He basically guides you to create an exercise program from scratch adding a little each week, until at the end of the 8 weeks you have a complete, well-rounded program and you will have no doubt improved your diet, too. And I think this might just be contender #3.

Of course like any former yo-yo dieter, I have other weight loss books at home that still hold enough appeal not to get rid of them, but not enough to actually consider them for this challenge. Among them you can find Bill Phillips' Body for Life, the less-known Bikini Bootcamp, and the famous The South Beach Diet, which I can't warm up to, no matter how popular it may be (but the cookbook is fabulous).

Told you I've been there before :-)

You might be wondering "can't you just eat less and workout more?" no, that's not enough for a control-freak like me, I need a more precise plan. Don't look so surprised, you already knew I was neurotic ;-)