Tell HN: How I lost 25 pounds on the simplest diet ever.

Since graduating college 6 years ago, I've put on about 50 lbs. I've tried various workouts/diets with marginal success, but this is by far the most effective and it's so easy it's almost silly.

The diet: Stop eating. Losing weight for most people is simple math; calories burned must be greater than calories taken in. I work in software development and get no exercise; I'm basically sedentary. My body doesn't need a lot of calories.

The specifics: Do not eat breakfast or lunch. Only drink non-caloric drinks during the day. Initially you may get very hungry during your normal mealtimes. That's where the drinks come in. Diet soda, water, diet iced tea, etc can be used to trick your body for a while since you're getting something in your stomach. Eventually, your body adapts and stops sending the "hunger" signal during the day and you rarely every really feel "hungry". Combat any residual hunger with fluids, but you should notice your hunger decreasing. The first two weeks or so is the only part that may take some will-power.

Now the fun part: For dinner, eat whatever you want. I live in NYC and literally order out for dinner every night. I eat a good ammount of food for dinner and rarely watch what I eat (but don't go overboard, it's shockingly easy to eat an entire day's worth of calories in one sitting without realizing it, especially with fast food). Make sure that vegetables are at least a part of your meal, or eat them separately after dinner.

The results are amazing. I really do nothing, it requires almost no willpower becuase I never get hungry anymore, and I can eat whatever I want for dinner (or go out for drinks and food after work/on the weekend). The weight is literally melting off. 25 pounds in 8 weeks is a healthy pace. And I did it by basically doing nothing. Also, eating only dinner has helped me with difficulty getting to sleep. Go figure. Scott Adam's recent blog post about being hungry has proved true for me. I find I play chess much better when I haven't eaten yet.

One thing to keep in mind: if you take a multi-vitamin (and you should), make sure you take it AFTER EATING as otherwise you'll just urinate most of it out (Thanks to my nutritionist mom for pointing this out).

The usual caveats apply: I am not a doctor, this is not to be construed as medical advice. Speak with your doctor before starting any diet.