I've not been on a diet (except once on donuts to gain weight and that didn't work)
However as I understand it, if you deprive your body of enough calories it switches to a 'starvation' mode - as it feels that food is hard to come by. As a result it starts 'saving' any spare food for harder times and, yup, it get stored as fat. Which is why the yo-yo diet if a famous effect. Lose weight and prime your body to lay down more fat.
Not much help I know, but something to be aware of. In essence a calorie-restricted weight-loss never ends, if you get to your target weight and eat more again any extra calories will be converted to fat - sorry.
I'd suggest that you try to lose weight slowly (at the same time scale as you gained it) and by exercise. Eat less meat and processed foods (i.e. anything in a packet). run about a lot and only take a weekly or monthly rolling average of weight change (daily is too variable and encourages 'crash' diets). learn to hate convenience - cars, lifts, remote controls, TV and so on.... they are mostly American and mostly aimed at saving effort.
Don't buy 'low fat' products as they are usually full of sugar and vise versa. buy a wartime cookery book as they are the healthiest generation I know of.
and so on.....
