Now, this is my bag.....I became a Certified Transitions Lifestyle Coach and I coach people on the low glycemic way of eating....You are all on the right track....with transitions, we don't cut calories, do not eliminate whole food groups (especially if you want to go to the bathroom again), no counting points...just education on the right foods to eat.
Jikoni is correct about detoxing.....I'll give the old analogy of a car going in for an oil change....your car they just added the oil....my car they performed an oil, lub and filter - which car will run better....So will our bodies and when you use supplementation, and eat nutritionally will be absorbed better.
There are four different detox I recommend to my clients. A one week cleanse on fruits and veg. (3 fruits, tons of veg - lightly steamed or raw), a 30 day cleans with supplementation that is Isotonix, a 1 week nutri-cleanse or an Aloe cleanse.
Your correct about sugar RedKitty, I have a list of about 78 health risks that you can get from abusing your body from sugar...Stevia is great and you can go on Stevia.com for more info, however my personal favorite is Agave. Agave is natural and goes slowly into the blood stream and does not cross the blood brain barrier like sugar. There was a study done with either rats or mice I don't remember, and for 6 weeks (the magic number - if you can stay off of sugar that long, you will not only lose some weight, you will lose your cravings to sweets as well, and other foods will actually taste better!) Okay, the mice thing...three groups, the first group was given water, the second group was given the same as a soda (sugar/water) and the third was given the equivalent of a diet soda (sugar sub/water). When they offered the equivalent of a brownie to the first group, they ate a little and quit, the second and third group with the sugar, ate and ate and ate and ate..... (6 weeks is the magic number)....
I've lost over 35 lbs and kept it off since. 4 1/2 inches on my waist and 3 inches on my hips.....my clients same thing.
You have to be careful not to loose you weight as muscle. Muscle dictates metabolism. When we lose weight as muscle, you gain it back as body fat, thus changing your body composition.