Watch your portion sizes. A portion of meat should be about the size of your fist. Eat lots of veggies and fruits. Don't snack late at night (past 9 p.m.) Watch your fat intake (ie butter, greasy foods) I use the Smart Balance stuff in place of butter except for popcorn which gets the real stuff. Lay off of the soda, especially Coke and Pepsi as they are LOADED with major amounts of sugar. I personally use Splenda as a substitute for sugar. Drink lots and lots of water (it helps to keep you filled up - but it sure makes you need to make frequent trips to the bathroom Don't eat in front of the TV and take your time eating. As mentioned exercise, work up to 3 -5 times a week.

If you feel that you are at Maximum Density with the need to drop 20 lbs., then I am at EXTREME Maximum Density as I would like to drop another 100 lbs. before I am finished. I have been going to a dietician for about a year and a half and so far have lost about 30 lbs. total. These are things that she has told me to do. One other that she has recommended for me is to have a small mid morning and mid afternoon snack (usually yogurt or gronola bars, under 100 calories each snack). I have a tendency to eat too much food at lunch and dinner because I feel like I am staving and the snack seems to be the trick for me.

ETA: I try to keep my daily calorie intake around 1500. If you blow it one day, just make sure to get back into the swing and stay with it. My dietician said that it is okay to splurge once awhile, don't feel guilty about it.