If you're in the market for idiosyncratic weight-loss anecdotes: I lost 30 pounds in a month by having a stroke and spending that month in a rehab center with right-side hemiplegia, then another 20 over the next three months or so on a diet that was 90% homemade soup and roasted vegetables, with a scheduled Indulgence Night every few weeks where I went out and ate whatever the hell I wanted.

I've since then gained about half of that weight back by eating out more often.