Too Geeky to Diet?

I understand that the way to lose weight is to simply burn more calories than you take in.  Running is my primary form of exercise now that I'm not playing roller derby anymore.  I've been spending a bit of time on the stationary bike too.  But food is my downfall.  I like food too much.

I've been trying for years to find the best way to track my diet.  I've tried meticulous calorie counting at SparkPeople, not counting anything at all, the Hacker's Diet, and most recently simple food journaling.

Calorie counting is such a drag.  I used to not mind it but now that I've got a child occupying a good chunk of my active brain it's become unrealistic for me to continue researching the caloric content of every bite.

Food journaling is supposed to work because it's supposed to make you think about what you're eating.  It's supposed to make you go, "If I eat this doughnut I'll have to put it in my food journal and then I'll look back on that entry and feel really horrible about myself and the next time I see a doughnut I won't eat it because I don't want to feel bad anymore."  But because I'm not a normal person with emotional ties to journal entries, when I look back at my food journal I just see pure data.  Ones and zeroes.  I can say, "Yep, should have made a better choice at 12:47 PM on Thursday the 19th of August."  But the emotional connection just isn't there.  Maybe if there was a shock collar involved....

The Hacker's Diet should have worked for me, but it's more data entry than I'd like.

You know what's been working for me?  Slim Fast.  Fucking Slim Fast.  Slim Fast!  Me!  The Eat Real Whole Foods girl!  I'm absolutely disgusted with myself.

But fuck if it isn't getting the job done.  I see the numbers on the scale go down every day and my mind goes, "Target approaching.  Continue current trajectory."