Food stuff...

Picked up a copy of In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and am finding it an interesting read so far...more on this as I go through it.
But in conversation with a friend of mine (his blog is - http://prickymart.blogspot.com/ ) he pointed me to a blog post he made regarding an MSN article...

Low-Cal Diets May Make You Gain Weight - MSN
..."For the first time in humans, we are finding out that cutting your calories increases cortisol," said lead researcher A. Janet Tomiyama, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco....
"The term 'dieting' brings to mind deprivation, starvation, being miserable and uncomfortable and ultimately failing in weight-loss efforts," said Samantha Heller, a dietitian, nutritionist and exercise physiologist who is familiar with the study....Burning more calories than you consume is how your body loses weight, she said. "However, severe calorie restriction, diet fads, pills and potions, detox cleanses and other quacky approaches to weight loss only contribute to people's diet failures and, in fact, may increase the likelihood of regaining even more weight than what was lost—if any," Heller added....
"By eating foods of higher overall nutritional quality, fullness can generally be achieved on fewer calories, eliminating the need for deprivation," Katz said. "In addition, physical activity can accelerate weight loss, promote health and alleviate stress in the bargain."

Pollan's seven word summary of his philosophy is "Eat food. Not as much. Mostly Plants"
Plants, fruits, beans etc... are "nutrient" dense and make you feel full so this might just line up in the right direction.
Exercise and eat well - now theres an idea ;-)