What's Wrong with the Food Pyramid???

I thought a good start is to look at each of the diets/eating plans I have tried and not as yet tried and sort out what has seemed to work, not work and quite frankly in some cases caused partial insanity.

I guess the first one I should look at is the basics we are taught in school.  The food pyramid.  Familiar anyone???  

Wikipedia says that the Food Pyramid was published in 1978 in Denmark.  It has since been spread to many parts of the world as a basic guide to what we should be eating.  It looks good but honestly hasn't worked for me at all.  When I have followed this way of eating I have slowly but very surly put on weight...  Thanks Mrs Shank (home ec teacher).

Wikipedia mentions the criticisms that have been made against the food pryamid.

'Many nutritional experts, like Harvard nutritionist Dr. Walter Willett, believe the 1992 pyramid does not reflect the latest research on dietetics.^[5] Certain dietary choices that have been linked to heart disease, such as three cups of whole milk and an 8 oz. serving of hamburger daily, were technically permitted under the pyramid. The pyramid also lacked differentiation within the protein-rich group ("Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts").^[6]'

One thing that was also mentioned is the fats group sits at the top of the pyramid as the group to almost fear and certainly eat as little as possible of.  So with fear and trembling we attempt at any cost to avoid any and all kinds of fats.  This is quite a problem as we need fats (like olive oil, nuts, avocados, fatty fish etc)

to help brain function and they can actually help with lowering the blook sugar levelFor one, fat is essential in a person's general sustainability.^[8][9][10] Unsaturated fats from a natural source can actually aid in weight loss, reduce heart disease risk,^[11] lower blood sugar, and even lower cholesterol.^[12][13][14] These fats can be found in olive oil,^[15][16] nuts,^[17][18] pesto,^[19] seafood (including fish, shrimp, squid, and krill among many more)^[20][21] and avocados.^[22][23] Also, they are very long sustaining, and help keep blood sugar at a steady level.^[24][25] On top of that, these fats help brain function as well.^[26]

There are claims that the USDA was (and continues to be) unduly influenced by political pressure exerted by food production associations.^[27] Food industries, such as milk companies, have been accused of influencing the United States Department of Agriculture into making the colored spots on the newly created food pyramid larger for their particular product. The milk section is clearly the easiest to see out of the six sections of the pyramid. This makes individuals believe that more milk should be consumed on a daily basis compared to the others.^[28] Furthermore, the inclusion of milk as a group unto itself implies that is an essential part of a healthy diet, despite the many people who are lactose intolerant and choose to abstain from dairy, and a number of cultures that have historically consumed little if any dairy products with the exception of breast-feeding.

Sounds so easy but for me, just does not work.  When I was twenty-two I felt like I was in heaven when we had a bread maker and I ate hot fresh bread with a little bit of butter and some honey every day.  I probably ate between two and four pieces of bread but the rest of my diet probably fit quite well into the above plan.  In three weeks I put on four kilos. 

So, I feel the need to look at grains in general and see which ones, if any, work for me.  

As I mentioned, a recent book I read was 'You are What you Eat' by Gillian McKeith.  Although quite a bit of the book freaked me out, there were many elements that I was interested in using in my cooking and our overall diet.    As I have been on almost every diet known to man, my weight has gone up and down but I have never really ever been able to permanently stay in my healthy weight range.  So I have decided the best way for me to really make a life long change is to start replacing foods one by one - foods that cause sickness and give no nutritional value for those that give my body life and health.