Let me guess, did these people also tell you you had a "slow metabolism" - what a cool 'scientific' reason (e.g. excuse) for being fat.
OK, here's the long explanation of the science behind the No Snacking Rule.
All foods break down into three main components - carbohydrate, fat and protein.
Carbohydrates are absorbed very quickly - 100g of carbohydrate will go from your digestion to your bloodstream in just over half an hour. First this will raise your blood glucose (used by everything in the body for energy), then it will re-fill your glycogen stores, and anything excess will be converted into body fat.
Fats are absorbed slower - it takes about half an hour for digestion to start, then about two hours per 100g after that. Absorbed fat will first raise the fatty acid levels in your blood (used by muscles for energy), and then the excess will be stored in body fat.
Proteins are absorbed slowest of all. It takes over 12 hours to digest 100g of protein. First this raises the levels of amino acids in the blood (used to rebuild body structures) and then the liver starts manufacturing glucose from the amino acids. If this is excess glucose, then guess what - it gets converted to body fat.
When your blood sugar gets used up (the glucose in your blood is only enough to keep you alive for about 40 minutes) it gets replaced from the glycogen stores. When the glycogen stores start getting used up, your fat cells start releasing fatty acids that are coverted to glucose as well. THIS SECOND BIT IS WHAT YOU WANT TO BE HAPPENING.
So the key to losing body fat is to get your blood glucose low as quickly as possible, and keep it there for as long as possible. And this is why snacking causes such a problem - it gives your blood sugar a massive boost just at the time it had reached the levels where the fat burning had really started kicking in. If you eat every two hours, then you'll basically just be emptying and refilling the glucose in your blood, and will never touch the fat stores.
As for 'the body needs food to burn fat' - well, I'm on a Very Low Calorie Diet, where I eat hardly any food at all, and I'm losing 3kgs per week. It's just complete nonsense.
Brilliant post again - everyone should read that twice
further reading on the subject can be found on
www.marksdailyapple.com and the book the Primal Blueprint makes it all pretty clear
my take is that carb spikes are no good to general weight loss and myself, after losing just over 4st can say that without a doubt, I do believe in the principles of the primal/paleo diet
I don't really follow it properly, but the basic principles are kind of how I do my thing. I love spuds/rice and pasta/bread etc, but those glycogen boosts are definitely not good and will inhibit sensible, maintainable long term weight loss
What I do is this:
Breakfast: 5 slices of lean ham, 3 scrambled eggs with a little milk and butter, punnet of berries
Snack - small serving of nuts and raisins
Lunch - half a chicken and two salad bags with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with chilli or garlic infusion
Snack - a peach or something like that
Dinner - poached fish (size big as I can catch) steamed or roast veg. 1 small sweet potato among it. A small portion in the evening. I load up at lunch when I'm most active.
I have no idea of the calorific intake, I count nothing and I weigh nothing. I am a big lad at 6-1 and as long as I'm satisfied (not full, bloated or stuffed) I will and DO WALK AWAY.
some days I skip a meal - this is a principle called intermittent fasting and is useful if you have wacky hours or mad hobbies...I am rarely hungry nowadays apart from in the morning, which is the opposite to how I was pre-lifestyle change
I deliberately have not gone on a "plan" because I will fail - I know what I had to do, but not disciplined enough to weigh and count - I am not that sort of person. I applaud anyone that is.
you have to do what works for you.
In among all this are a couple of Smileys principles
one is low carb - not allowing my glycogen to spike
limited snacking and potentially infrequent meals - I completey echo Smileys contention that you do not need food to burn fat.
I would futher add that excessive carbs make this a doubly difficult task
this is what I do.
this will not work for everyone and I am no expert.
But I do have willpower and honesty and those two principles above all, determine my success and the success of this thread. I do believe that everyone is being honest.
the willpower is like patience, it comes and goes. Bring it in and hang onto it like a liferaft.
One day, in the not too distant future, when you have 5lbs to go, it may be all you have
ud think id learn that greasy n fatty foods do not do my ibs any gud please kick my arse!! 
