[McMurphy]

Hi all,
I'm not sure if anyone remembers me, but it's worth a shot. I lost most of my weight last winter and have since pretty much maintained, gaining back around 5 lbs. I attribute this to my newfound employment in the local bakery, complete with it's sickening variety of goodies that I too-often pick from to eat as a snack on my break. My goal is to lose the last 10 lbs. My bigger goal is to become more stringent about calorie watching, like I was back in the 'good old days' during which I lost the majority of my extra weight. I'd love to be that on-track again, and I sorely miss that self control I once had. So, hopefully someone remembers me and can offer some advice on getting back on track! Here's what I'm doing now to maintain, with the hope of losing the last 10:

I roughly estimate the calories in everything I eat during the day and keep a running mental total. I aim for ~300 for breakfast, ~300 for my afternoon snack and the remaining 900-1,000 for dinner. I have tried and failed at getting myself to eat small meals. My family just isn't the "small meal" type so that's why I reserve so many for later in the day. I try not to go over 1,600 (weight loss calories) but often eat around 1,800 or a bit more (maintenance calories)

Advice? It's great to see you all again!

[Marniadec]

Hi and welcome back! I don't think I was here last winter but I hope I can help. I keep leaving and coming back and I know exactly where you're standing. It always seems difficult when I think about cutting calories but I often find that I just make it huge in my head. I keep thinking that I'll slowly ease into it but when I really decide to lose more weight, I don't have to.

There's nothing wrong with not eating many small meals during the day. I have the same problem with my family. I always have most of my calories for lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day here. But I measure everything and I eat normal portions, so I usually eat anywhere from 500 to 700 calories. So, that is one thing you could try.

Intermittent Fasting is another thing that might work for you. If you eat 300 calories for breakfast and normally eat around 1800, skipping breakfast would put you at ~1500. I don't understand it but it's easier to not eat because my 8 hours are up than it is to not eat because I can't afford the extra calories. It helps me not give into cravings.

I can't think of anything else. It's only 200+ calories, though, you can definitely do it!