Just a minor point: not everyone feels hungry even though they're not eating enough. Exercise is a natural appetite suppressant for most, so that would keep you from feeling hungry. Also, when you cut back on the amount of food you eat, your stomach actually physically shrinks to hold less food, so it requires less to keep you from feeling hungry (I hope that made sense).

Is this somewhat normal, to restrict calories during the week and then increase on the weekends (even if not intentionally)? If so, then what you're basically doing is calorie cycling (which is what I do). Cycling is used by a lot of weight-lifters because it's supposed to make your body burn more fat than muscle, and it helps to head off plateaus in weight loss by not allowing your body to "settle" into a certain calorie amount. It's (in my opinion) a really great plan!

I think most people give the advice to people to eat more when they have hit a plateau and are no longer losing weight. Increasing your calories can help to "shake things up" for your body, helping to break through the plateau. You're right that you don't HAVE to eat more to lose more--anyone who says this applies across the board is somewhat confused :dizzy:

This is actually true for some people. I can speak from personal experience that I was eating only about 1200 calories a day for months, and my weight loss eventually stopped. I hovered around the same maybe 4-pound range from early August until almost November (that's a lot of weeks without a real loss!). I finally increased my calories to about 1800, and I lost 10 pounds in less than a month.

That said, 1200 was too low for ME. I weigh much more than you and, therefore, I burn way more calories a day just at rest. I needed more to properly fuel my body and bring it back to its most efficient levels.

If you were maintaining your weight at 3000 calories (with exercise), then why do you think you wouldn't lose as quickly with 1800 (or maybe 1600?) and exercise? Have you tried it? I'm just asking, not pushing--I know you're going to do what works for you (as we all should) regardless of what a stranger online says ;) Or maybe your metabolism is just slower than average--which could also be caused by not eating enough :devil: stupid viscious weight loss cycles!

In any case, if it works for you, it works for you, but we are all extremely different, so even though the advice given to some may not work for you, it really does work for some. That said, I still bet you could lose just as much with a few more calories (or with regular "high-calorie" days to cycle), but I also know that maybe you're unique in that the normal rules don't work for you, so I'm sorry if you felt personally attacked.

Thanks Jill. I don't feel personally attacked at all. I have no idea what type of metabolism I have (I'd probably have to undergo some weird scientific experiment to actually find out), but the 1100-1200 for most days works for me. I don't really calorie cycle. The only reason i ate I'm guessing around 4000 calories on Saturday (can't put it in fitday b/c I have no idea what was in the stuff) was because I had a formal dance to go to and they just give you the food (no choices) and I decided I wasn't going to just not eat when everyone else was. But, other than situations like that, I don't really tend to calorie cycle.

I have no idea whether the high cal days jump started my system. I was up 2 pounds today from Saturday, though. Since I started doing my 1100-1200 everyday with lots of exercise, though, I have not plateau-ed at all. From past diets I know that if I plateau I will just give up. I am in a normal weight range (a BMI of 22) and I just end up saying that i'll go back to eating my 3000 calories and exercising and just maintain. I do actually want to lose but I guess I know my mind and that I will give up if I plateau.

So, I'm not offended at all by any comments made concerning my diet plan. I just get frustrated by some of the generalizations that are made . As you said, every person's body is different and different things work for different people.