So I'm down to 134 from a recent high of 137 (rough March). I wish I could be happy, but I'm feeling too deprived and sorry for myself.

Reeallly deprived, like 1200 calories, reallly? Is this all I get to eat for the rest of my life? Healthy, low-calorie food for the rest of my life???? I miss the days when I just came home from work and made myself a huge hoagie with tons of cheese, mayo, lots of mayo. I can't have that anymore, and seriously, I'm just mad and pouty about it. And I'm irritated that my husband can eat 5 slices of pizza without consequence. I want 5 slices of pizza, and I don't just want them "once in a while" for "a treat" "in moderation" when I'm feeling "genuine" hunger. I don't want tiny splurges here and there, I want enormous amounts of disgustingly caloric food whenever I happen to want enormous amounts of disgustingly caloric food. And it's probably going to be pretty much all day everyday.

Fat and happy. That phrase keeps running through my head. I wasn't happy, but I sure had a good time eating. I miss food, glorious amounts of it.

This is my pattern, the typical pattern I suppose: overeat, gain, feel bad, lose, feel deprived, repeat.

So, what do I do? I just feel desperate to figure this out for myself. I feel like the key to success is to tell myself to quit whining already. Tough it out, crybaby. But is that really sustainable? How on earth do "skinny" people do it? I had this skinny friend over the other day and tried to get her to tell me her "secret." She said she just doesn't think about food that much. These last ten pounds are a nightmare.

My word, do I ever relate to that feeling. Sometimes I just want to eat and eat without stopping, forget the consequences.

I know for me, it's often just a mood that I'm in. It might help to make a list of all the things you love (or will love) about being skinny and then make another list of the things you think that you might like about eating whatever you want.

I agree with your friend's comment: sometimes the only thing to do is just (try) not to think about food. Be confident in the eating plan that you've chosen and then get up and do something else.

Hang in there! You can beat the last 10 lbs!

Well, well, well. Lots going on here.

First, it seems like you may not be having food you really enjoy. I know this sounds odd, but when I REALLY like the foods I'm eating, I don't miss the higher calorie versions. So make sure you're really putting effort and passion and even, if possible, joy into your cooking. It makes a huge difference for me. The other thing that makes a big difference is cooking foods such that I can have huge portions for a smaller number of calories....lots of veggies, lean proteins, and small amounts of high-fiber starch.

Second, you may need to look at WHY you feel the need to overeat..."enormous amounts of disgustingly caloric food". How does it feel after you eat like that? Is your body happy? Does your stomach hurt? What are you feeling when you want to eat that way? Is it boredom? Anger or frustration? Sadness? The fact that your friend doesn't think much about food is telling...not that she is odd, but that you, like many of us, have an abnormal fixation on food. You may want to do some thinking about why that might be.

Third, are you sure that your weight goal is appropriate for your height and frame? 1200 calories a day is the lowest you should go, and for some people, even that isn't enough to keep them from getting starving and binge-prone. Right now, your goal BMI is 19.1...while that's still in the healthy range, it may not be healthy for your frame size. Your current BMI is a healthy 20.7. You might consider focusing on a non-weight goal for a while, upping the calories slightly and working on strength training to build muscle and tighten your body up.

Fourth, do you cook? For me, it'd be torture to think "You'll never have a big plate of pizza again". I make my own with a Trader Joe's whole wheat pre-made crust rolled very thin, sauce, a small amount of cheese, broccoli and other veggies, and usually chicken or canadian bacon. I get WAY more for my calories, and it is just as satisfying. Do you have any other cravings that you could rework into healthier dishes so you can indulge them without the "disgustingly caloric" part?

You might want to pose your question in the maintainers forum. They may have tips on how to transition to that maintaining stage. The quick answer is no, you shouldn't have to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life. I dropped your current weight and height into an RMR calculator.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calrmr.htm

I used 30 as an age, and the average was just under 1400 calories. This will be close to what your body burns if you're just sitting around doing nothing. So, adding a reasonable amount of exercise each day should help you to eat more and maintain. Knowing your body fat percentage would make it more accurate, as often we lose lean body mass when we lose weight. That will lower our RMR.

My mother is one of those people who maintains a fairly low bodyweight (still probably 20+ over what she should), and eats a lot. She eats at least 2000 calories a day. She also is a candy person, which means it's likely higher than that. Buying at least a few bags every week with her shopping. She's actually down a pound this week (mentioned it in passing). She does no regular exercise (although she's started using the treadmill a little these last few weeks). If you watch her though, she's rarely at rest. She fiddles, goes upstairs, comes downstairs, moves things, forgets something, goes back upstairs.

I put her info into that RMR calculator, and hers averages out at 1095. So she's eating probably double that. Seriously. I've worked out her daily intake for her before (meals before dinner, and we're eating the same dinners). She just moves around and stays active. That activity is added of course to that base level of 1095. So she's burning that extra amount moving around all day.

Thank you so much for the comments so far, and I actually have not even had a chance to really soak them up since it's getting so late -- but I'm looking forward to your wisdom.

Just some quick things to make my long hissy fit longer. Yeah, unfortunately, I'm tallish but have a small frame. My wrist measurements are tiny. And I'm not geeked up about the 10 pound marker, by the way. I'm just trying to get rid of my flabby bumpy saddlebags. Really, that might happen in four pounds. I just don't really know. I'll have to see when I get there. If only my last few pounds were spread out evenly over my body. Legs and above the belly - not an ounce of fat. It's just the bum. I know, poor you, but that's why I love that there's this featherweights group!

Oh, and I do eat more than 1200 calories if I exercise. But my exercise has to compensate exactly or I gain weight. The whole calories in, calories out thing. The grim facts. There's no lying when you're calorie counting and using one of those bodybuggs.

Thanks so much for the support! Will soak it up after some sleep.

I'm currently eating about 1400-1600 per day to lose weight. I walk big dogs all day so those numbers work for me. There are times I go over the cals limit so I just cut back the next day.

Boy there is a lot of pain on those days. So I'm starting to consider that the overindulgences aren't worth the pain the next day.

The body, for most of us, wants to eat "good" fresh food, It's the darn brain that doesn't see a serving of veggies with a hit of lemon and herbs as a "treat". It wants all that chocolate, white sugar, and lard !

I put on my skinny jeans and heels whenever I feel deprived. Then I take a long look in the mirror . What I see is waaay better than any cookie or dougnut will ever be.

Dagmar (Happy Weekend!!!)

I am EXACTLY like that! When im standing in the kitchen , i think to myself, ah i just don't care, i want the food and i'm going to be miserable without it so i'll just eat it. THEN, when its all in my tummy I definitly feel worse than before!! What I tell myself now before i feel like binging is this - "I WILL be happier without it"... and i genuinely am, its just believing myself that's the problem.

I have only been on the site for a couple of days but would like to say this.....I believe that food is just as addicting as alchohol, drugs, cigarettes. I think that is where my problem lies. You get so used to or addicted to the fat disgustingly good food that when it comes time to buckle down and lose this weight that we have acquired that you crave it so much.

We were eating out 7 days a week. Now we eat out once a week. I try to eat between 1200-1700 calories a day. It is very hard. I have two children. They have even had the cravings like we have had. They to got so used to eating out that now that is all they want.

But I truly believe that it is an addiction. Just like if you were an alchoholic. If you went to a party and people were drinking in front of you then you would crave it to no end. It is all about the drive and self control.

Like it was said earlier you just need to replace old bad habits with new good habits and try to replace the bad foods with better versions of that food.

My food addiction is sweets. Mainly chocolate.

Oh Lizzie - celebrate yourself and your efforts -
any seasonal flowers in bloom in your area? maybe a touch of a bright color will help

I also recommend microwaving 3 hershey dark choc. kisses, slicing up an apple or pear and dipping it in the chocolate - yummy and quite filling

also - maybe for brain balance you need fiber - fiber can be a useful aid in reducing calorie intake and it is quite a filling feeling - I take benefiber daily - only a third of the dosage because I get the rest of the fiber from my regular diet.

and last of all and not to confuse you further but maybe 1200 is too low of a caloric intake esp. if you are exercising as well.