Because I am! There's so much stuff out there, whether on message boards, in articles, or personal experience that I just get lost.

Like, cycle your calories so your body doesn't get too used to your diet or get your heart rate up to a certain level to maximize fat burn while weight lifting. Or stick with a 1000 calories deficit daily...no more otherwise you'll enter starvation mode. Or this entire thread.

ARGH! I'm going crazy trying to keep track of all this stuff and trying not to obsess about the details.

Right now I'm focusing on calories in vs. calories out and so far the weight has fallen off (and has done so in the past as well), but I'm worried this is due to the newness of calorie counting and regular exercise. Hopefully not.

Anywhos, what do you guys do? Is weight-loss really that big of a science? Is there some big "Top 10" I should stick with and not worry about the minutia? Or is healthy eating and a daily deficit in calories enough to lose weight?

I think weight-loss is not all that complicated. Calories in vs calories out. You will know if you are doing something wrong, your body will tell you. I ignored the signs and kept doing stupid things over a decade ago and am paying for it now. Create a deficit without starving yourself, get moving and the weight will come down. I cycle calories not to trick my body or anything like that, it is because I don't want to or think I can stick to 1400-1500 calories every single day. And I applaud the women here who dropped to 1200 a day; NO WAY could I do that. There are days that naturally occur for me where I am not very hungry so I may only get 1200-1300 cals and days that I am hungry and eat higher. Or weekdays where I can cook lean, healthy meals and weekends where my husband wants to take me out to dinner. I try to use those pattern to my advantage and still lose weight.

I say be observant but not obsessive. Speaking from experience, I do know that is easier said than done! lol

This is an answer that I'm sure no one is interested in, but it remains the truth for me. All of the information is to be received with interest, but not necessary used as part of ones approach. One should glean value from it as it is applicable and acceptable to ones own life circumstances. Do you need to worry about every little detail like calorie cycling? No, but only if your choices are continuing to work for you. You only need to concern yourself with things that address your problems and look at other points when you see long-term and consistent stagnation in your progress. That's the filter that I use.

The complicated stuff isn't all of the mechanistic and biological information, but the psychology, which is the part few people are very interested in. For me, the hard part is taking all of the simplistic talk about the psychology out there (like talk about stress eating) and translating it into something useful.

If it ain't broke....don't fix it. You're doing great so just keep at it. If you start to have issues, you can try to change one thing at a time. So, you could mix up your workouts or you can increase your weight training or you may want to cycle calories or whatever the info that sound right for you...you can either incorporate it or not. I really think it's good to start with small changes and just see how that works out...nothing drastic. Sorry for the ramble! I"m tired so I hope this makes sense.

I agree with this. I've seen a lot of different plans, some I've never heard about. It was very interesting. I came here for support because I already knew what I was gonna do, and was pleased to find an Atkins board, because that's what works for me. It's also important to know what doesn't work for you. I've done the 1000 cal for years with no to little results, so it's not that simple for everyone.

I keep it simple, vegetable, fruits, whole grain, lean protein, exercise, eliminated processed food and daily exercise and lower calorie intake.

Long term and doable.

Ditto this!

Yeah, this! If what you're doing works, then have at it! But when/if a plateau is reached, is really nice to know there are options for breaking out of it.

I like to say you should eat as many calories as you can and still lose weight.

Yes, there's a ton of information out there and for me, it was hard to even begin to grasp the start of it all.

I think you'll find that you'll go through what happened to me.... I eventually began to pick through what I needed to do for my body/condition and eventually figured out something that worked for me to help me lose the weight.

It'll take a while, but if you begin to sift through the information, what matters is what you need, not what everyone else is saying.

You don't know what calorie cycling is? Don't worry! You don't need to know (right now).

You don't know what macronutrients are? Don't worry, it's not important right now.

Eventually, as time goes on and your weight loss progresses, you MAY want to figure things out differently and get to know what calorie cycling is or macronutrients, but even if you reach your goal weight and you never figure out what it is, there's no problem! The point is to be healthy and lose weight.

YES! I feel like all of the information and contradictory information kept me from being successfel or knowing how to go about weight loss for a very long time.

Actually, it was a conversation from my doctor that finally clarified...

you have to lose weight or risk an early death...

stop eating pasta, potatoes, rice, bread and sugar: save 500 calories a day.
work out everyday and burn at least 500 calories

That is where I finally started. Now people ask me what "program" I am following and I tell them the one I made up that works for me.

I think you just need to pick something and go with it. I picked Weight Watchers so that's what I follow. And I eat whole foods. For exercise I do things I enjoy for as long as I feel like doing them - yoga, snow shoe, XC ski, etc.

It works for me, and sounds like you've found a plan that works for you.

WOW...just finished reading that thread and my head is spinning!

Yeah...I can see your point. It can be confusing with all the different "bro-science" out there. The truth is...everyone is different and there is no "one size fits all" approach. Trial and error. Listen to your body. It's ok to get different opinions and experiences, but in the end you have to get to KNOW YOUR BODY...as our bodies respond differently to different stimuli....what works for you...may not work for someone else and visa versa.

Lastly...I'm with the "if it aint broke, don't fix it" club!

Good to hear because that's what I've been doing now and it's working thus far. It's also worked in the past very well (I've just given up too soon and gone back to my bad habits), so I think that's how my body likes it. Now I just need to keep up with this plan and all will be well.

And thanks so much for everyone else's responses! It's very reassuring the read all this. Gives me a piece of mind.

I guess my confusion about calorie cycling (more than anything else I've mentioned) is that it's on such a small scale that I unintentionally do it weekly. My daily calorie intake fluctuates just because of life, and not because I have a specific plan to eat 100-200 or even 300 more or less calories a given day. I'll accidentally take too big of a portion, or I've worked out enough to treat myself to a small ice cream and still reach my desired deficit. Or I'm too busy to make a decent lunch and only have a few granola bars to hold me over at work. Either way, I've eaten more or less than my average, so I guess that means I'm cycling right?

I just can't fathom doing all these "tricks" that people mention because they seem so overwhelming and too much to keep track of. I'm glad everyone has shared their experience and advice of sticking with what works.

Yes, and if it's working great. This kind of eating worked for me too for about 75/80 pounds. Then it stopped working. I dropped the calories down to 1000 calories and continued to stay steady with ridiculous consistency for almost three months! That's why I changed my way of eating.

But you're doing great! Now you just have a few more tricks to add to your pocket if you ever need them.

Weight loss really is as simple as calories in vs. calories out...with a few tweaks here and there for each individual.