So when I began maintenance my moderation highway was restrict all week long, moderation on the weekend. Then at some point turned into restrict all week long, binge all weekend and thus the cycle began, restrict---->binge----->guilt------>restrict more------>binge. Anyway you know the story and I'm sure are sick of hearing it from me.

So anyway, I've been doing a lot of emotional work on my binging, which is an entirely different post, but it's opened my eyes to a lot of things. One of them being that I need to work this moderation thing a little differently. But I'm not really sure how. I'm a bit OCD, if you haven't noticed, and I need rules to follow, but at the same time those rules drive me nuts...so...what's a girl to do.

So I'm just kind of curious how you incorporate moderation into your plan.

I just stick to my calorie counting, it's flexible and reliable and although I have tried other plans calorie counting wotks best for me.

As you know I'm working on this as well lol.
After hitting goal I ended up in the same situation as you, restrict all week, binge on a weekend, come Monday be disgusted with myself and hate myself that little bit more, so restrict and punish myself even more, and so the cycle began.
But thanks to really working on my head space recently I think I'm learning that it's the restrict so much during the week that causes the problem in the first place. By being more moderate during the week this last 2/3 weeks I haven't felt as deprived and desparate to stuff my face come the weekend, and that's a huge step forward for me. It still feels very awkward to do this so far, but by daily weighing I'm getting used to the fluctuations and they seem to freak me out less than they did, and as long as I know I can keep an eye on it and make sure that the scale doesn't start to go up and up then I can keep doing what I'm doing and learn the balance that my body needs, while still doing the head work.
I'll be really interested to know what others have got to say on this thread.

Like Bargoo, I just stick to the calorie counting. I do sometimes binge and to offset the binge I restrict calories for a few days to even things out, but I never restrict to unhealthy levels, and I don't (usually) binge to massive levels. My binges are pretty far and few in between, and I still try to count things out so that my averages look good. Maybe I'm totally clueless, but I just don't see it to be a huge issue. Of course I feel crappy after a binge for being a glutton, but so far, I seem to handle it well as long as I jump back on the wagon.

It's got a few pot-holes in it, but when the weather is good, it's usually not a bad way to go. But rush hour & the associated tensions can make my commute harder. And I must admit, I do a lot of rubber-necking at the occasional wrecks on the side of the road.

More seriously, I'm not sure I can help you here. Our habits are quite different. I'm busy & happy on the weekends & I don't binge then. What I have to watch weekdays, during working hours, and snacking on healthy stuff in front of the computer at moments of very high job-related tension. It's never quite a binge, but there's a moment when I always feel like I've just pulled myself out of a skid.

Like Lori said, whats the problem with it really? Unless you're binging on candy bars or something But I'm basically doing the same thing. Eating a LITTLE less (not much) during the week and eating pretty much whatever I want on the weekends. It seems to be keeping the weight balanced so whats wrong with it?

Absolutely nothing if that is what works for you. But as I mentioned, my eating what I wanted on the weekends turned into me binging on the weekends so I was just curious about other ways maintainers might be practicing "moderation".

I'm all about moderation. I never binge. I used to binge like crazy and one thing I really focused on throughout my weight loss was WHY I did that and HOW it made me feel. Once I realized how irrational I was being (eating doesn't solve life problems) and how terrible overeating made me feel- I really committed to moderation.

I make sure I always eat if I feel hungry- and if it isn't a meal time, I have a snack like nuts, fruit, veggies and hummus, etc. Just something small. Then I make sure to stop eating when I start to feel full. I have found that my body gives me all the signals I need to eat moderately. They were there all along. I just wasn't listening.

I truly believe that a big percent of binging is due to being overly restrictive at other times. Your body's hunger is STRONG. It is trying to keep you alive. So if you ignore it, eventually, that signal is so strong you binge. It is so much easier to not binge when you are always well-fed. I gained my weight by basically not eating all day and then eating a ton in the evening.

I feel so much better eating in moderation. Yes, occasionally I have "splurge" days- where I go out with friends or have cake at a party or whatever. But even then, I do not eat past the point of being full. Not even on Thanksgiving. I've come to hate that over-full feeling and I avoid it.

My highway is also sometimes full of potholes - the city is a little behind on road repairs.

I calorie count every day and I log every single thing, from the 'five froot loops' or 'eight raisins' I sometimes grab on the way by the cabinet to the 'mexican food and ice cream' I sometimes overdo it on. I try to keep my average in line over the week, but I don't ever seriously restrict to make up a high day. I might drop to 1400-1500, but not much lower. I try not to feel guilt over the high days, but it is hard sometimes. If something is giving me trouble and I can't eat it in moderation then I cut it out for a time until I feel more in control.

I generally have freer weekends than weekdays. My official plan is one free meal per week. It sometimes turns into one free day per week. Occasionally I screw up and have an entirely free weekend.

But my usual weekday plan does allow me a lot of flexibility too. If I'm hungry and I take seconds at dinner, I don't count that as a "free meal" -- it's still my healthy planned food, just a little more of it. Obviously if I do that at every meal I'll still gain, but it's not the same kind of "cheat" as going to a restaurant is. I guess what I mean is that to me a "free meal" involves eating something less healthy than I would ever prepare for myself at home. This includes eating at other people's houses where they cook, eating at restaurants, and eating desserts.

That said I ate a box of girl scout cookies over the past week (over three days). And two brownies, pudding, and Chinese food this weekend. It was probably a screw-up, I probably shouldn't have done it, and I'm going to try to do better this week. HOWEVER, none of that was a binge. I didn't eat a whole box of cookies in one sitting, or an entire pan of brownies, or an entire order of kung pao chicken by myself. Allowing a free meal, or two, or three, does not mean allowing a binge. It's like k8yk said -- I avoid eating to the point of feeling overfull or stuffed. Ever. If I feel overly full, I screwed up big time.

I think I've actually become less restrictive after my last regain and re-loss. The whole experience of losing 15lbs AGAIN taught me a lot. I can't count calories and restrict for more than a couple weeks at a time. I can't eliminate any foods entirely from my diet. I also can't restrict myself to only eating a food on a certain day. Last Halloween I made the rule that I would only eat Halloween candy on Halloween itself, and it completely backfired. I binged on the candy and probably ate far more of it total than I would have if I just had a couple pieces here and there during Halloween week.

On the other hand, I learned that I CAN re-lose weight. I weigh myself every day. If it goes up, I know I can make it come back down. I'm okay with loosening my restrictions and gaining a couple pounds, because I know I can go back to restricting for a couple weeks and lose it again. I would rather cycle back and forth around the same five pounds or so than be restrictive enough to never gain.

This is me too. I weigh daily, and I'm not terrified if it goes up a couple of pounds. I have enough faith in myself now to know that I can get rid of the extra pounds if it gets to the red line.