So I haven't been too successful with this weight loss thing lately. I lost too much too fast, got down to around 198, and ended up regaining a large portion of it. I got so hungry that I was starving all of the time. After doing some research I think I threw off the leptin levels and other hunger hormones in my body by not allowing my body time to slowly adjust to lower weights. I have been so discouraged that I have been unable to get back on plan. So, in order to get back on track, I am changing my strategy:

No more daily/weekly weigh ins that end up dissappointing me
No more low calorie plans
No more focusing on long term, seemingly unattainable goals that seem ridiculously far away.
I'm going straight into maintenance
I'm just going to eat the amount of calories it will take to maintain my 150 lb goal weight (online calculators say it is about 2200) and I figure I will eventually get there.

Does anyone else do this?
It will take years to actually lose the weight this way but at least it will be sustainable.
I am also just walking 30 minutes a day

Today is day 3 and it is going great!!

Many people do as you describe. start out right away eating maintenance calories. I didn't do it as I hadn't heard of it but it makes sense to me.

I think this is a great plan! After being on the diet roller coaster for so long, I have decided not to do ANY of it any more. I have made a promise to myself that I am going to do my best every day to live healthy. I started on January 1st and I'm doing great. I did give up mostly all processed food and alcohol so that has helped a lot too! It was hard for a few weeks but now it is easy. I honestly am not doing anything really hard and I am losing about 4-5 pounds every month. For me it is just try and watch my portions, eat real food, don't drink alcohol very often, and exercise 6 days a week with 2 strength training days. Sometimes I feel like I would like to be losing faster, but I am confident now that this will be the absolute last time I will have to lose this weight!

Doing it this way is so much easier than worrying about what to eat and how often, watching carbs, or counting calories or points. And part of why I have failed in the past is that I never intended to do any of those things for life. I can keep doing what I have been doing for life now, because it doesn't make me crazy!

I hope that works well for you! Good luck I think calorie counting makes me hungrier just because I have to think so much about what I am eating.

I do something similar I have my calorie level set to about 15% slashed off of my current maintenance level (which includes my workouts).

I weigh in weekly though, but it's the lowest of my priorities in tracking my progress. The main two being body fat reduction and the good ol' tape measure.

Thanks everyone! I feel like it is something that I can live with long term and that switching to maintenance wont be too difficult because I can just slightly tweak the calories/exercise to help me stabilize at a particular weight. Alternatively, if I stop losing at that calorie/activity level I can always call goal earlier so that I dont have to be so strict at goal. For example, if I stop losing at 170 but feel great and like the way I look I can just say 'ok done!'

I think it's a great strategy! That way you get practice maintaining early Good luck!!

The most you might have to do (if you want to) is drop a few hundred cals when you get close to maintenance weight because your loses will really slow down at that point. However, if you get comfortable with the slow losses then you can keep on truckin'

I'm using the Paul McKenna approach which is eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full. But you have to actually be hungry. And move your body every day. There's more to it than that, but not much. There are no calories to count either.

Don't look at my weight loss figures. I have lost no 'weight' but I have lost almost a dress size in six weeks - and I've only been on Paul McKenna for two. I'm full of energy and getting fitter. It's awesome.

That's pretty close to how I did it. Which is why I wasn't being secretive when I told people I didn't really know what my final goal would be. I basically planned to calorie count and exercise to my personal comfort level and find out what weight my body ended up at. I found I can comfortably eat 1800-2200 calories per day and exercise 4-6 hours a week without feeling like I'm punishing myself and have been able to keep that routine for 3 years now.

Hi All,

This is such an encouraging thread! Calorie counting seemed to jump start my weight loss this year and, for the most part, I've had some success. Lately, I've been playing around with some of the strategies you all are posting here. It's great to hear that folks have been successful with this relaxed approach - even if you've had to be a bit more patient with the results. Still a work in progress I think.