As I've mentioned to some of you, I've been up and down over the last two years. I lost 130 lbs in 16 months, then gained 70 pounds in the 7 months that followed. The reason I was able to lose so much at first is that I fought my extremist instincts and made small, sustainable changes. I still ate junk food and ate healthy food, but in reasonable amounts. I exercised, but recognized that my life is too busy for me to force myself to do so everyday.
When I got down to about 120 lbs lost, my extremist nature kicked in. I wanted to lose the rest quickly because I was frustrated with still being "overweight" after such a long loss. I cut my calories to 1200-1300 or so a day, and got a bodybugg- wearing it anytime I was out of a chair.
After about two months of this, I couldn't take it anymore, and started eating everything I could- things I hadn't tasted in what seemed like forever. This is a common response to over-restriction- they've done experiments where they cut the calories of normal people (without eating disorders) and they all began to binge eat afterward.
I wanted to share this because it's easy to take to extremist actions when you're trying to lose weight- it's the reason why most of us don't last a month on these crazy fad diets. And it's easy to slip into the extremist mindset even if you don't start out with it. I think the most important thing is asking yourself "Could I do this everyday for the rest of my life?" if the answer is no, then your diet isn't going to work long-term.
So I'm back, and I'm counting calories again- this time heeding my own warning.