I've decided that I'm going to up my calories for the next week or so. This has been a bit of a hard decision to make, but a necessary one for me, I think, for a few reasons:
- My calorie intake has dropped from 1400-1500 a day when I started to 1200-1350 a day now. That is totally doable and manageable, but not exactly fun for me and has led to some "diet fatigue" over the past couple of weeks. I've been strictly CC-ing since April of last year, and I'm mentally tired of seeing the numbers get smaller.
- At the beginning of my weight loss, I cycled calories naturally and without guilt. Now, I have to force myself to eat more on planned high calorie days. I feel guilt about eating more, and even a little bit of (irrational) fear that I'm undoing all my "good work" by eating more. For the record, we're not talking about really high numbers - maybe 1600-1700?
There's a (recently appeared) little voice in the back of my head that keeps whispering, "Less is better," and I would really like to shut that voice up before it gets any more power over me.
- I've just joined a gym and my workouts have increased in intensity and duration. Before I was doing 25-30 minutes DVDs 4-5 times a week. Now I'm doing 45-60 minutes cardio, plus strength training.
- Finally, I could be at maintenance. I'm mostly happy with my weight, moderately happy with my BMI, and not happy with my waist measurement and waist-to-hip ratio. I know I still have some visceral fat around my middle, and I don't think weight training will get rid of it, which is why I lowered my goal to 120.

So, there are my thoughts. Some questions for the peanut gallery.
- I know it's pretty much a guess for all of us, but I've bumped up to 1650 calories a day. Think that should work as a "maintenance break" number for a bit?
- Where should my extra calories come from, more volume of food or more added (good) fats/complex carbs? I already eat 6-8 servings of veggies and 2 servings of fruit a day. It seems like volume would make me uncomfortably full.
- Any thoughts on how long I should stay here, or at least how long I should hang out before I re-evaluate? I was thinking a week, which is good for the diet fatigue issue, but maybe 2-3 weeks would be better?

I think I'll keep posting in this thread, to record how this little experiment goes for me. But please, feel free to chime in anytime!

Oh my gosh, those voices in your head are exactly where I am right now! WHY???? I did this back in 2009 and lost the majority of my weight then, went on a loooong break from around Jan 2010 to Jan 2011 and was able to maintain @ 136-138 for months up until around Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2010.

Things just don't seem "right" this time around for me, I know what I am supposed to be doing (eating! for starters) and skip breakfast, can't seem to emotionally deal with my high calorie days and so on. My weight loss is much slower this time around, although I did get REALLY stuck in the 140's last time too but pushed through.

I think you are doing fine by taking a break and deciding where you go from here. But remember, once a calorie counter, always a calorie counter (simply because it's what works and lack of doing so/being aware is prob. how a lot of us landed on 3FC). So you will have to be very alert as to what you are putting in your mouth, and I don't know, I hate exercise, but I'm strictly speaking from experience here: If I had it to do all over again when I took my break, I would have tried my best to get in some form of exercise at least 2 times a week, simply for mood and to keep up my strength and stamina. Would I go all out as I do when trying to lose? Prob. not but at least a brisk walk on the treadmill and a good bike ride would be sufficient.

It's interesting though, I did not seem to have all these mental blocks going on during my last go round. Maybe I am doing this in response to the slower weight loss. I don't know. I am just easily frustrated this time.

I've decided I'm going to post here daily for some accountability, and maybe this little experiment will be of interest or help to some others out there.

This morning I weighed in at 125.2. (I weigh daily already, and track it on Mondays. I'll record it here daily to see what the trend is, fully realizing that it'll probably go up a bit.)

Today's planned food:
B - Whole wheat tortilla, small banana, almond butter: 340 cals
S - 2 cups mixed raw veggies, LC wedge: 95 cals
L - Turkey wrap, broccoli, TJ's soy and flaxseed chips (these are an experiement), two small kiwi: 430 cals
S - Greek yogurt mixed with some Fiber One: 120 cals
D - Small hamburger on whole wheat bun with cooked onions and mushrooms, gorgonzola, turkey bacon; 2 cups veggies: 540 cals
S - Edy's slow churned ice cream in a cone: 120 cals

Total for the day - 1645 calories (Oh my goodness that looks like so much food!)

Exercise: 60 minutes cardio, split between elliptical and treadmill; Lower body strength with weights

OK, so that's the day planned.

Niecy - Glad to see I'm not the only one with this little voice. I'm really hoping this helps get rid of it. Not that I think I'll ever have a completely "normal" relationship with food, but I don't want to feel guilt at 1600 calories.

Also, I'm definitely continuing with calorie counting and exercise. This isn't at all a break from those - just eating up a little for a while to see what happens!

Hi, I have 4 more lb to lose until my goal weight and I did take 10 days “off” the counting as it started affecting my mood and also I started to get very frustrated with all the counting , exercise and zero changes on the scale. I also wanted to see if I am ready to maintain and able to trust myself to eat the right amount of food.

I didn’t gain any weight during 10 days break; I didn’t count any calories or carbs. I eat the way I am planning to eat when I will reach my goal weight. It was nice to feel free from calculating and weighting what I eat.

I am back on counting calories since yesterday to lose last 4 pounds and I think the reason I didn’t give up or binge is because I took the planned break and relaxed , which helped me regroup and feel good to count my calories again.

Checking in. Yesterday's food was OP, but left work a little late so only got 50 minutes of cardio instead of 60. I'm OK with that.

I didn't feel crazy full yesterday, but I can definitely tell that I'm eating more than previously. It's kind of nice, but at the same time weird. That's articulate, huh? I guess by "weird" I mean that it's strange to have 250 more calories a day to play with. It makes my planning both easier - because I can do more with it - and harder - because my trusty, pre-set menus that have worked for me for so long all need to be tweaked slightly. I really like routine and planning, and this is, in some ways, a wrench in the works. I'm not complaining, though! Just reminding myself that flexibility is needed.

+++++++++++++++++++
Today's weight - 126.0

Today's plan -
B: Egg muffin sandwich - whole wheat English muffin, 1 egg + 2 whites, slice of sharp cheddar, 2 pieces turkey bacon; orange. 425 cals.
S: Veggies and LC wedge. 85 cals
L: Turkey sandwich; soy and flaxseed chips (yesterday was the first time I'd tried these - YUM!); broccoli slaw in red wine vinegar; strawberries. 388 cals
S: Homemade blueberry bran muffin; buffalo jerky (another first time - trying to get more protein in creative, non-chicken ways) - 157 cals.
D: This is a bit of a question mark, but I'm leaning toward Dreamfield's pasta with chicken, lots of veggies, and olive oil and feta. 540 cals.

This leaves me at 1596 cals for the day. I'll may leave it there, may add a kiwi or a mug of SF hot chocolate. I'll see how it goes.

Thanks for telling me about your experience! I think I'll always have to measure foods to some extent, because my portion-control-meter is really, really off. But it's good to know that you were able to maintain without counting for a while, and now have the motivation to get those last pounds off. That's what I'm hoping for, too.

Good luck!

Jen, sounds like you did great to me!

I was happy but afraid to go into "maintenance" for a while, but I knew I need a short break. I didn't intend on going there as long as I did though, I pulled some muscles in my back and became really depressed and discouraged b/c the healing process took months. I learned that maintenance is a lot harder than it sounds and just like weight loss mode, takes patience to learn what my body needs to maintain.

Please keep updating this thread, I think this will help me and others get a glimpse of the road ahead of us

Thanks for the kind words, Niecy! I'm glad this little glimpse into my experiment is helpful to someone.

Yesterday was . . . interesting. Food was OP until dinner. I forgot to write my exercise plan, but I did what I had (mentally) planned - 35 minutes elliptical and 45 minutes strength at the gym.

Dinner was where things got shifted a bit. I got home and realized we had no running water in the kitchen. So I decided to just do an open-faced turkey "wrap" on a baked Flatout flatbread. So yeah, a lot of turkey yesterday, which is fine (except for the sodium) because I like turkey.

Anyway, even after loading up the wrap with veggies and turkey and 150 cals worth of avocado, my dinner was STILL only 440 cals. I added a SF pudding in a cone for another 80 cals, but the day ended at 1575. I was stuffed and had no desire to eat more, and for the life of me couldn't figure out how to up my daily calories any more than that.

Poor planning? Maybe, but I don't really think so. All my food was satisfying and my macronutrients were where I wanted them to be. I was WAY over on sodium for the day, but my blood pressure is fine and I'm honestly not going to sweat that for the immediate future. I thought about forcing myself to eat up to 1600, but that seemed ridiculous. That "little voice" I referenced in my OP wasn't telling me to eat less, my body was telling me to stop, so I think it was a successful day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Today's weight: 126.2 (Up from Monday, but I usually fluctuate a lot during the week, TOM is coming soon, and I'm not worried.)

Today's plan:
B - Egg muffin sandwich - 365 cals
S - Raw veggies and 2 oz. turkey - 111 cals
L - Yogurt "parfait" - Greek yogurt, frozen blueberries and raspberries, raw oats, and ground flaxseed (yummy! try it!) - 450 cals
S - French cut green beans, banana, buffalo jerky (some of this will be eaten before workout, some after) - 195 cals
D - ??? I have eleventy billion errands to run after work and the gym. I have 530 calories to play with. If I get hungry, I'm totally fine with stopping by McD's or Chick-fil-A for a salad. If I get home, I'll see if we have water yet. My calorie goal for the day is 1600 - I'm wondering if 1650 is simply too much food right now? I'm going to listen to my body and its hunger.

Exercise - 50 minutes cardio; 30 minutes strength (abs and lower body)

That's the plan for today!

Why hello there, emotional eating? Where did you come (back) from?

I've kept my emotional eating in check - more or less - since my weight loss started last March. Minor blips have happened, and yesterday afternoon was one. It was a perfect storm of approaching TOM, tiredness, and a minor confrontation with a respected co-worker that left me feeling inadequate and immature. So when a Venezuelan student presented me with a homemade ham and cheese arepa (South American cornmeal sandwich) it pretty much went immediately into my mouth, followed by a Kit Kat mini. Thank goodness that was the only chocolate in my office, or otherwise it would only have gone downhill from there.

So, the food plan shifted. The arepa/Kit Kat was my afternoon snack, and my planned snack became dinner along with a small turkey wrap. Calories for the day were still in limits at 1613. Exercise was 60 minutes on the treadmill - no strength because I felt pretty beat up from my major strength session the day before.

I'm still getting used to how much food this is, and how full I feel at times.

This morning's weight was back at 125.2.

++++++++++++++++++++++
Today's plan:

B - Greek yogurt, strawberries, oats, flax - 378 cals
S - Carrots and celery - 50 cals
L - Turkey sandwich, 2 small kiwis - 317 cals
S - 1/2 oz. almonds, buffalo jerky (almost finished, don't know that I'll buy it again), cole slaw with red wine vinegar - 170 cals
D - Small hamburger patty, homemade guac, sauteed spinach, mushrooms, onions, and grape tomatoes, baked sweet potato chips - 547 cals
Dessert - Warm Delights mini (I bought a 2 pack forever ago, and the remaining one has been taunting me ) and small scoop Edy's ice cream - 210 cals

Total for the day - 1642 cals

Exercise - 45 minutes cardio, 30 minutes strength

Let's keep the emotional eating at bay today!

Sounds like you're doing great - even fit that bit of emotional eating into your plan, good job! I love reading other people's menus, I am so boring and eat the same thing all the time. I really need to venture out a bit. I am starting to play with the idea of maintenance...not really sure when I'll start, whether I'll wait until goal or not...but planning for it is in my head!

Today was crazy - no time and bad internet.

Yesterday was on plan. Yippee!

This morning's weight was 125.8.

I'm not going to write everything out right now, but today was on plan with 1605 calories and exercise (50 minutes cardio and 20 minutes of abs).

I hope computer problems are resolved tomorrow, and that I'm home more than today. I have my food planned out for tomorrow and I'm only at 1490 calories at the moment and not really sure where to add. It looks like a lot of food, pretty balanced, and I may just leave it as it is. We'll see.

Um, what??? I hopped on the scale this morning and it said 124.4! Man oh man, weight fluctuations - up OR down - can play with your head.

Today's plan:
B - Saturday or Sunday I like to do a big breakfast. I'm a breakfast girl. Today is 2 pieces TJ's lowfat frozen French toast, PB, strawberries, SF syrup, and turkey bacon. 545 yummy, guilt-free cals.
L - Tuna with veggies, Flatout bread, kiwi - 350 cals
S - Greek yogurt mixed with Fiber One - 110 cals
D - Chicken, veggies, TJ's reduced guilt Mac and Cheese - 445 cals
S - 2 wedges TJ's dark chocolate caramel - 60 cals

No work out today - rest day.

Total cals for the day - 1510. NOT the 1650 I've been aiming for, but I'm not seeing a place to put them - anyone? Of course, I'm also wrestling with the idea of if they're even needed. Hmmmm . . .

Hey Jen, I just wanted to say that I love reading your thread. I wish I planned like you do. I suck at it. You also have a lot of good food ideas. I look forward to reading more.

Aww, thanks! But it kind of cracks me up that you like my food ideas - I read others' menus and get all jealous and think how boring my meals are. I guess it's grass-is-greener syndrome.

I have to plan, if I know I'm going to be successful. I do leave some wiggle room and at this point don't mind changing my plan if necessary, but I really like planning as a tool for staying in my calories for the day. It also helps that I'm a teacher and my breakfasts, lunches, and snacks are all pretty much the same day after day (which I generally don't mind).

Obviously YOU'RE doing something right - look at all the weight you've lost! Woohoo!