He ate what he wanted, lost 125 pounds: "It all comes down to calories."

[steven johnson]

I have successfully lost weight in the past and Tyler Weeks rules of thumb really struck a cord with me:

1. He lost 2.4 pounds per week. That translates to a caloric deficit of 1600 calories per day which is a little higher than I have seen recommended. But he still should have been able to eat around 1600 calories per day. On January 15, 2009, he weighed 344.2 pounds. On December 30, he was down to 218.8 pounds.

2. Instead of trying some fad or diet gimmick, he decided to change his lifestyle, to count calories and to became more active.

3. He only weighed himself once a week.

4. He ate the foods he loves.

5. He started to paying more attention to sodium and fat and other items on nutritional labels. He also drank more water and selected more vegetables and lean meats.

6. He found fun physical activity which consisted of playing basketball.

7. He found a few people to report his calories and food stories to to keep him honest.

In my opinion, food is an addiction and the same techniques that addicts use to control the cravings were the things I needed to do to control my weight:

--Watch out for relapse triggering events like conflicts or substances like alcohol that can lower one's resistance.
--Realize that the cravings will never go away completely.
--Build a support system and beware of enablers and other addicts.
--Keeping a diary or journal can help track and focus one's thoughts.
--Pharmacotherapy can assist weight loss but often there is a rebound after the drug is discontinued. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/177836903-2/jorg=journal&source=&sp=22234932&sid=0/N/701334/1.html?issn=0095-4543

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/05/fn.weightloss.weeks/

[justgamma]

1. That's basically what I did.

I used Sparkpeople to track my food. http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/loginpage.asp

I eat everything I like, but with some modifications. If I'm hungry for french fries, I bake them. If I want pizza, I buy Totino's, break it in half, that's one serving, and doctor it up. If I bought any other kind, I wouldn't stop at one serving.

At Subway, I have no cheese or dressing.

Lots of little things add up.

I've lost 108# I started in March of 2008. Set my goal for Jan. 20 2009. Hit my goal on Feb. 7th.

[Lex]

2. That's a great site and tool for weight loss

especially for tracking calories, but other information related to weight loss too.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. I learned not to set myself up by purchasing groceries I shouldn't be eating.

And I've drastically cut down on "spontaneous" snacks.

I'm reminded that I ate circumscribed meals with little snacks until I graduated from high school. Then I felt I could eat whatever I wanted. Big mistake. You can't without paying the price. I've had to reprogram my mindset for more than a year and it's been a struggle but no regrets.