I’m not telling anyone else how to do their diet, as we each have different level of cravings, ability to stick with a plan and not fall of the wagon, etc. This is just what is working for me. Hopefully, some of this can help others.
I began thinking I would lose 50 (needed 40 to get to normal BMI) pounds in 5 months. I was able to drop calories and was losing about 2 lbs per week with CICO and some exercise. I started missing out (in my mind) when going to nice restaurants, family functions, etc., telling myself it would be worth it in the end. But then I thought, why can’t I have both? I developed a plan to stretch out the weight loss to 11 months and added in EXTRAs days. I hate to call them cheat days as I plan for them and I’m not cheating my plan. We each have different goals for amount of weight to lose and timeframe over which to do it, so I understand this may not work for everyone. In my mind, I was doing this for the rest of my life so who cares if I take 5 months or 11 months to get to a healthy weight. I understand stretching out to 5 years would be a different story, so this may not work if you need to lose significant weight.
I project out my weight (by day) months in advance adding in various Extras days. My basic plan is to lose 0.25 lb on a normal diet day. Once a week, I have a 0.00 loss day, usually Saturday, where I eat at maintenance. I then add in anything from my calendar where I will eat at an excess and guesstimate weight gains, which are between .25-1.0 lb. When I eat out, I add in extra pounds for a few days for “extra” weight (water retention from sodium and extra waste) so I have my daily weight to compare. Daily weigh-ins keep me focused, plus, I have never had a weight gain from the day before that I couldn’t explain based on my activity or consumption from the day before. It is usually related to amount of sodium, volume of food, level of hydration, etc. Tracking everything I eat on Cronomoter has also been very helpful.
As long as I’m under my projected weight, I’m on plan and am happy. Some weeks I have several Extras days and actually gain weight, but I’ve already planned for that and don’t beat myself up. I LOVE eating so enjoying these opportunities while staying moderately healthy is one of the main reasons for me to lose weight.
As example, assume the following week with a birthday dinner where my projected Monday weigh-in is 190:
Mon – 190 – 0.25 = 189.75 (Proj for Tue morning weigh-in)
Tue – 189.75 – 0.25 = 189.50
Wed 189.5 + 0.50 (Birthday dinner) + 4.0 “extra” weight = 190.00 + 4.00 = 194.00
Th 190.00 – 0.25 + 2.0 “extra” = 189.75 + 2.00 = 191.75
Fri 189.75 – 0.25 + 1.0 “extra” = 189.5 + 1.00 = 190.5
Sat 189.5 – 0.00 = 189.50
Sun 189.50 – 0.25 = 189.25 (proj for mon morning weigh-in)
In this example I was able to follow my plan, enjoy myself, not feel terrible that the scale went up a few days, and lost net weight for the week, as I stayed on plan. I also net gain weight some weeks but have it built in. As example, I went on vacation a week around new year’s eve, drank and ate pretty much whatever I wanted, gained weight that week, but didn’t freak out because it was in the plan BEFORE I indulged.
I can follow a plan once I have decided it is important and always assumed maintaining weight would be much more difficult once I reached my goal. I don’t know how well I could enjoy a special night out worrying about the slippery slop of starting to gain back the weight I lost. I plan to keep this weight budget going forward, knowing a few pounds here and there won’t matter as long as it is in a plan. I tend to have more Extras days in Fall (related mostly to football, family events, and holidays), so my plan going forward will include slightly higher weight at year’s end and slightly lower weight in the summer.
Good luck to everyone with their weight loss goals! Reading others’ posts have really helped me!
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