I started at 260 at the end of May and hit 185 today. My goal right now is 165 (I'm a 5'11" man with very little muscle), so I'm almost done. Once I hit that goal, I'll start lifting weights and will increase my daily caloric allotment. I envision myself ending up around 180 after I put on some muscle.
Honestly, although it's certainly taken a lot of will power and determination to do this, the suffering has been minimal and it hasn't been nearly as psychologically challenging as I thought it would be. My approach is based purely on counting calories, which leads me to prioritize foods that are high in protein and fiber so that I get the most "bang for my buck." I end up having two meals a day plus either zero or one small snack. I also avoid artificial sweeteners. That's it! I started out having about 1,500 calories a day and have lowered that number over time in order to keep my rate of weight loss consistent. At this point I'm having about 900-1,000 per day, which enables me to lose weight at a rate of about 1 pound every 2-3 days. I won't be going any lower than that, so I imagine that the weight loss will slow down a bit during this final stage.
Every week or two I have a "cheat day," where I basically eat whatever I want. I don't binge, but I'll go out to dinner or order delivery or make pizza (my most recent effort). I don't drink alcohol, and other than artificial sweetener-free seltzers that have 15 calories or less, the only calories I ever drink are from fat free milk. I take a high quality multivitamin every day and drink lots and lots of water. I take about 3 miles worth of steps every day (a few walks with my dog plus running around with my baby all day) but don't get any other exercise (other than sex).
This approach has been highly effective for me. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself because the calorie counting approach enables me to feel like I'm "cheating" all the time, since I'm able to eat yummy things as long as I stay under my daily caloric allocation. For example, I have a PB&J with a glass of milk a few times a week because I use multigrain bread that has only 60 calories per slice and use jam with minimal sugar added. Last night I had a cheese quesadilla filled with shishito peppers from my garden and I dipped it in salsa and a seasoned yogurt sauce. It honestly don't even feel like I'm on a diet.
The risk of doing something like this is that it's unsustainable for many people. However, I don't believe that this will be a problem for me. I've learned the valuable lesson that I can be happy despite eating much less food than before, and that low calorie, nutritious foods can cause just as much of a dopamine release as junk food. Once I'm in my maintenance phase I'll continue having a bare bones meal in the day but I'll have a more regular dinner and will allow myself a snack or two. I'll tweak as needed, depending on how the weigh lifting affects things. Most importantly, I have learned that I feel SO MUCH BETTER when I am at a healthy weight, and I could never entertain the idea of becoming overweight again.
So, I just wanted to share this personal success and offer one possible route to successful weight loss for others out there. Keep it up, everyone!
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