Thanks. I know I could be doing much better but I find I'm enjoying my life right now. My response to Hit about yoyo dieting was from the heart and personal experience. I've gone through it, maybe a dozen times. I work my butt off; I deprive myself of every enjoyment; I play the martyr at parties; and I lose 15 to 25 pounds. By that time I'm sick of going without so I act like an untrained dog who's pulling at his leash and who is finally let go -- the dog goes wild and doesn't listen to anyone. That was me. A bag of chips. A tub of ice cream. Pounds of candy. And then what took me 3 months to lose is back in 2 weeks.
What I'm doing right now is very slow but I never ever feel deprived or hungry. If there's a party or someone in the family brings home a treat, I allow myself to enjoy it -- I just make sure I stop when I'm satisfied and not when I'm in a sugar coma.
I've found I'm very happy with a single scoop of ice creme or a handful of chips. And I can stop and not feel deprived and it doesn't put 10 pounds back on me.
This is the longest I've stuck with something -- ever. I've been "watchful" for over a year now. Over that time, I've gone from 267 pounds to 231. And the 231 is easy to maintain.
It's been great.
Still planning on getting to 215 by mid summer, so I AM going to have to step it up. But for me, it's been a much better experience to do it without hating the journey.
Brother - you are doing great. The untrained dog analogy is good. The thing is, I have the same experience as you, but in reverse - I've lost weight slow and I would get 10 pounds off or 20 pounds, and then get stuck FOREVER, or even gain back, or whatever. It wasn't until I started doing extreme things that things really started to change. The funny thing is, for the most part, it's all mental. I don't feel deprived usually. Usually what sets me off is having reached a certain point and then just kind of, allowing myself to do things. I start eating junk and it just takes over. When I'm dieting, I honestly rarely want that stuff. I don't really feel deprived at all. I just don't want it. It's hard to explain.
I also think, people see that I do extreme things and they think it's a short term thing. I've been dieting, really, for the past 4+ years. Not all at once, not all fasting. I started slow...started exercising, lost 50 pounds, stalled out, gained back 10, stuck there. And like you said, it was easy to maintain, but I was still morbidly obese. Then I went on the PSMF and got down to 178, then went off, got to 215 and literally felt fat as hell (a weight that had previously felt lean to me on the way down), did that last log, got to 165, rebounded to 192 (around) and I REALLY feel fat at that weight now. Now, I'm hoping to make another run toward 160, make some gains, and hopefully the next rebound will be 180 or 175 (or not at all) . I'm using short bursts as part of long term strategy, but it just fits my mentality better. I think it may also fit my situation better because I've screwed my body from being a 150 pound guy in a 300 pound body for so long.
In the end, I just don't have the stamina to do it the way you are.....