What have you tried that, on reflection, just didn't work?
What are you doing differently this time?
What didn't work for me:
1200 is not a magic number. You can lose weight and take in more than 1200 calories.
Nothing *has* to be forbidden or "not on your diet".
No "food cop" asking if I am "allowed" to have X food or Y portion size. Ties in to the above.
Knowledge is power. Awareness of portion size and calorie count matter. You burn an average of X amount of calories per day. (Varies by age, gender, body composition, activity, etc.) If you consistently exceed your personal X amount of calories, every 3500 calories will add a pound. An excess 50 calories a day
(every day) results in an excess 350 calories over the course of a week. And that excess,
every day,
every week, can lead to a gain of 5 pounds in a year.
Choose wisely in terms of exercise and gym time. I spent so many pointless hours at the gym, on the elliptical or using all the wrong weight machines.
There is no dietary "end game" or "finish line". Success lies in making changes and building awareness you will draw on for the rest of your life.
What I am doing differently:
Over the past year, I've worked my way down to 1200 calories as my baseline goal (I'm short and sedentary, and nearing my goal weight), but I started at 1450 calories a day.
I allow myself to eat anything I want, in limited, considered portions.
I allow myself to occasionally exceed the recommended number of calories without self-recrimination.
My exercise now comes from some or all of the following, 3-5 times a week: 1.25 mile not a power walk from the transit station to my office, a .75 mile walk at lunch, and walking to the coffee shop and the close transit station after work. Also, I *very* occasionally do some weights work at home with a resistance band and some dumbbells. Calisthenics and weights may actually have a lot going for them.
