I have questions for those who have been successful.

M/F? M
Age? 42
Height? 6'2"
Start weight? 565
Goal weight? 225
Time it took? Still working on it 232 lost 25 months CW: 333.4
Aloted daily calories? 1500
Did your aloted calories change with loss? I change the calories slightly when I stop losing
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? No

F
Age: 34
Height: 5'11
Start weight: 190
Goal weight: 157
Current weight: 147
Time it took? On and off for 2 years (went from 180 to 147 in 7 months)
Alotted daily calories? 1500
Did your alotted calories change with loss? MFP had me at 1440 first, then I upped to between 1500-1600 where I dropped the weight most effectively. I joined MFP at 165 in mid-March and July 1st I was at 145. I did the other 15 pounds on my own from the 1st of the year.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Ate back 1/2
Maintenance Calories: 1830 without exercise

M/F? Female

Age? 33

Height? 5'5

Start weight? 237

Goal weight? 150-maybe lower,maybe higher depending on how i feel)

CW: 164

Time it took? 73 pounds in a year

Aloted daily calories? Started at around 1800

Did your aloted calories change with loss? yes, I aim for 1400 now because it is what my BMR will be at goal and I want to be used to eating at that before i reach goal.

Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Depends if I was hungry. When I did eat them back I didn't lose. I also tried to save them for a cheat day once a week.

M/F? M
Age? 42
Height? 6'2"
Start weight? 565
Goal weight? 225
Time it took? Still working on it 232 lost 25 months CW: 333.4
Aloted daily calories? 1500
Did your aloted calories change with loss? I change the calories slightly when I stop losing
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? No

You are awesome!

M/F? Female
Age? 46
Height? 5/9
Start weight? 169
Goal weight? 147 (got to 145)
Time it took? 6 months (but I took August off and maintained due to holidays)
Aloted daily calories? 1500-ish
Did your aloted calories change with loss? Nope, just stuck to around 1500, until I reached my goal and then I went to maintenance of around 1700 - but I now eat back exercise calories.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Not always, at first I wasn't on MFP and sometimes I ate them back, sometimes I didn't. Once I joined MFP I tended to eat them back. I didn't notice that much difference.

M/F? Female
Age? 36
Height? 5'6"
Start weight? 357
Goal weight? 157
Time it took? 48 pounds in 9 months = 5.33 pounds per month. I had an eight-week plateau during October and November.
Alloted daily calories? 1850
Did your alloted calories change with loss? Yes, I redo my calories every time I lose 10 pounds.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? For the most part. I just make sure I'm above my BMR (1500). If I'm not hungry, I stop there. If I'm still hungry, I eat more. My calories always balance out at the end of the week since I go over some days and stay under on other days.

M/F?
Age?
Height?
Start weight?
Goal weight?
Time it took?
Aloted daily calories?
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?

THANKS in advance!

Female
34
5'7
285 (26.7 lbs lost in 97 days)
165
3 months to reach 259
started at 1450, now at 1390
I never eat back my exercise calories, no I'm not hungry and am not depriving myself. I have high protein foods to help fuel the muscle which I am building through heavy lifting.

M/F: M
Age: 34
Height: 5'6" on a good day
Start weight: 330
CW: 250.2 (the 250 mark has been eluding me the last couple weeks)
Goal weight: 180 (may drop to 160-170 depending on how I look/feel when I hit 180)
Time it took: 190+ days so far. Still have at least that long to go still to hit goal
Aloted daily calories: 1790 / day - at 1.5 lb weight loss a week.
Did your aloted calories change with loss. Yes, I have found that I need around 1600 to keep losing. I tried dropping under 1600 a couple times and it tends to slow down my weight loss (need to eat more to lose more approach, but just enough to not starve)
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories: Sometimes I do, but most times I don't.

Female
Start - 29
Current - 30
Height - 5'5"
Start weight - 236
Goal weight - 135 ish
Time it took - 5/11 - 12/11, preg rom 12/11 - 8/12, 9/12 - present
Aloted daily calories - started with 1200 before exercise, currently 2100
Did your aloted calories change with loss - yes
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories - At 1200 yes, now they are added into my daily calories.

M/F?
Age?
Height?
Start weight?
Goal weight?
Time it took?
Aloted daily calories?
Did your aloted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories?

THANKS in advance!

Male
43
6-3
281.5
220
1990 right now started at 2100.
I do eat some of my burned calories back. i consider it a treat. If I really want a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen, I will make sure I walk or bike an extra few minutes to make room.

ADVICE: Don't quit because you fell off the wagon. I am 7 weeks in and I have had one or two days that I regret, but needed. These both fell into evenings that I had a few drinks with friends. Chips (Lays regular, Helluva Onion Chip Dip, Snyders BBQ Chips and Fritos cili flavor) and Dr. Pepper are my weeknesses.

Its OK to reward yourself. This is not a prison but a change.

M/F? M
Age? 52
Height? 5'9"
Start weight? 192
Goal weight? 175
Time it took? 4 months
Alloted daily calories? 1600x5, 600x2 (5:2 fasting)
Did your alloted calories change with loss? No
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Yes - exercised like a maniac and ate them all back. Ended up stronger, lower BF percentage and with much improved fitness.

bump

Female
Age: 41
Height: 6'0"
Start weight: 338.4
Current weight: 193.2
Goal weight: 1st is 183.8 (normal BMI), then I'll have to figure it out as I go
Time it took: first 44 was from a previous attempt, the rest was since January of 2012
Calories: 1700
Calories change with loss?: I upped them from about 1400 at around 40 pounds lost because I was starving and realized it was dumb for someone my weight and height to eat so little. So much happier now and still losing well
Eat back your burned/worked off calories? No, but I tried it for a while until it stopped working for me

M/F? Female
Age? 31
Height? 5 foot even
Start weight? 155.1
Goal weight? 112.0
Time it took? 9 months (1.33 pounds a week on average w/ two vacations i went on maintenance for
Aloted daily calories? 500 calorie deficit... whatever it was... i used a different site so i knew what my maintenance weight was added the exercise calories then subtracted 500 for a pound a week loss.
Did your aloted calories change with loss? OMG yea.. when i started i was allowed almost 2000 to maintain now i'm at 1440 for maintenance. Also you burn less when you are at a lower weight.
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? ...well tricky question... i kept a 500 calorie deficit, i never looked at that aspect. whatever i needed to maintain + exercise -500 = daily calories. For instance, i was allowed 1800 to maintain, ran 3 miles for 300 calories then i ate 1600 that day. usually was 1500-1600 depending on exercise til i got down.
i've kept it off for about a year and a half. i went from women's size 12/14 to a women's 2 (juniors 3, kids 12/14 lol i'm 5 foot so kids sizes aren't extreme.)
i chose goal weight based on how i felt and also wanted a midpoint in BMI so went from there. It's a lifestyle not a diet. if you include cheat days and think of it as restriction of foods its harder to be successful. if you eat everything in moderation (pizza and takeout galore) but watch calories you can be successful :-) always record, if not then you can't be accountable.

Female
Age: 25
Height: 5'4"
SW: 170lb
CW: 130
Time: 8 months
Calories: Jumped around--started out around 1500 (1/2lb a week), dropped down to 1200, then found IPOARM and climbed up to 1700. Now at 1800 and losing inches, but not pounds.
Did your allotted calories change with loss?
Did/do you eat back your burned/worked off calories? Yes, but it's calculated into my TDEE equation--I just eat 10% under my TDEE.