How to get over being over it?

I was never that restrictive in my diet...I've always eaten delicious food and eat pretty much the same now in maintenance as I did while losing, just more calories. What is your deficit like...with only 10 - 15 Lbs to go, your calorie goal should only represent a very small deficit from maintenance...i.e. you probably should be eating more. If you're at a healthy BF%, that last little bit takes a long time and a lot of work...people work for years on their spare tires (still working on mine).

Your diary is either incomplete or you're not eating your calories. I was eating around 1200 calories a day (1.5lb a week weightloss goal) and after going really well, ground to a halt an pretty much didn't lose for the whole of sept. I felt hungry, tired and demotivated. I had 10lb left to lose by then. I took advice and upped my calories to a more sensible 1600 and slower weightloss of 0.5 lb a week. It's working...ok slower than I'd hoped but better than starving and not losing. My only explanation is that I have more energy and am effortlessly more active when I'm eating enough! Is your goal loss rate maybe a little to severe now you have much less to lose?

Your calorie target should be increasing as you get closer to goal weight. I recommend that you calculate TDEE - 10% if you are not already eating at that level. You cannot sustain the same amount of loss that you did when you had more weight to lose.

Also, as others have mentioned, you don't have to restrict what you are eating, unless you have some medical reason for cutting certain kinds of foods. As long as you keep to your target goal.

I don't think I could cope with the difference on weekdays and weekends. I always find that if I have more calories one day I want that higher amount the next day. I know that it works for other people with intermittent fasting but if you're having a difficult time particularly on the first couple of days after the weekend, it may be that you just aren't cut out for swapping around and would be better spreading your calories across the week.

Have you thought about hiring a personal chef for some cooking classes? You might find that you can spice up your diet without trashing your calories. Shop around and find one that caters to the weight loss or food allergy clientele and ask about cooking classes to help you get over the hump by exposing you to new food combinations or spices.

I have to agree....limiting yourself with what you can eat is not sustainable. I honestly do not "restrict" myself from anything. I just try to be more concious about what I eat and the choices I have..if I have a slip up, I can handle it....because the point for me isn't so much about the end weight goal as the awareness and accountability and lifestyle change.

Ha, I wish my TDEE was 2400 EVERY day- that's just on weekends when I can get in a long run, and I'm chasing kids around, doing errands, etc. not sitting at a desk all day. Weekdays are around 2000.

Okay, so your average TDEE accounting for it being higher on weekend and lower on weekdays is 2114.

A 10% cut would be 211 calories per day. If you ate at 1800 calories every day, you would lose weight. It will be slow, but it will be sustainable. There isn't any reason to be going hungry or deprived, you just need to be a little choosy about portion sizes to keep within the 1800 calorie goal.

It sounds like everyone's got the eat more/TDEE stuff covered.

I've been in exactly the same place (with almost the same stats!). I've been at this (this time) since right after Xmas last year and I've lost about 50lbs - with 15 more to go to my first goal. In April, I started running 3-4x/week. My weight loss stalled. I tried eating more. I tried eating less. In 4 months, I lost 20lbs. The last 2 months, I've struggled to lose 2lbs a month. One week, I gave up and gained 4lbs, wiping out 2 months of work! UGH! I was SO OVER THIS!

I quit. Yep. Forget it. I'm done logging. What's the point?? I would still run, but only because I actually enjoy it. But now my runs sucked because I was feeding myself crap. I had some bloodwork done at work a few weeks ago and the results just came in the mail. All of the tests that were outside of normal range 6 months ago (after already losing 25lbs) are now back in range. My blood pressure is *almost* there. My BMI is *almost* there. I started looking in the mirror. I basically weigh the same as I did in July, but my pants are a size smaller. My wedding rings are being sized down for the 2nd time this year. Man, I have a serious case of flat *kitten* now, but my quads and calves are definitely more defined. I could always go back to beign a fatty...and if I quit trying, that's exactly what's going to happen. Again. It was the motivation that I needed to get back on track.

I'm going to feed myself better foods. Not going all paleo/organic/all natural-like, but just better. And if I can swing some of those things into my meals, I will. Breakfast is easy for me. A crockpot of steel cut oats (hey, I have almond milk in the fridge and that fresh pumpkin puree and some frozen fruit from my garden in the freezer already.) Portioned out for the week, it keeps well in the fridge. Every morning, I grab a handful of frozen fruit and throw it on top before packing it in my lunchbag. Egg sandwiches on english muffins are also easy breezy and freeze well. I often make 6-12 at a time and freeze them for a quick grab and go breakfast. You could do breakfast burritos, homemade pancakes or waffles, etc. Something different from what you already eat.

I'm TIRED of eating a 300 calorie lunch out of a black tray. Fall is great soup weather. Most soups freeze well. I made chicken tortilla soup and a pan of chicken fried rice, portioned them out and into the freezer they go. This weekend, I'll make a big pot of chili (with local meat and I'm going to try dried beans this time) and something else that's new. Today I brought leftovers from last night's dinner (bbq pork sandwich!) My homemade lunches are a little higher in calories than a box meal and I do need to spend some time actually making them, but I feel so much more satisfied even though I'm eating less food. Is it the better ingredients or the higher calories that cause satisfaction? I don't know, but I don't feel stuck in that food rut of chicken salads and lean cuisines.

I'm a coffe-a-holic. I have a real problem (and so do the people around me) if I don't get a jolt of caffiene around 1:30. Starbucks has a low-cal bottled iced coffee on sale at Target that actually tastes pretty good for only 50 cals. I'm sure it's low cal because of an artifical sweetener, but I'm not going for perfect here. I still need my fix! I snagged a few bottles for my desk drawer. I also grabbed a box of luna protein bars for a post work out/3pm snack. I'm burned out on almonds and yogurt. I'm going for different.

Dinners are tough in our house. I have 2 picky children and an even pickier husband. We generally eat a rotation of the same type of foods. Tacos, burgers, chicken breasts, lasagna, meatloaf, blah blah blah. I race home from work and we eat whatever we have and I can throw together 20 mins later. I'm going to start doing theme dinner nights. Mexican Mondays. Pizza Fridays. Take out Thursdays (it's our kids' busy sports night). Sundays we're generally home most of th eday and it'll be the "family dinner night." A baked turkey (which will be awesome for leftover lunches!) or some other wholesome meal with actual side dishes. You get it. I think this will help me plan out our meals better and there will be a whole lot less stressing over food in our house.

I know this got long (and thanks for hanging in there, if you've gotten this far). I've resigned myself to the fact that I am not ever goign to be able to eat quite as freely as someone who's never had to watch their weight. That being said, I can't eat box meals and salads forever. We are going to have to learn how to eat real food in moderation if this is going to stick. I don't want to stress over meals and food and calories. All of this contributes to the burn out. We're getting to the good part. We are ALMOST there. You can choose to sabotage yourself again with burn out or find a way around it. You know what happens if you don't. We've been there before too.

For the record, I saw my lowest scale number yet this morning. I haven't been hungry once since getting back on track. I haven't craved sugar or salt. My run today felt fantastic. I'm officially BACK with 13lbs to go!

Make sure you eat at TDEE-20%, it makes it less painful.

But otherwise, I totally agree with you. Unfortunately I realize too that there's just no other option... it's that or being obese again.