Success story in progress - 65 pounds down so far via CICO

So I have seen a lot of posts recently stating or implying that the poster believes they need to eat in a particular manner (clean, paleo, Atkins, etc.) in order to lose, often with a large amount of frustration because it's hard for them to give up so many foods they like.

So here's my story, which would be subtitled "proof you can eat crap and lose lots of weight".

Now, as a disclaimer, I don't really believe my diet is crap, but most people on a restrictive diet would consider it such. This past week included hamburgers, pizza, ice cream, a large cookie, tacos, spaghetti, white bread, etc., and well below recommended amounts of fruit and veggies.

And yet, in spite of the fact that almost every diet book on the shelf would declare my diet to be terrible, my results so far:

I started at 319 lb and a BMI of almost 50. When I began, I couldn't make it up two flights of stairs without gasping for breath - even one flight was a lot, and I took elevators whenever possible. I was borderline hypertensive (138/90 with a resting heart rate of 70+). My jeans were size 48 and tight - I probably should have been wearing size 50s, which was the size I wore in dress pants.

Today, I'm at 252 pounds, and a BMI of 39. Still have a long way to go, but right now I can climb at least four flights of stairs without significant strain (that's really the tallest climb I have available to try on a daily basis). My blood pressure is down to about 125/70, my resting heart rate is around 55, and I'm currently wearing size 40 jeans comfortably.

And all of that has been done without any real changes in the kinds of foods I eat, just the amounts and frequencies. My basic food strategy is this:

* Every night I plan the next day's meals and pre-log them. It takes me under two minutes now, which is less than how long I spend brushing my teeth at night. It's quick and easy.
* I only care about two numbers: My must-do is to come in at or under my calorie goal. My nice-to-have is to come in at or over my protein goal. All the rest is irrelevant to me.
* Because of my pre-planning, I use a custom calorie goal using TDEE, rather than adding exercise calories back in (that was too hard to plan). I add 400 calories on workout days to help fuel my workouts.
* I leave about 250 calories unlogged, for a snack in the evenings. I have a number of options I like that fit into this. This is the only food I log on the day I eat it.
* When I prepare the meal, I just reference MFP on my phone to recall the portion sizes I chose. I weight out the pre-logged portions, without bothering to correct the logs if I'm off by a small amount. I'll correct significant deviations. Again, I want this to be so quick and easy it's not at all hard to keep up a lifetime.

My exercise strategy is this:
* I have three days I work out per week - Sunday, Tuesday, Friday.
* On the four rest days, I do nothing in terms of strenuous exercise.
* My workouts begin with about 30 minutes of strength training on a bowflex and dumbbells - keeping the resistance high enough that I can only do 8-12 reps of each exercise.
* After that, I do about 21 minutes of HIIT on an exercise bike - using the 30/20/10 method (30 seconds low intensity, 20 medium, 10 high). Five reps per set, three sets, with about two minutes of low intensity recovery between sets.
* Most days I try to take a walk instead of a lunch break; I eat at my desk for my actual lunch. This isn't really strenuous, in fact it's basically done for enjoyment, stress relief, and for having more energy during the afternoon.