1. You must eat fewer calories than you burn.
2. While the principle remains that one must at least balance their calorie to burn ratio, individuals must become educated with regard to nutrition in order to properly maintain a healthy diet. Folks may not agree with me, arguing that following a prescribed formula will get them down the path without thinking. However, true long-term consistency comes with knowledge.

1. When I hit 50, I really had to do more than watch the calories I took in. I also had to get more protein and less refined carbohydrates.

2. I've been maintaining since February 2012. I certainly can eat more than when I was in loss mode, but I still have to pay attention to my intake. I will say on the days that I do 200K (~124+ mile) bike rides, I really don't have to watch what I eat. However, if the weather is hot and humid I lose my appetite and then can have issues not getting enough calories in during the later stages of the ride. When the weather is really cold, I find it hard to eat while riding because the lobster-claw gloves I wear to keep my hands from freezing make me very clumsy!

1. Do you think there's really anymore to losing weight than eat less calories than you burn. ?

Yes. We have to be able to live with it.

2. To maintain current weight do you not have to eat less or eat smartly to maintain goal weight.?

I think of myself as a person who eats a lot. Which I think makes my life easier than thinking I have to live with a lot of restrictions. I think I eat smarter than I did.

The real answer is I eat fewer calories at 170 lbs than I did at 285lbs. My own perceptions of how I do it may or may not be accurate.

1. Do you think there's really anymore to losing weight than eat less calories than you burn. ?
2. To maintain current weight do you not have to eat less or eat smartly to maintain goal weight.?

1. No...and yes. My experience is that weight loss results from eating less calories than I burn. While not entirely without exercise, my journey was minimal in that aspect. I know that I ate less and made healthier choices to lose the weight I lost and keep it off over the last three years. Now the flip side is, apart from the physics of weight loss is the mental challenge that goes along with it. I didn't get in the door at Weight Watchers (WW) by eating properly. I got in by overeating and drinking, particularly foods that added weight and made me fat.

In order to lose the weight (and now keep it off), the bigger challenge for me was looking at and adjusting my behavior around food and things that trigger me to eat. I like it eat all the stuff I used to eat. But with the intention of losing weight, I eat far less of it. I am more mindful of my choices, especially when feeling stressed, anxious, upset, etc.

While I believe there really isn't any more to losing weight than eating less calories than I burn, I realize that for me, the mental hurdle of changing my relationship with food (after decades of doing just the opposite) is an intertwined, challenging aspect closely related to weight management. The key for me has been getting the mental part in sync with the physics part.


2. Compared to what?? For maintaining my weight, I definitely have to eat less and healthier than I did 'back-in-the-day', before starting WW. Eating that way I did pre-WW is what got me into WW in the first place. However, I achieved WW's Lifetime status in 2015 and have maintained within five pounds of my goal weight since that time (having lost 80 pounds). I've maintained my weight over the last three years by tracking my intake. Over that timeframe, I've generally eaten about the same amount and nutrition quality of food. And, I guess if I want to continue to maintain, I'll have to make similar choices from here on out (though I rarely if ever think in those terms). So it is less and healthier than before I started WW, but not compared to the last few years.