The old saying "less is more" holds true most of the time. But not for weight loss---at least not for me.
In the past, I'd eat "less" wanting to get the diet over, the pounds off and get back to "normal" eating---which is what got me in trouble pound wise in the first place.
Getting to the point where eating less wouldn't even budge the weight, I got discouraged and gave up. That lasted a couple of years. Then I decided to try a new approach---monitoring my food intake.
As I did, I became aware of how many calories I was actually taking in. And I noticed that some days the same number of calories left me very hungry and others not hungry at all. That's when I realized making better choices helped hugely with the hunger monster.
Eating enough calories to feel "full" but a deficit range that would allow my body to shed some of its fat is working wonderfully. I can live with slow and steady. And slow it is, but the "steady" makes up for it.
I've found a way to live and eat for the rest of my life. That is the "golden nugget"---the truth kernel.
Most all of us been told we must make lifestyle changes if we want to lose and keep it off. And then we're handed a diet plan---we thinking/hoping/wanting to believe we can do it for life. But deep down we don't believe it. And at some point in time we feel like a failure---again.
We are not the failure. We are the one with a problem seeking a solution. If we had the solution we wouldn't go searching for an answer.
The answer is so simple we miss it: eat less. That's it. Now---figure out how you can do that for the rest of your life and you will be set for life.
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I didn't arrive at my solution overnight. It was a process. But my little sister, who had lost 30 pounds, gave me some advice: forget diets, just cut back...eat a little less. That got me to thinking. I couldn't eat less unless I had a way to measure what I was eating to maintain my fat weight. Once I'd done that, I could then proceed to eat less. Which I did. Which I am doing. My goal to lose 20 pounds is less than 7 pounds away. When I get there, I plan to continue eating the same amount I am currently eating....it should keep me at my desired goal weight.