Philip J Fry said:
Let me just say that he's aware of that and doesn't need it to be pointed out publicly. Weight loss is more than caloric intake. It's stress management, determination, good habit forming, and actual lifestyle changes. It's far from a simple drawing board.
I know… I've said as much in this very thread.
OP asked for constructive criticism. Maybe my post didn't come across that way but also wasn't intended to be mean spirited. He's come back which is a good thing and means at some level he still cares about his objective.
My view has been that people get the weight loss thing all wrong. They'll say 'I want to lose 80 lbs'. What most people really are after is 'I want to sustainably weigh 80 lbs less than I do'. This is the actual lifestyle change you are talking about. The losing weight part is the easy piece really. If you aren't digging into the backsliding periods and asking some questions, then you will never sustain. Then all you've done is a lot of work for not a lot of benefit to yourself.
I know it isn't a simple drawing board. It is complex. Hard wired habits that make your body feel a certain way have to change. I'm simply saying if you've got a 9 month period of sideways-ing means you've ultimately not been meeting your objectives, but you've got a lot of data to reflect on and make some changes. It isn't necessarily a bad thing because the data should be extremely actionable.
Sustainable weight loss should be trial and error rather than simple caloric intake. We agree on that. It's not that simple. If you just eat num-nums and lots of bad fat everyday for example or pasta all but less of it than before, then all that will happen is as soon as you hit stress or gatherings, you'll eat more of it. That's for the majority of people. Doesn't mean you stop eating those things but you have to find the way for your body to control the cravings for them.