http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/3500-calories-one-pound-fat-calorie-burn_n_2806578.html

Very good article. I think for me it validates most of what I've already known but there were two points I really liked:

"A lot of patients ask if increasing calorie expenditure through exercise is preferable to decreasing calories consumed, Hensrud explains. "What's interesting is that to keep weight off, the research shows that physical activity is more important for that phase," he says. "But to lose weight, calorie restriction is best."

Good to know!!

"Another important aspect of weight loss: adjusting expectations. Work to decrease calorie intake and to increase daily activity and exercise. But if you're doing all of those to the best of your ability, it may be time to readjust your idea of what weight loss looks like. "Sometimes success is just maintenance," Hensrud says."

The second point is one that comes up often here on the forum. People who are in a plateau don't see a plateau as a success when if not for the band, they would be gaining weight and that's not a success.

tmf

The second point is one that comes up often here on the forum. People who are in a plateau don't see a plateau as a success when if not for the band, they would be gaining weight and that's not a success.

Great point! We can be so focused on "ideal weight" (somewhere most of us haven't been in decades) that we fail to give ourselves credit for maintenance. I don't look at maintaining a 90 lb weight loss as a plateau, but as a maintenance phase. My body seems to need these phases along the way. I know I'll lose the last 30-40 lb in the next losing phase or two.

was a good article. I know 3500 cals is a pound and if I eat more then I burn off, I will gain. I did not get over 300+ pounds by dieting and eating lettuce. I ate the wrong foods. Thankfully the band/olication is helping me eat less and I am making smarter choices in food as I have a helper now.

I liked this article because it addressed the fact that the 3,500=onelb thing is not a hard and fast rule. Sometimes other articles take that idea and run with it without properly reflecting on the metabolism/bmi factor.

The thing that resonated with my personal experience was the reduce calories to lose, exercise to maintain. Yes there has to be a balance, but like most things in life I don't approach my exercise with moderation and it really throws my weight loss for a loop. First off, I put on muscle really fast, secondly my appetite skyrockets and I have a much harder time eating a low calorie regime.

Terry, I'm guilty of that too. The funny thing is I don't always realize it. Then I respond with even more exercise. It's like it takes a while for it to hit me mentally that what I'm doing is incorrect. I start eating so I can perform better without remembering why I'm exercising in the first place. It kind of defeats the purpose of the run if I eat more calories than I burn just to fuel it. Like my grandfather always said, "everything in moderation." He's 85 and healthy as a horse.