This is a graph of nearly a year’s worth of my weight history.

After a strong start in July 2024, life took over. I didn’t get back on track until the end of May 2025. However, I continued monitoring my weight and calories, even when I was doing poorly, so I understand now what works and what doesn’t. My next milestone is going below the three-digit mark and getting back to where I was in September 2024.

What works:
1. Setting realistic expectations: Try to set a calorie target you can live with, rather than consistently breaking through the barrier and feeling like the day is “wasted.”
2. Sleeping: If you’re hungry at the end of the day, just go to sleep. It’s safer than hunting for snacks late at night.
3. Delaying or skipping breakfast: If I don’t feel like eating breakfast, I’ll skip it and have more budget to use later in the day, especially in the evening when suppertime comes around.

What doesn’t work:
1. Using up calorie budget early in the day: If you’re hoping you’ll “just eat less” to compensate in the afternoon and evening, that may be a false hope.
2. Eating just vegetables: I could never satiate my hunger on salads. Be reasonable and let yourself have bread, butter, cheese, even chocolate – but know that when you eat calorie-dense foods, you won’t get that feeling of volume you may need to feel satiated.
3. Drinking your calories: Stay away from juice and sugary beverages. If you must, grab a sugar-free “diet” equivalent or mix your juice with carbonated water. Do you want that beer? Better add that to your calorie count for the day. And if it doesn’t fit, leave it for a day that you have space for it.

In conclusion, though my progress stalled this year, I’m still well below my initial starting point. I’m also wiser, and I hope that you can learn from my wins and mistakes, too! 🙂