thoughts about the 90/10 rule?

I was super strict until I lost all my excess weight.

Since then, I have a calorie budget. I look at it like a financial budget. If I spend my calories on certain things, I can't spend them on others. If I spend too much early in the month, I have very little later on. If I go a little overboard for a holiday, I pay the calorie deficit off as soon as I can afterward.

Ha!  I do exactly the same thing....my husband and I were out to dinner a couple of weeks ago, and he suggested something that sounded yummy....and I said it was too expensive....he looked at me like I was crazy and said" when we choose to go out for dinner, we don't look at prices".... oops, I had meant too many calories in my daily budget...

That is such a cool way to think about it and it doesn't carry emotional baggage or make me feel deprived!

Thanks for clarifying it even more for me!

When on maintnace at goal - that is my approach. 

While losing and determined to lose - it was more 95- 5. 

When My scale goes above the red line - it is back to 95-5... 

My concern would be that if you've been doing it for the past 6 months or so and your weight just recently started to move again I would think that its really not working for you, unless your intent was to be in maintenance mode?

I agree with Grim's post, if you're going to eat it, plan for it.  Keep it in your numbers, always be mindful.  I plan my next day as I'm making dinner that night.  That's all I take to work or set out for the day and eat it.  Yes I'm human too, so sometimes I go off plan but I don't beat myself up for it, I acknowledge it and know that I will make a better choice the next time.

Now having said all that, if you are happy with the tremendous success you've had then keep doing what you're doing, if you wanted/expected to be further ahead, stick to plan 100%

** edited for early morning grammar

Actually, I've just recently really loosened up and stopped freaking out about it, and that is when my weight started moving again.  I was struggling trying to stay exactly perfect, and found myself bingeing more often.  I do think that Grim has a point, and that everyone should try to do the 100% when in losing mode.  There is some psychology that goes along with it, though, so each person has to evaluate and see what actually works for them.  In my mind, eating like Grim would maximize my weight loss, but I physically can't do that and stick to plan.  It's just not sustainable for me to be a 100% carnivore. (but it works great for Grim, so that's awesome!)

 I'm very close to my goal, and I'm eating better now than I was 3 or 6 months ago.  I think I'm just more at ease with the whole thing.

I need to clarify, since my original post is that I was working it for 6 months.  The thing is, my calories were increased for 6 months, because I was struggling hard and found myself bingeing, so I said to myself I'd just increase the calories that I was eating to try to stop it.  Eventually, it seemed not to be working for me.  In September I started taking Prozac for anxiety and I've finally eased up on myself with the diet, so I am more compliant now than I have been in the last 6 months.  I also attended the OH Conference, which really helped to bolster my commitment to doing this right.  It seems that I'm now able to handle it again, and maybe that's because of the medication, or maybe it's because I've finally decided that I'm okay if I'm not perfect.

Either way, this is what I do.  My goal weight is 140lbs, and I'm sitting at 156-157 right now.  I feel confident that I will get to goal now, and I honestly couldn't say that just 3 months ago. 

I couldn't have done it until I was at goal and in maintenance. For me, making goal was my laser focus and I knew that if I was slipping on my rules, then, I wouldn't develop the good habits I need for long term. 

Now in maintenance, it's different. I agree with the above posters who say that if its planned it's not a cheat, but let's be honest...the fat girl inside me always feels guilty when I eat the popcorn or cookie, even if it's on plan. 

I so get what you mean. The guilt over having one stupid cookie is crazy!! Do naturally thin people beat themselves up over one effing cookie? 

It's way too early for me to practice anything like this. But my hope for the future is that foods like birthday cake or a champagne toast would be o****asionally and not considered"cheating". Like Grimm said worked into the daily menu.

I do allow an Cheat Day 1 time a week, or once every couple weeks.

But these days are just an increase in good carbs and calories to change up my diet, and allow my metabolism to reset some from the low cals the rest of the time.

Adding extra fruit, and grains does seem like a treat.