I created this website back in 2018, originally targeting a 1200 calorie per day diet. As I have been unable to stick to this level of restriction, but I have also been unsuccessful at losing weight by trying to intuitively "eat right" without calorie-count based meal-planning, I am renewing my use of the site but increasing the calories to 1500.
My high weight in 2018 was around 216 pounds and I have started over many times after settling into a long plateau around 190, but resolve to only add new weeks and add notes every day on my latest approach starting in late 2025.
Overweight ladies and gentleman unite! We will overcome. Disclaimer: My meal plans, at a modest 1500 calories per day, are designed for a very short female of only moderate activity level. I would recommend a taller female or male build more calories into their weight loss plan.

Observations from years of trying to get out of obesity and ultimately into a healthy weight range:

• If choosing to add exercise, which I recommend since it can counteract at least 500 unintended calories a week, add it extremely incrementally, until it becomes a habit. Then add more. I started at a mere 15 minutes of walking a day in November of 2024 and now average over 30 minutes a day plus have increased my weight lifting routine from 5 pound weights to 8 pound weights in that time, and just started adding in a modest amount of situps.
• Trying to lose weight rapidly works for some, but I have had 0 success at dramatically reducing my weight long term by hard core starvation diets/fasting. Even 1200 was too low for me to be sustainable. At 1500, I do not feel hungry and only battle mental cravings.
• You will improve troublesome numbers at doctor's checkups with weight loss; even a 20 pound loss dropped my A1C a satisfying amount.
• I take medication that is associated with weight gain, diabetes, and other metabolic problems. I also developed hypothyroidism when I was 21 years old, before I became overweight. Be kind to yourself, especially if you have factors such as these, or perhaps have mobility problems due to weight or injury that keep you from exercising, or even are just older -remember it's not just a battle of will power against food, there may be more stacked against you so appreciate every success. Try not to hate your own body in the interim.
• Do not ever give up. As long as you are medically obese or significantly overweight, you have work to do to change your lifestyle so that you can maximize your chances of a longer life, and also have a greater quality of life for whatever span of time you are allotted on this planet.