This plan was designed by a non-athletic office worker (male, 40's) who doesn't have time to exercise, can't cook but decided sloth wasn't a wise long-term solution. This plan is mostly diet control and incorporating exercise into a busy schedule where possible.

Results over first 10 months: 85 pounds lost, from size 46/48 to 38. Last month or two has been maintenance to see how well I can hold at the current weight. So far, so good: Portion control and grazing vs. eating main meals.

Month 1 - Made a baseline. Used http://myfitnesspal.com to track my eating habits. Very useful site, has a huge database of foods already loaded and both a website and a smartphone app that lets you scan barcodes and automatically load the nutritional info into your daily journal. For meals (like fast food) that don't have barcodes, their database lists most of the entries and the site remembers what you've chosen in the past. Bottom line: This site makes it really easy to track/see what you are eating.

Lesson for the month: I've been eating crap. My fitnesspal.com also breaks down the nutritional value, fat, calories, fiber, carbs, etc. Changing my diet was mostly due to seeing the details of my current diet and realizing there were better (or at least, "less bad") choices that weren't all that drastic. (Example: Eat before you get hungry so you aren't suddenly starving and able to justify the drive-through.)

Month 2 - I read up on general health/weight loss and concluded 80% of the issue for me was what I was eating. Experts and most websites set a target of 1600 calories a day (which was ridiculous since I was running closer to 3,000/day but I figured I would try it for 30 days. Turns out, the ridiculous part was eating 3,000 calories/day. Living on 1,600 per day but making smarter choices (thanks to myfitnesspal's insights and just reading the labels on food before you buy it) really isn't that difficult.

Insights:

• Swapping Diet Mt Dew out and replacing it with Propel water (I don't like "plain" water, *shrug*) made a significant difference in weight loss. Drinking a lot of water resulted in several pounds (10+, easy) during the month.
• Hunger Chews (Mandarin Orange with Satiereal Saffron Extract candy-like chews but are also available in a pill form, available at most GNC stores) actually helped get through some of the trickier hunger points. Whether it was mental or not, doesn't matter. I established the habit, used them when needed and still have them around just in case (think: Linus' blanket.)
• This was the first time I used the "30 days to make a habit" approach, which helped on days I was hungrier than others. By forcing myself to adhere to a strict regimen (under the guise of "force myself for 30 days and see the results are worth it"), I developed the habit, though it took some mental effort.

Month 3 - Added a fitbit (http://fitbit.com) into the daily routine to track the number of steps I was walking/day. Again, mostly awareness. There is a goal of walking 10K/day but I've rarely made it. Nonetheless, being aware of the steps helped me incorporate small changes (simple things like parking farther from the door, walking to see someone instead of picking up the phone, etc.)

Realizations:

• Diet Mt Dew makes me hungry. I used to have people tell me this and I blew them off as fanatics but empirical evidence is what it is - I believe this bunk now, though why is a mystery I don't feel compelled to solve.
• The world needs a smarter pedometer than fitbit. I am hoping the amiigo (http://amiigo.com) is the solution.

Month 4 - Stabilized diet into two forms: Work week and weekend.

• Work week Breakfast: One 30g Protein shake (premier), multivitamin (Centrum silver for Men)
• Work Week Lunch: Replaced with "grazing" on lunchables throughout the day. First time I get hungry (usually 9/9:30 on a day starting at 5:30/6 am), I drink water to 'wash' the hunger away. Second time, I have a lunchable (250/270 calories depending on the type. Note: These are NOT the ones with cookies, fruit juice, candybars, etc.). Repeat as needed until end of work day (6 PM or so).
  Typical day: 2 lunchables (one at 10:30, one around 2)
• Work Week Dinner: Protein, grilled steak/chicken/fish over a gas grill, with vegetables if I remember to pick them up on the way home (which I rarely do)
• Weekend Breakfast: One 30g protein shake, multivitamin
• Weekend lunch: Replaced with grazing, usually a lunch meat sandwich in the afternoon (thin whole wheat bread, low-sodium ham/roast beef/turkey or combination thereof)
• Weekend dinner: Protein mostly, grilled hamburger/steak/chicken/fish over a gas grill, with vegetables if I remember to pick them up on the way home (rare)

In general, I stay under the 1600 calorie limit during the week easily and probably walk more. As a result, I lose 2-3 pounds/week. Unfortunately, the weekend is less structured, so I tend to blow past the 1600 limit and exercise less so the overall week's loss is usually a battle between the week-self and the weekend-self. (That's probably true on many levels for most people, come to think of it)

Month 5 - Added in some exercise to offset/improve the weekend results. It was easier after having lost 40+ pounds and having more energy but again, it isn't perfect. Walking a few miles over the weekend, a bike ride, just doing something was the secret to success here. By forcing myself to do at least one healthy/exericse thing over the weekend, and not letting it be an option so much as a mandatory event, I was able to plan more interesting activities. Surprising results include going kayaking, jogging (actually the modified walk/sprint 30-60 seconds/walk really isn't that difficult), biking.

Insights

• Again, viewing the change as a 30-day mandatory ("I can do anything for 30 days") helped make it into a habit. Mentally, it became a "standard" part of the weekend, not something unusual.
• Incorporating changes are easier now that I can see the results of the previous changes: 50-60 pounds less, more energy, clothes that either no longer fit or fit once again, depending.
• Friends and co-workers are noticing, which is usually a positive reinforcement.

Month 6 - This was a plateau month, for a variety of reasons. I was less strict, my weekly regimen was thrown off by a lot of travel (meaning control of food was blown way beyond what kinda of lunchable would I have whenever I got around to being hungry), weekend exercise was replaced with travelling and the chaos that come with it and, I suspect, a little diet fatigue.

However, it was a good test to see how well the plan's changes (1600 calories, weave in exercise, drink more water, eat when hungry but not to stuffing, choose foods wisely, etc.) could be integrated into a completely different set of circumstances.

Some interesting realizations:

• A club sandwich can become a lunchable if ordered without mayo and taking off the bread.
• Airports are good for exercise if you (1) accept longer layovers, (2) forget about the trams, (3) walk from your arrival to departure gate. Packing protein bars or other healthier choices than what is available at the airport is usually a good idea too.
• Hotel pools are usually empty in the evenings, thus becoming an efficient way to work in some exercise quickly.
• If you are staying more than one night, find a grocery store and buy your staples (Propel and lunchables, in my case). If the room doesn't have a fridge, it is easy to ask for one - they'll bring a dorm fridge which is sufficient.
• Airline seats (and seatbelts) are more friendly after you lose 60+ pounds.

Month 7 - Continue to strike balance between maintaining and losing. Work schedule has increased the difficultly level of sticking to the plan but it is not impossible (or terribly hard unless you convince yourself it is, but that just feels like an excuse.) Weekend chores are now seen as chances to exercise in a productive fashion. Weight loss continues but the fluctuations are greater. During months 2-4, it was a consistent reduction over the week. Now some weeks are better than others but it is no longer a consistently downward trend week over week.

Insights:

• Exercise didn't compete with work/responsibilities because it just wasn't that obviously beneficial nor interesting. Without a feeling of accomplishment at the end of something, I struggle to find time to do it.
• Exercise continues to be a small portion of this plan. I have friends who have lost just as much but they have gone the exercise route in a big way. Both ways are producing results, so there is no "right" answer other than to choose and do.
• Rings on fingers fit, wearing neckties is no longer a strangling process and I now get thirsty of I haven't had water in the last 2 hours. (At the start of this, it would be weeks without "just water", though only minutes between diet sodas)

Month 8 - Tough month but in a "nice problem to have" kind of way. The weight loss has slowed dramatically, it feels like I hit a 2-week plateau at one point and now the reductions are maybe a pound a week, not the more dramatic (and, frankly, fun) drops from early on. However, I'm within 10 pounds of a third goal (that I never would have imagined would be possible again - ever) so it is a nice problem to have at this stage. Finding the balance between work schedule and TMM has levelled out, no real secret other than to keep your diet is a priority in your mind (meaning I can't let work get in the way of grazing, walking, awareness - so far, so good)

Insights:

• Up this point, the weight loss has been mostly diet with a little bit of exercise. As the weight loss slows, I am starting to suspect that diet/exercise balance will have to change now. While the diet can hopefully stay the same, the exercise may be the only way to get these last few pounds off. I'm optimistic, despite hating exercise, because I enjoyed the weight loss from the first few months and can still remember the feeling of success at weigh-in time. That's a powerful rush. :)
• I'm sure there will be a trade-off between exercise and weight-gain-as-muscle but I don't know enough to gauge how serious a problem that is going to be just yet. For now, I'll stick to my plan and use weight as my measure of success - there's still enough left I think and I have a target number in my head.
• No matter what happens going forward, this is a better place to be than 8 months ago. I have no concerns or worries of "sliding" or going back, which I think is a healthy result of having lost it slowly and normally instead of a drop-fast-now more gimmicky approach.

Month 9 - September is the last of the easy months, given the standard Holiday food fare. I have reached my third goal, surprisingly enough. Unfortunately, I didn't have the next goal defined so it was a short lived goal but I'm not letting that overshadow the accomplishments so far. As one friend pointed out, I'm 30% less of who I was at the beginning of the year. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment for a relatively low-stress plan.

Insights:

• Always have a goal and a next goal. Strangely enough, you need to be prepared for success which means knowing what your current goal is (and staying on track) but not losing that mindset when you reach the goal (otherwise you take your foot off the gas and lose all this great inertia you have going!)
• My next goal is behaviour-oriented more than weight/loss related. If I can maintain my current weight through the end of the year (read: through the trials and tribulations of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas parties/dinners/food events), I'll consider that a win,
  I think.
• Exercise is creeping in but it is much less difficult a prospect than it was even two months ago, nevermind nine.

Months 10-12 - Overall: Success. I ended the year above my third goal but under my first two, which is an absolute win. Keeping the weight off is a Major Success in my book. The habits that I built up (awareness, freedom, all the basic tenets of the TMM) were extremely helpful. Did I overeat? Absolutely. Did I stress over it? No. Because this isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle and life has good days and bad days.

Insights:

• Despite what I just wrote, there are no bad days. I found that avoiding negative terms (as new-agey as this sounds) really did help keep the perspective on all of this. Instead of good and bad days, I've opted for on-track and off-track days - it just sounds less judgmental :)
• Big Picture is key to those last three months. Given how much delicious and sweet foot is available (and expected to be consumed, even by simple social graces), staying on track is extremely difficult and, honestly, not always possible on a daily basis. However, it was easy to limit my indulgences by remembering how great it felt to see the lower numbers on the scale, fit into clothes that were once delegated to the back of the closet (or attic, or basement or.... you get the idea). And, admittedly, recalling some of the comments helped as well. Vanity, perhaps but perspective is where we find it.
• Exercise is surprisingly easy to come by in the fourth quarter. Mall parking lots are packed, you tend to travel more (meaning more chances for long walks, stairs vs. escalators, etc.) and generally increased activity means generally increased opportunity to sneak in exercise. All in all, it can balance out the indulgences if you keep an eye out for the chance to do a little more exercise than you have this far into the year.

  Good luck, hope this helps - I'm facing the New Year without the dread of those annoying weight-loss resolutions and that, perhaps more than anything, is a great way to measure a winning management program.