I want to add...

I think I may be mis-representing my situation based on a recent post I read.  I regularly eat 1600 to 2500 calories per day.  My BMR is 1312.  I have a sedentary job.  When I exercise, I burn anywhere from 100 calories to 300 calories, depending on the exercise I do.  I eat too much - I take in too many calories. This isn't a surprise, as I wouldn't have gotten fat in the first place if I didn't have a penchant for overeating.  One slice of pie in one day isn't bad... 2 1/2 IS bad.  If I eat pie, I don't stop at one piece.  Therefore, it's best if I don't eat pie at all.  I'm not berating myself for eating a piece of pie - I'm feeling upset because I seem to have completely stalled out on my weight loss by eating too much REGULARLY.  I'm not talking about occasional indulgences; I'm talking about indulging in junk food most days, often several times a day.  This is not something to make a sarcastic remark about; this is a serious problem that could easily result in me re-gaining 50 pounds.  Obviously I haven't resolved the issues that lead to my weight gain in the first place.   

And in case anyone sees my weight (134) and thinks that's normal, my current BMI is 29.  And you can see from the following table that I'm at the upper reaches of overweight:

BMI Categories:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

No one thinks they can exercise off pie and keep the calories from their salad.  However, they do want to keep their total calorie intake less than the total calorie burned.  If you eat something that pushes your day's intake past your total calorie burned, than your options are to: ignore it and remember it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound, just like it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound; cut back a little more the next day to maintain the total week's loss; or exercise to actively burn off some excess calories.  It is true that most people over-estimate calories burned (no thanks to the machine's generous numbers) just as they under-estimate the calories they consume and therefore it is always better to not have eaten the extra calories than to try to burn them off.  HOWEVER, some may find exercise a helpful way to refocus themselves and it IS better, unquestionably, to exercise than not to exercise. Here's a good article on the benefits (and limits) of exercise as part of a weight loss program.

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_exercise.php