CNN: Man counted calories, watched the pounds go

quoted an article by Lyle M about
limited fat release rates and how to adjust caloric intake
to not lose lean.

That's a long winded article that ends up going with a
simple guideline I've suggested over the years -

How many calories should I target?

I've read guidelines that range from 10 calories per pound
of goal weight through 12 calories per pound of current
weight for dieters. The guideline of 10 per pound of goal
weight treats body fat as needing no calories (sorta). The
guideline of 12 per pound of current weight treats body fat
as needing the same calories as muscle (sorta). A
simple compromise is to take those two calorie numbers
and average them. As you lose, redo the average based
on your new current weight every month or two. The
result will be a gradual taper down in calories.

If you note the calorie levels Lyle M discussed if you change
my 10's above to 12's and my 12's above to 14's it gives the
same pattern of tapering down as Lyle's long winded version.
He's a lot more focused on exercise than I am and that
abotu covers the difference in calories. Huh, as long winded
as I normally am, I ended up more sucsinct than Lyle M.

There's an even less exact guideline that I've suggested over
the years that works the same without calculation -

How should I handle portion sizes and hunger levels?

With over 20 to lose, if you've seen a new low in the last
two weeks you're doing fine so don't change your portion
sizes. With under 20 to lose, if you've seen a new low in
the last four weeks you're doing fine so don't change your
portion sizes.

If you haven't been hungry in the last two weeks, tweak
your portion sizes down a bit. If you have been hungry
more than once in the last two weeks, consider tweaking
your portion sizes up a bit. But in the last ten pounds you
likely won't be able to avoid hunger so chose which you
want more those last 10 pounds or lack of hunger.

Combine these two sets of decisions and you end up
drifting down, treating food as a way of preventing hunger,
and drifting portion sizes down to keep loss happening.
All with the only math being counting calories and watching
for a new low.