Aw, mate - I am the WRONG person to ask all of those questions of!!
I struggle with learning and retaining the knowledge to answer your questions. With regards to the glycogen, and how long and what restores it, etc.
Otherwise, you sound about how I was. I started out NOT counting calories or anything - trying the 'common sense' approach but found I floundered, so I started tracking everything vigilently, and that realy helped. There were some days, when taking my exercise into account I was only getting between 7 - 900 calories, and that was at the end. I was concerned as that is too low, but never felt poorly for it.
Now, the last two weeks - I am "winging" int again, to see if I am learning anything. So far, I can feel a tiny bit of the carb bloat you feel around the ribs, but clothe are not getting snug, so I am using that as a guide. It's scary - but I want to learn this without having to write everything down and add and subtract, etc., everytime I eat. So this is a test.
Being complete with the program feels wonderful, and I have had some real trying times recently, which I dealt with almost flawlessly, but must confess - I did have a little chocolate event the other day.
It was when I got home from my last day at work - I was sad, lonely, and concerned about not having another job lined up. It is the first time in nearly 25 years I was without a job, so it hit me and caught me by surprise.
Unfortunately, my team gave me a bottle of wine and some nice dark chocolate as a send off. I managed the wine just fine - it is still in tact - but I am afraid the chocolate got to me, and its amazing comforting qualities came back almost instantaneously. Which was a shock - but I allowed it to happen - consciously. I DID want comfort, and that was working. lol I know that kind ofbehaviour cannot happen everytime, but that was the end of a very stressful period - about 8 weeks or so - and whats done is done. Aside from that, I have followed healthy eating every single day and not had anything naughty which amazes me still. I should specify - anything unplanned that is naughty. I do plan for some special things now and again by either cutting back the days before, in advance, or after.
I now have accepted a job, and feel a great sense of relief. During those 4 or 5 days without knowing anything about my future - I did a lot of reflecting around my career choices over the years, and I found I was full of regret. That did not help when it came to being handed a big choccie bar on top of everything else.
SO the upshot is - I have recognised a very powerful trigger for me, and that is regret. It is apparently stronger then stress. And it makes sense if I look back over past issues.
So, being done with RTM, is not really being DONE at all. Everyday there is something new to learn about ourselves and our relationship with food.
so - lol - aren't you glad YOU asked!!
At the end of the day, we are all doing brilliantly if I do say so myself.
xx
But if you can live with that.... 
