23 months of Weight Maintenance - check in and dealing with a gain

23 months of Weight Maintenance - my check in this month

Highest weight: 187.4

Current weight: 117.0

Goal weight range: 113-118

Age: 47

Height 5’1”

Post- Menopause: Yes, since July 2013

What is working this month?

1.     Getting treated for an ear infection- see it on the second graph (below) from 12/4 to about 12/18 or so?  I could feel inflammation, but I didn’t feel ear pain until 12/17/13. Looking back on the weight graph, I could see it. 

2.     Dropping back down into a lower carb range 40-50 grams / day to reverse the gain trend.

3.     Getting back to 2X weekly strength training the last week of Dec 2013.

4.     Staying on my food template, as usual.

5.     Simplifying Christmas and the decorating and food craziness. I spent much more time beach walking and photography than ever. My new Christmas tradition.

The great news is that although the scale is up, I do have a 2-5% less body fat. I can tell my abdominal fat in my belly has decreased. This is great health wise, in my opinion. Supposedly the belly fat around the organs is related to metabolic disease. This hit home in the Refuse to Regain book (those MRI photos of visceral fat page 27 impacted me!!)

The so-so news is that I have more loose skin on my upper hips, on the sides. It’s either loose skin or a little bit of sub-cutaneous fat for the “winter” colder sleeping conditions.

I’m over it.  My body continues to change even 2 years from my weight maintenance date of Feb 3, 2012.  That’s okay. My health, sleep, emotional eating (in remission), and menopause symptoms are all in check. I feel most AWESOME!  Those are the main goals.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see my upper weight limit or my “scream weight”, but I did take swift action in getting back to a lower carb range.  This is why I chose my mid-BMI range for maintenance. Previous attempts at long-term maintenance were at 131, and I could not hold onto that for long. For a small boned, short person, it was too, high.

 I know our blogger friend; Vickie recommends 5 pounds lower than what you are aiming for maintenance range. My example is a good example of reversing within the 5-pound limit and still having good health, like lower abdominal fat. Let alone clothes that still fit. 

 I'd say my January Jeans 2014 challenge was a success, even though I did gain weight, I did not eat off the rails and my clothes still fit!

What did not work in the past:

1.     Waiting to go and get treated for bacterial infections, until the pain was so bad I could not sleep. I could not wish away the infection.

2.     Not weighing in and not catching weight gain trends early or fast enough until 10, 20, 30+ pounds were back on.

3.     Not strength training at all.

4.     Eating whatever the heck I wanted during Oct-Dec, hiding in huge sweaters and getting back to cutting calories in Jan-March, before the sweaters had to come off- (didn’t’ work!!!)

5.     Decorating, cookie baking, cookie eating, spending huge amounts of time doing Christmas cards and things other people wanted me to do or that I had learned was a “tradition”. Being on auto-pilot

Looser shirt side view

Different side view last week. Trying to get XS blouses..

1 month

2 months

 

 

 

3 months

Moonlight Beach, Dec 2013