4 years, 5 months in long term weight maintenance, 3rd full year of menopause- better than I thought it would be

May 2011 to July 2016 long term weight maintenance

Starting weight 187.4 lbs

Goal Range 115-125 lbs

Current Weight 123.8 lbs

Keeping off 63.6 lbs

Average weight this month 124.5 lbs

Time in maintenance 4 years, 5 months

Age 50

Menopause 3 years

Height 5'1"

BMI 23.4

BMI where my health insurance is cheaper <25

Auto-Immune Hashimotos 1997

Food Addict in Recovery: 5th year

Current food template: Paleo/LCHF, modified AIP, sometimes Ketosis

Strength training 2X per week.

Walking 14-15,000 steps per day

Rowing sprints 1X per week.

May 2011 to July 2016 long term weight maintenance

Binge urges: 0, zip, nada, 

Menopause: I started the clock ticking in 2012, right when I started weight maintenance. Then in 2013, I officially started menopause. So it's been 3 full years. 

Things are going better than I thought they would, really. After half a lifetime of overweight, binge eating, obesity, and morbid obesity, who would have thought it?  

Eating Paleo, Low Carb High Fat, and sometimes being Ketogenic has great benefits. 

So glad I hung in there. I was seriously considering Lapband. Nothing wrong with  surgical procedures, but the side effects of Low Carb (good immune health, good full/hungry signals, less acne) and the nutrient benefits are a better fit for me. It's cheaper in the long run, I have to eat nutrient dense anyway.... It's all good. I'm confident that I'll have better health outcomes with real foods, as I age.

I'm not sure I would have effectively addressed my food addiction without getting to the roots of what foods work for me. Huge step, getting to the root cause. 

Weight:  I'm holding steady, overall I was up in the 125's for a few weeks- right before vacation, and for about a week after I returned. Mild GI stuff.  I did not weigh in during vacation because I could not locate a scale. That's okay, I stayed on my food template and had zero binge urges. No problems. I'd perfer to weigh in but it's not a deal breaker. I can keep my food addict brain in check with my habits.

Menopause: I really thought weight maintenance would be not possible in menopause. I was wrong. Good thing I challenged my beliefs.

GI stuff:I know better than to drink from public drinking fountains and I got rewarded with a funny tummy for about 5 days. Sigh. I've learned not to get overly happy or sad about numbers on the scale. It is what it is. If I eat crappy or drink crappy, I get what I get. Short story. Truth. My eating has been on point.

Goals this month is to continue on my Salk Institute data collecting, try some of the recommendations I'll get this week based on food timing and sleeping, and keep my weight more into the 123's as best I can.

3 years of menopause on weight maintenance Island. Life is good!

What is working
1. Staying on my food and exercise template
What did not work in the past
1. Eating low fat, wishing, playing a victim, not changing as I aged

Life on Weight Maintenance Island 2016

Data is data- 2 weeks of weigh-ins