I have been about 40 lbs. down from my high for over a month now since Jon W. and I first started our weight loss plan a little after Thanksgiving last year. It is good I am down and not going back up, but it is not so good I have been stuck for so long. I would like to say that I am on this plateau just because my metabolism has adjusted, but that would not be entirely true.
The reality is that, after three months of great progress, I am finding it hard to stay on my low calorie diet (I found I can lose weight if I stick to under 1200 calories). I keep falling off the wagon on the weekends. This is a very bad sign because I have a trip to Phoenix coming up followed by a trip to Canada for work after that and a trip to Mexico in early to mid summer which, given the family into which I married, will involve lots and lots of red meat. Based on my track record, none of these bode well for my diet.
I really and truly want to build on my current level of diet success. I have hit a new level of healthy blood pressure and cholesterol measurements, the reacquired abilities to put on my socks without asphyxiating myself and to actually cross one leg over the other when I am sitting down, and the ability to wear clothes I have not worn for years. I do not want to lose that. So, having succeeded in the past with a low carbohydrate diet, I have decided to switch to that for the next few months of barbecues, carnes asadas, and eating in restaurants.
The last thing I have decided is that, if Jon is game, I want to extend our battle plan to one with an indefinite end (maybe until death, but that is actually kind of definite). I was thinking if I did this until the end of the year, that would be good enough. Now though, even when I get down to my desired weight, I am pretty sure I am going to need to keep on keeping track.