It may seem strange, but I really enjoy the process and challenge of losing weight. I like the focus that it brings, and I relish the discipline that is required in a diet to achieve results. (Of course, I also kinda enjoyed the whole process of getting ready for a colonoscopy, as it required personal discipline and commitment) (Think it may be a military thing)

The maintenance part I enjoy much less. In my mind I have arrived at the top of the mountain, so it is time to come down. I feel that I should be rewarded for doing good, by eating the foods that I have previously enjoyed but have abstained from for countless weeks. I can not seem to get to the place mentally where I 'accept' extremely low carb as my new normal, as many of you have. Maybe that is because at most I was 45 lbs overweight, or maybe that is because I have been fortunate enough to have no medically issues related to being overweight or tied to eating.

I do think I am at a place where I will never again find myself sitting on the couch with a bag of chips grazing for an hour, but I am unsure if I can consistently maintain my weight. I may be destined to yo-yo between 200 and 185, which I can live with (200 really needs to be the ceiling). As I stated in the beginning of this musing, I enjoy the process of losing weight, so having to spend a few months disciplined each year may be my destiny.

This is not meant to signal that I am abandoning my discipline, but it is an acknowledgement that I may stray considerably, especially over the holidays when my son is home, and I may need to climb the last 1000 feet to the summit again in the near future.