Thanks for the links! Good information. From Amy's discussion of insulin, I clicked to a previous post (and YouTube) on a relevant issue. Have to admit I stopped receiving Amy's blog a while ago, and I know why: wa-a-a-y too many words. She admits it. I just can't wade through it.

Female hormones: Yep. I'm sure that's a factor. At 72, I probably don't have any But reflecting on my experience with my ob/gyn in my 50s, I'm aware of the issues. Except for a moderate thyroid supplement (my current doc is adamant about not overdoing it), I have avoided messing "artificially" with hormones. Things like HRT have been just as controversial and subject to changing medical opinion as nutritional guidance. I eat a slug of ground flaxseed every day, but hadn't ever thought about the estrogen effect.

In the link I read/watched, Amy Berger was talking about subcutaneous v. visceral fat. Without a scan, I can't be sure. But I believe that most of my fat/weight comes and goes as hereditary subcutaneous fat. In short, I have a really big butt and thighs worthy of a Mesopotamian goddess This configuration can be adjusted, but not eliminated, by diet and exercise. Like Amy, I ran a marathon. At the end, I was light in weight, but still big in butt!

You know I'm just obsessing here, don't you? I'm mad at myself for not maintaining. Everyone knows that maintenance is the absolute hardest part of weight management. Maintenance means for the rest of your life adhering to the dietary strategy that got you to a relatively unnatural condition that your body continues to resist. No matter how happy you are with the strategy, sometimes you just...don't want to.

After my workout this morning--a strategy I've been very faithful to for many decades--I took a look at my workout notebook, currently beginning in 2014. In June that year, I weighed 165. From then until now, my weight fluctuated between 150 and 175 (arrgh!). That's a pretty big swing, considering that I was doing my best to mostly adhere to my basic LC principles: real food/no sugar/no starch/no fast food/no snacks. Clearly, there were periods of exception. And I never said no alcohol.

Anyone who's read this far knows the reality: Figure out what's going on with you, and do what you have to do. It's not that complicated, it's just not easy or even, may I say, "normal" to make that dietary commitment.

So...Keto on. I'll come back in a month with a more cheerful frame of mind.