Why can't I lose weight?

[csziggy]

8. While I am not down to an ideal weight I lost 45 pounds since last August

Mostly I used MyFitnessPal.com to keep a food diary. Since I had a deadline to lose that much weight (surgery) I set my goal at 1000-1200 calories but usually stayed under 1100 calories.

In January I hit a plateau, which I had expected - nutritional and weight loss studies show that the body metabolism adjusts to a lower calorie count and you slow down or stop losing weight. At that point I changed to a low carb diet - not a full Atkins which aims at 20-40 carbs a day, but about a third of the 150 carbs MyFitnessPal.com told me I should have been getting with the calories I was eating.

I reached my goal in early March and had the planned surgery (spinal fusion) four weeks ago. Since the operation I have not been keeping such a tight rein on my diet and I have put on a couple of pounds. I figure I am healing and need more nutrients, plus my husband and I are going on a long trip in July. Keeping a food diary is hard when traveling, but we will be hiking a lot and I will be burning a lot of calories.

My plan for now is to hold where I am until we get home in November. For one thing I now have the clothes I need for my trip and don't want to replace my wardrobe again. After we get back, I will go back on a diet and try to lose at least another 50 pounds. If I get there I will take another break from dieting, hold steady for a few months, then try to get down to where I should be.

I hope that dieting in spurts will help me keep my weight down for the rest of my life.