Low Carb Diet Going Into 2013

Now that I am approaching two years, (late March), on low carb dieting I have to decide if I stay or try something else.   I CAN stay on low carb.  I like it.  Usually.  Have no food cravings for sugar or wheat products other than cereal.  I have maintained my weight but haven't lost any in a long time.

And that is my dilemma.  I didn't try this low carb lifestyle to just maintain my weight.  Not that maintaining isn't a really wonderful thing.  It is nearly impossible to keep weight off.  Keeping at least 60 pounds off for over five years is one for the record books.  In my opinion.

In 2007, I went with just a straight calorie counting diet ( not Weight Watchers) and I basically ate whatever I wanted or whatever I had prepared for my husband and then stopped eating when the total in my food diary added up to 1200.  On the days when I only added up to 900--well, those were the days when I really lost weight.  I filled 6 or 7 little diary type books in the 365 days I was on the diet.  Losing 1 to 2 pounds every single week. I went from 238 to 158 in one year.  But I lost my job and was very, very angry most of the time.  I usually waited until 10 or 11 to eat breakfast, skipped lunch and had pasta, pizza and anything I wanted  for dinner.  I tried having soup (usually a thick lentil soup) for dinner several times during the month.  My recipe cards have all the calorie counts written in the margins.  I measured everything.  Counted everything.  I stopped at 158 (I wanted to go back down to 138 and a size 8) because my family and everyone who knew me thought I was fine at 158.

From 2008 to 2011 I tried going back on this 1200 calorie diet  whenever I added a few pounds and I could never get past day three.  I eventually had regained 30 pounds in three years.  I had already given away all the cute clothing I purchased when I was in the low 160's.  But I refused to go any higher in size than 14.  That's when I decided to try low carb.  I wanted the Atkins Golden Moment.  I wanted to drop 30 pounds.  Or 40 pounds and finally get back to my college weight of 145.  It didn't work out that way.

I discovered, early, that this low carb way of eating eliminated my desire to eat.  One slice or bread or pizza never satisfied me before.  I would eat the whole loaf of freshly baked bread or half the pizza.  I snacked on cake and cookies at work.  I finished bags of chips and ice cream late at night while watching television.  After typing this--I am amazed that I only gained 30 pounds back in three years.

The first five days on Atkins I lost 9 pounds.  And that was it for a very long time.  Every once in awhile I would drop another one or two pounds.  And then I stalled at 171/173.  Nothing I did, or do to this day will budge the number on the scale.

The really "Atkins" thing though, I am wearing ALL the clothing I wore when I weighed about 10 pounds less.  My only problem is my waistband.  Somedays the button on my pants is so hard to button and other days so loose I worry my pants will slide down.  I have started eating less on tight button days and more on loose button days.  Less carbs, more fat.

So I stay with low carb.  Adding a baked potato on steak nights (1 or 2 times a month).  Adding beans to soups along with carrots.  I haven't had ANY bread, pasta, cake, cookies or muffins and hardly any sugar in all this time.  I am not tempted to try adding those things to my diet.  I have bran flakes and Fiber One for breakfast once in awhile and Bran Buds with Greek yogurt and fruit (usually berries and citrus) for lunch during the warm months.  I can't seem to let go of cereal.

I know most of the problem with losing any weight, for  me, is my age.  Sixty six.  My metabolism has slowed down with age.  I don't run or play tennis.  I work in a physically active greenhouse, lifting plants, staying on my feet all day at work which is good for me.  I want to try yoga or Pilates to stretch my muscles and build up my core muscles (which might take care of the buttons on my pants problems) and take care of balance issues, but trying to fit it into my day hasn't taken priority as yet.  By the end of my days at work, I am very tired.

I have tried visiting low carb sites to find a solution or a suggestion that will help me move forward with the last 10 to 12 pounds of weight loss.  I would like to reach 160.  I was happy at that weight for many years.  I have read that we stall at a weight we have been before.  I want to stall at 160.  (smile) If anyone reading this post has experience with low carb dieting and has a suggestion--please comment.
I want this to work.