The good news is that, indeed, I reached my weight goal. This occurred roughly in the third week of March 2009. I was able to maintain my weight in my target range for about 2 months before it started to increase slowly and steadily. So what happened? Well, I had been on the South Beach Diet for most of the first part of 2009. When I stopped this diet, I thought that I had modified my intake sufficiently that I could maintain my weight. To be clear, I thought that my eating habits were pretty good before I even started on South Beach. I do have a weakness for potato chips and I like a few spoonfuls of sugar in my coffee, but I limit red meats and fat. Obviously some aspect of my diet was leading to weight gain.
Starting in the middle of November 2009, I made two simple changes. First I went to using fake sugar in my coffee (Stevia extract) and I replaced the bread in my lunch time sandwiches with tortillas. You will note that since this change (at Day ~500), I have lost 3 lbs. Hopefully I can get my weight back to where I want it to be in the first part of 2010 and find a way to live with a diet that will not make me feel guilty for everything I eat. Clearly, for me, my weight has more to do with what I eat than how often and how long I exercise.
