Prior to finding DASH diet, I was hypertensive with obesity that ranged as high as class 3. To lose so much weight required 18 months of solid daily calorie restriction with DASH, ranging between 1300-1500 cals per day. I have spent 5 years now maintaining this weight loss and I notice that I dont seem to gain weight following a DASH diet lifestyle, even if I eat too much.

Over Christmas/New Years and all the weeks before that, there were days I would have sworn I should have put on weight with my food intake and I just never did.   If I do gain a few pounds, it just comes off, without much conscious effort that I am really aware of anymore. I do continue to weigh myself, almost daily to ensure I am always still monitoring things.  I continue to exercise vigorously although I didn’t as intensively or as often, over these holidays, as I was nursing a lower back injury.

Perhaps good habits, as Dr Katz (I am a fan) discusses, are just becoming more ingrained and a part of me that I do not notice them?  I used to have to watch my calories much more closely to maintain weight and these days, this is not so important for maintenance. Something has changed in a good way and I hope it continues.   Will have to keep an eye on it and see if my own aging process changes this, given calorie needs lessen as we get older.

My alternative theory is, that its a super, cold chilly, winter and I can’t stop shivering much of the time.  I have never never been as warm as I used to be before I lost all this weight, in the winter (probably the only thing I miss).  This is very unusual for my area, usually quite balmy in winter, so maybe I am just burning way more calories than usual.