Howie - to answer your question... yes! I feel like I spend most of my time thinking about food, calories, exercise, etc., etc., etc. It's never ending.

I always thought once I got to maintenance that it would so much better, easier. I wouldn't need to obsess as much. But I think I once I got to maintenance that I actually got worse with the obsessing.

But... I try to remember what my life was like 10 years ago, before I joined WW for the last time. I was a homebody, who hated to go out, who did only sedentary activities (reading, watching TV, needlepoint, scrapbooking). My friends would invite me on their adventures (white water rafting, hiking, etc) and always said no. Or had an excuse to get out of it. I was always tired, but didn't sleep well, had very little energy, was moody, never felt good... and, if I'm honest, I was very unhappy with my life.

Now? Sure I obsess about food and such, but now... I get bored if I'm home for too long, I rarely sit through more than two TV shows at a time, I love outdoors activities. Hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, walking, running, even gardening. Now I am the friend that is asking others to do stuff! I have energy throughout the day, I sleep well at night (most nights anyway!), I have a more positive attitude (and dare I say it... I've been known to be happy on occasion!), and I just feel better emotionally and physically.

So yes, I worry about my food/calorie/exercise obsession and worry that maybe it's not healthy. But how can an obsession that made me healthier in 40's than I was in my 20's be a bad thing?

Can the constant worrying about what to eat, not eat, should be eating be depressing? Yes. I go through my fits of "I'm tired of counting calories. I'm tired of eating the right foods. I'm tried of exercising." And then I stop all those things. Then I feel awful, I wallow in self-pity, then I realize I don't like the path I'm headed down so I get right back on program. And thankfully, over the years, those moments are far less than used to be.

So, Howie, be depressed, throw a fit, scream at the moon. Then accept it as part of the journey. You've come a long way, but it's not over yet. But just know, you are not alone. {{HUGS}}

Okay, I'm done rambling now... :laugh: