After a year of lurking, a first (and grateful) post - Goodbye Menopause Middle

Today I celebrate my 1 year anniversary logging. I've lost 52.2 pounds (every tenth of a pound down is noted and cherished!), going a bit past my original goal, and I owe my success to this MFP approach and to all of you in this community who kept me buoyed and committed to change.

This was the easiest 'diet' I've ever been on. I call it the Honest diet.

Usually, at my yearly check up when I stepped up on the scale, I stuck my fingers in my ears, lest the nurse say the number out loud, and closed my eyes. Last year ... I looked. I almost fell off the apparatus. Good gravy!

I shouldn't have been surprised. My size 16 jeans had certainly lost some of their bagginess. Ugh, ugh.

On the way home I bought a digital scale. I found MFP, started reading the posts in this community forum, took inspiration from others' successes. I began. I bought the necessary food scale and started logging, even going back in my memory and figuring out just what I'd *been* eating in a day. That was an eye-opener, and even so I was surely underestimating. Yikes!

Being honest with myself was the ticket. My diet wasn't really unhealthy choice-wise, just unhealthy portion-wise. I retired from a physically active job – an organic market gardener and cut flower grower. I cared for my mother during her last years. Throw in menopause and things got un-lovely fast. I knew I had to get some of the mid-section weight off my internal organs if I wanted a healthy, active retirement.

And thanks to you all – your own journeys, your encouragements, your straight-talking – I did it. I've been in maintenance mode for two months, trying to find the proper balance because I'm still losing, in part, I think, because I feel so much more energetic these days, I hit the ground every morning excited for the day. I'm more eager to try new things. I move more. I'm just happier.

Of course there were some down days along the way. Here and there I felt sorry for myself (I'm married to Mr. Metabolism). Here and there I wanted chocolate layer cake with a milkshake chaser. But knowing I can do what I decide to do is empowering. MFP and this forum gave me the tools and showed me the way. I won't be surprised by my weight ever again – I plan to keep on logging.

Height: 5'8"
Age: 60
SW: 176.6
GW: 126.6
CW: 124.4

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

CW

At my recent appointment, I told my gynecologist I'd finally lost my pregnancy weight; it just took 30 years to do it. :-)

No before pics! If the camera came out for a group photo, I always moved to the back row.