I’m writing this today because weight maintenance is becoming a struggle. For 2.5 years, I had no trouble maintaining my weight. I had everything figured out. My diet was on track with a variety of food I love. My workouts were hard and fun. However, over the last year or so, everything changed. First, perimenopause happened. I gained a little back, but nothing I was worried about. It’s normal to get to your goal weight and adjust up a little. Over the last few months, my weight started creeping up again. I haven’t been pigging out. My diet has been stable, with a few days where I overate. Anyone who tells you that they eat perfectly, is lying. Just sayin’. Now I have a problem. I also have had some major gastrointestinal issues that I’m still trying to work out. It’s frustrating when you don’t have a handle on exactly what is going wrong. I am frustrated, but I can do something about it.

I am always amazed at those who worked so hard to lose the extra weight and then gain it all back. However, the answer for that is simply, a lifestyle change wasn’t made. But what if you did lose the weight and made the lifestyle change and it’s no longer working? Here are some reasons:

You got older. What may have worked a year ago, may not work now. Maybe in your 20s you could lose 5 pounds in your sleep and now it won’t budge. You will have to adapt your eating habits and exercise to accomodate. For example, women going through perimenopause will gain more weight in the abdominal area [citation needed]. As we get older, we also lose more and more muscle mass, which burns more calories. Make sure you are also incorporating strength training in your exercise routine.

You are really healthy. What I mean by this is when you become more fit, your resting heart rate decreases. When your resting heart rate decreases, you heart becomes more efficient. It also means you burn less calories. This is a problem for me because my resting heart rate is between 50 and 60 bpm. It’s become a bear to burn 2000 calories in a day. Being fit is a good thing, but you may have to adapt your calorie intake to accomodate.

You have a health problem. I have been fighting an unknown gastrointestinal illness for several months now. I am working to get to the bottom of it. To start I am taking a probiotic and deleted dairy and am feeling better. But, I am still struggling a bit. If you think you have a health problem that is influencing your weight, get to the doctor. Keep asking questions. There may be something else going on that once you know about it, you can make the changes necessary to keep on track.

The bottom line is adapt. We all change over time. Don’t let a change ruin your progress. If you start to gain weight, find out why and make the changes before you are back where you started. I am cutting back on calories too. I am trying a zig zag diet routine. This means I eat normally on the days I work out hard and then much less on my rest and yoga days. Here is the recipe I am using for a filling less than 200 calorie recipe:

Low Calorie Savory Oatmeal Bowl

• 1/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large stick of celery, chopped
• 85g Extra-firm tofu, cubed
• 1 tablespoon Sweet Baby Rays Wing Sauce

Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add in the mushrooms, tofu, and celery and cook to desired doneness. Mix the water and oatmeal in a large bowl. Place in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken. Add in the veggies and tofu and mix. Add in the wing sauce and mix.