I started this with a BMI of 35. (Halfway between "obese" and "morbidly obese".) I'm now about half a pound from not being overweight.

So for the first time ever, I'm looking at "maintenance."

Some caveats: I was diagnosed with diabetes last fall, so... some things are going to be forever "no-nos" for me that might otherwise be "acceptable" at this stage. And I've been doing a lot of IF this go-round, to help control my blood sugar and liver panels. It's been a high-stress year, and I find that IF also helps offset/control emotional eating.

Years ago, I was succesfully losing on Atkins, until The Year Of Five Funerals happened. I'd gotten thinner than I could remember, and was buying clothes that were too tight, expecting to have them fit in a few months.

Well, there were a couple sleeveless button-up tops that were too tight, and never fit properly. Ever. But I kept them in my closet.

Yesterday, I put one on. It's a little baggy.

It's a little baggy.

This shirt I've literally never been able to wear.

Like, if I were buying it today, I'd probably try on a size smaller.

I cannot wrap my brain around some of my measurements. I'm 1" off of a "perfect" figure...(decades ago, in a sewing class, a "perfect figure" was defined as one where hips/bust were the same, and waist was 10" smaller than both.)

And when I look at sizing-charts, the sizes I need to buy are... "too small". My preferred way to buy clothes is online (who has time to waste, going to a store), but I feel like I need to do some in-person shopping, because I don't trust that a Size 14 or 16 (see how I had to add in the 16?) is going to fit me. My waist is smaller than I remember it being this century. None of my bras fit (except that new one I bought... going to be getting more, but I think a cup-size down. That's not a complaint, there...)

But now, at half-a-pound-from-normal-weight, I'm beginning rapidly to see why Dr. Atkins devoted so much time & energy to "maintenance" and "pre-maintenance".

Because, with my appetite nearly gone most of the time (I'm hungry enough to eat maybe once a day.... maybe less), it would be really easy to drop another 20, but I'm not sure I want to go that low. Right now, I can still wear my "skinny clothes" from before, and a lot of my dresses (back-ties are your friend), although I clearly need to start buying new clothes for my new size. If I drop another 20, none of those things will be true.

And I don't think being that rail-thin at my age will look good on me or be especially healthy. (I've got a huge frame. Wide shoulders and hips. After high school, I had major surgery, and lost a lot of weight, during the recovery process, and got down to 145. The weight loss wasn't intentional or desired, and I know how I looked then, even though by the charts I was in the "normal" range. I have a big skeleton, so I need more meat on it.)

But normal, comfy nightgowns I bought this past winter have become "off-the-shoulder" garments for me, which is so very weird.

My BMI, today, is 25.1. I want to get it below that, and I'd like to try out being 165 lbs. But I don't think I want to go below that.

Guess it's time to start aiming for the "maintain"!