You are doing great Dot. I've got some kale, pole beans, and squash growing in containers, fabric bags that allow roots to soak up CO2 from the air, where the roots are touching the sides of the bag inside with air outside. They are growing like crazy.

Do you feel like you are developing new eating habits for living your normal life, or does your diet seem like a time you must endure for a while?

I'm trying to develop permanent habits, mainly by changing the things I eat. You were right about my eating too many carbs. My long term goal needs to be <1200 calories per day, eating vegetables to get the vitamins, minerals, and protein my body needs. Too long I've been dependent on food for pleasure; I must change that.

@EdEarl I have kale growing in my garden but tomatoes are the only other produce I'm growing this year. Got tired of the poor results on beans, melons & squash in past years.

I'm trying to make this eating a pattern as I have always gained back what I've lost but this time I am more invested in keeping it off. I maintained for 6 months before restarting the limited calorie plan without a lot of adjustment to my eating other than I didn't monitor calories as closely but watched the scales closely and if I went up more than 3 pounds, did some cutting to bring it back down.

I didn't critique your carb intake, I eat plenty of them myself, certainly more than necessary. I did the Atkins diet years ago and it worked well during the time I was on it but I couldn't see myself eating low carb for ever so maintenance requires another learning process after the weight is off. Fruit is the biggest downfall for me on low carb eating. I love fruit and can't see cutting it from my diet long term. I've entertained the idea of doing keto for a while to push the weight off but figure the loss advantage might be negated by the trouble transitioning when I reach my goal.

I don't know how lucky one would be removing the pleasure from eating. It seems ingrained from childhood. I am always rather shocked when I encounter people who say things like "Oh, I forgot to eat today". because I can't really comprehend how you do that. I do think about food more than I would like to, If I get busy, I can forget about food for a time but if not, I will think, "Hmm, what should I have for lunch/supper, etc." I don't know how to train myself not to think about food though.

I spent my early years with my granny, who fed me well and who said that I was malnourished when she got custody of me. I don't know if that is true, but she believed it and made sure I ate well. Needless to say, I was rather "hefty" throughout my childhood. If you find a way to retrain your thinking, let me know. I'm pretty resigned to just controlling the urges to eat indiscriminately.

@DotLewis Beans add nitrogen to the soil. I planted the beans beside the kale, so it will get the nitrogen. We may eat some of them, if they do OK.

@DotLewis I expect eating to be pleasureful. However, I think I can avoid overeating for pleasure. I've been in a dark place since I injured my back and surgery, too many years. I decided to take control of my life; life had been in control of me for too long. .

Oh, @EdEarl, a 3 day fast? You have SO much more self control and determination than I do. The 16 hour fast is difficult for me, mostly because I struggle with "snacking" so this curtails much of my evening snack trips. That is a good thing but challenging for me. Kudos to you, I wish you luck.

@DotLewis It's not as difficult as it sounds. I get hunger pangs sometimes. You can eat some fat, for example a few olives, without changing from keto to insulin chemistries. However, if you eat carbs your insulin chemistry kicks in and you will feel hungry for a while after the carbs are processed by your body. Though it does not cause your body to produce insulin, fat will satisfy a hunger pang. Don't have much, just a fat pill, an olive or two. Nuts are OK, too; although, they have protein that also turns into glucose with insulin. Don't overdo nuts and seeds. Some prefer animal fats, e.g., butter.