Wow, thanks for your detailed thoughts Caroline DePalatis! The fact that you noticed a potential problem creeping up on you and acted to fight it proactively, before it become more serious, is a testament to good thinking and good motivation.

I’ve been fortunate in my life in having the luxury of never really needing to worry about weight gain (at least so far). I’ve eaten well through some periods in my life; I’ve eaten less well in others; I’ve exercised frequently sometimes and infrequently others; but through it all my body has been relatively happy to stay the way it is. But I’ve seen other people around me that haven’t had that luxury. And I’ve definitely seen how an emphasis on solving a weight problem with a diet solution can put people in a long-term cycle of defeat and negativity. It now seems likely that people who gain large amounts of weight but aren’t able to intervene as quickly and effectively as you — often due to other challenges, depression, the restriction of a long-term injury, and so on — trigger broad metabolic changes in their bodies. And these changes are very “sticky” — even if they aren’t actually permanent, they are hard to reverse once they’ve happened. (In fact, it seems that other conditions might be like that too. Some studies suggest at-risk people are able to delay diabetes and high blood pressure diagnoses by changing their lifestyle, but not nearly as successful trying to reverse these conditions after they already have them.)

I hope you write more about your lifestyle changes and challenges. It sounds like you’ve got some inspirational experiences to share!