With weight loss, he's a work in progress

On June 2 of last year, I stepped on a scale and achieved my goal weight: 177 pounds. Finally! After 20 months I had lost 150 pounds. That day marked the end of a chapter, but not the closing my weight-loss book.

Today I'm proud to say I haven't just maintained that weight loss, I've taken it down to 161 pounds. But it hasn't always been easy.

As many of you know losing weight, even 10 pounds, can be an arduous and frustrating task. I've generally been able to drop weight (remember this column started in 1992 after I'd dropped more than 100 pounds), but what's been more of a struggle has been maintaining weight loss. It seems somewhat counterintuitive, but from my experience it's harder, much harder, to keep weight off than to lose it.

While it seemed daunting at the beginning, having so much weight to lose turned out to be a good thing. Taking almost two years to lose weight meant that by the time I'd shed the pounds I'd formed dietary habits that really stuck. Maintaining my food plan had become simple: keep doing what I'd been doing each day, except with an additional 500 calories.

It also meant losing my almost obsessive focus on food. While losing weight I didn't reward myself with food and instead marked my milestones with new clothes. Not clothes that fit at each weight drop, but pieces that would fit when I'd reached my final goal.

Like many folks with weight issues, I had clothes that fit me at different weight levels. So, clothes that became too big to wear were washed and packed into a large cardboard box. When that box filled, I donated them to my local Goodwill center. By the time I'd reached 177 pounds, I had no more "big" guy clothes in my closest. My "rewards" fit me and looked great.

I couldn't take this for granted and kept a close eye on the scale. For two months after reaching my goal, my weight slowly slid down to 168. But, as the weather cooled, biking and tennis stopped. Weight started showing up - 4 ounces here, 8 ounces there - until in December I'd returned to 177.

Something had to change before I needed my big guy clothes back. So I added an aerobic workout to my weekly schedule to equal the outdoor activities I couldn't do. And, I took a very close look at my food diary.

I realized that when my activity levels were up, my food plan worked perfectly. But, when those activity levels dropped I hadn't compensated sufficiently for the calorie differences. So I cut my daily calories by 300 and rewarded myself by expanding my wardrobe.

This spring, I kept up my scheduled workouts and got more active outdoors, adding tennis lessons and evening bike rides to my week. I was astonished to find that after not weighing myself for 30 days, I'd gotten down to 161.

Maintaining weight loss by balancing caloric intake against activity levels isn't easy. I'm still a work in progress.

The final piece in my weight-maintenance puzzle: you. Throughout my journey you've shared letters and e-mails; the support had been invaluable. Thank you.

Try this recipe: At a celebration last weekend, my cousin, Kathy, brought Black, White and Red Salsa from my 1999 book "A Guy's Guide to Great Eating." At first bite I knew why I'd included it in my cookbook: it's terrific! Take it to a summer celebration, but don't spoil the fun by telling friends it's healthy.

Don Mauer appears Wednesdays in Food. He welcomes questions, shared recipes and makeover requests for your favorite dishes. Address them to Don Mauer, Daily Herald Food section, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or, via e-mail, to don@theleanwizard.com.

Black, White and Red Salsa

Black, White and Red Salsa

¾ cup fat-free, sodium reduced chicken broth

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled)

3 large garlic cloves pressed through a garlic press, or minced

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)

teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, sensed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 cups frozen corn kernels

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

¾ cup chopped red onion

1 large jalapeȱo pepper, seeded and minced

In a large mixing bowl whisk chicken broth, olive oil, lime juice, oregano, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper together until combined. Add black beans, Great Northern beans, corn, bell pepper, onion and jalapeȱo pepper. Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold together until coated and combined. Serve with fat-free or low-fat baked tortilla chips.

Makes about five cups.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per tablespoon: 15 calories (18.3 percent from fat), 0.3 g fat (trace amount saturated), 2.5 g carbohydrate, 0.7 g fiber, 0.8 g protein, 0 cholesterol, 32 mg sodium.