Hi Todd;

Personally I think most people's ideal weight is often the weight they were 
in their twenties. I know a couple of people who have acomplished this and 
feel fine (in their late 50's and 60's)....

Perhaps it is, as someone else here had suggested, cortisol levels caused by 
stress? I often have heard people who would claim to eat more while on 
holidays and yet lose weight. Perhaps you can try some herb or supplement to 
reduce levels of cortisol?

Marilyn

> Ideally, one wants to be able to eat without conscious restriction and 
> have one's body weight "normalize", i.e., stabilize at a level optimal for 
> health, given one's general body type, activity levels, and so on. This is 
> what many diets promise; I don't know if any, including paleo, actually 
> deliver. My experience is that paleo, as well as other approaches, takes 
> me so far, but well short of goal. The remaining distance requires 
> conscious restriction.
>
> Todd Moody