Another reason is the limited choice of appropriate low-carb foods at most restaurants. There's always meat and salad but not some of the foods like kefir or the two or three vegetables that I eat with a meal at home. Broccoli doesn't have a lot of calories, but it has some, and they do add up.

The main reason I lose weight on trips, I think, is that I tend to eat from boredom rather than from hunger. When I'm traveling, I'm doing interesting things, and I eat three meals a day, and that's pretty much it. When I'm home, the temptation is always there to take a break and have a snack.

I go into the house to make a cup of coffee and grab a few nuts, or a couple of slices of cucumber, or a piece of broccoli, or some cheese. It doesn't seem like much, but like the veggies at meals, it adds up.

I think the solution is for me to go on a perpetual trip. Hmmm. . . I could just sell the sheep, sell the house, and spend the rest of my life on the road, where people would call me skinny. Wonder how many years I could survive before I ran out of money . . .