Losing inches off the waist

It's been more than two weeks since I went off primal eating -- where I ate very few carbs and did not count calories -- and back to 50/30/20 -- where I eat 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fat, and stick to 1800 to 2200 calories daily.

My waist is down an inch. After about 9 months of stalemate, with my waist not budging, it is now down an inch in 16 days.

What does this mean?

It's only been 16 days, and, as usual, I am not applying the scientific method to these experiences -- my environment is not nearly as controlled as it should be for that -- so I am cautious about assuming a definite cause-effect relationship between the lower caloric intake and the waistline shrinkage.

However, I am hypothesizing that I was simply consuming too many calories on primal. As I said, I didn't count calories on primal, but looking back, I know I was eating a ton of salami for snacks (I can buy those 3-pound Columbus salami at Costco -- delicious with an apple), plus a lot of protein smoothies blended with fruit, and whatever else -- as long as it was not full of processed carbs or grains -- whenever else I wanted.

Now that I am watching my calories again, I am losing the inches.

I believe I'll stick with this way of calorie-restricted eating for a while, but I'm going to mix up the balance. I'll keep the calories to 1800-2200, but my only other constraint is that I'll want to get at least 150 grams of protein a day.

I say calorie-restricted, but, really 1800-2200 calories a day, with a focus on protein, is not bad, i.e. I'm not going to feel hungry, you know, like those 1200-calorie diets.

I'm doing this, because the only way I can know what works for me is to experiment on me. I know I don't feel right when I eat a lot of carbs -- I get run down and logy -- so I want to turn the tables a bit and eat more fat than carbs, or at least the same amount as a percentage of calories consumed.

As long as I keep losing inches off my waist, I'll be happy.