Decisions, decisions...

My ponderings last week have led me to make some decisions this week about my current blueprint.

The amazing thing about my journey is it has been so fluid.  When something is not working for me, I assess the situation and try to determine what I need to do to make a change.

I haven't lost more than 2 pounds and kept it off in a month.  It is crazy.  I had a wildly successful May and then a not so successful June.  I began doing the zig zag method of calorie counting but it became really complicated and I ended up zagging (adding more calories) on days when I didn't need to.  Do I believe the Zig Zag method works?  Absolutely - because it is about not letting your body go into homeostasis, by keeping it guessing.  Will it work for me?  Maybe one day.  But not right now.

So I have made a courageous and scary decision for right now.

I'm not going to count calories for the month of July.

GASP!

I usually eat in the Sparkpeople range (1360 - 1730 for my activity level) but I almost feel like I eat as much to the top of my range when I might not really need to.  And eating in my range, but not losing weight consistently is making me crazy.  SO, I need a break.

I'm not taking a break from Sparkpeople altogether...I'm planning on staying in contact with my teams there and participating in the July BL challenge...but I'm feeling entrepreneurial right now and want to give myself a chance to try something brave and outside the box again.

This may totally flop.  I may post in a week or two telling you I've gained 5 pounds and I need to get back into tracking my food.  I'm willing to take that risk.

Or, this could be wildly successful and I may post soon that I've found my groove again and am losing and feeling less psycho about my food intake.  It may be that I know enough about nutrition, my body, and how to tell if I'm hungry or not that I will figure out how to do this without being a crazy calorie counter.

Did I mention I lost my first 40 pounds before ever finding SparkPeople and without counting one calorie?  Don't get me wrong, I love love love that online community and they have helped me lose another 50 pounds.  But I'm getting a little obsessive and I don't like feeling that way.

I did it on my own without the stress of tracking every bite before.

And its worth trying again.  In fact, I haven't tracked in 3 days and have lost another pound.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  But maybe not...

The best part is that there isn't just one way to do this healthy lifestyle stuff.  The key is to find YOUR way and go that way.  And be ready to tweak, tweak, tweak along the way to keep it interesting, keep your head straight, and avoid ruts and plateaus.

I'm almost 2 years into this and trust me, you have to keep it real, keep it fluid and be willing to change courses every now and then to make it work.

I would not be where I am today if I wasn't willing to do that.

Will keep you posted my friends!  Thanks for following and encouraging me.  It's a blessing to know I have peeps out there checking in on my progress.  Definitely helps with accountability.

Have a great 4th.  We have 2 BBQs, one tonight and one tomorrow.  But I know what I am having at both and have made healthy choices all weekend SO lets see where that takes us.

~Clara

PS:  Starting this "challenge" with my most recent weigh in of 192.8...here's to a successful July!