Homeostasis

I try to limit my weight loss focus to trimesters (ha!) so I started this tri on 3/12 at 189 pounds with a perfectly reasonable goal of getting to 169 pounds by 6/12.  Well, that date is about 3 weeks away and I’m only down to 181.5.  All weight loss is good but 8 pounds lost in 2-1/2 months was not quite my goal.  It would be different if I had lost 8 pounds and I knew I was doing everything that I could be doing…but I know that haven’t been on my game.

Homeostasis refers to the tendency of a system to maintain a stable condition (hey I was on the science track back in college for a while LOL).  It is Greek for “standing still” and that is exactly what I have been doing this past few months.  I haven’t been eating so poorly that I gained weight but I’ve been on that “two steps forward, two steps back” track long enough to find myself just maintaining.  This stops today and I mean it.

I need to change things up and quick so here’s my plan to reclaim my motivation and focus.

• Reset my weight loss goal: The 169 goal on 6/12 is not going to happen.  I’m resetting this to 177 by 6/12.  That will still be a challenge but I need a challenge right now.  And if I get crazy focused, I can still reach my major goal of 155 by Lewis’ first birthday.  This will be a good jump start.
• Start tracking calories again: I’m going to start calorie tracking on SparkPeople.com again.  Sometimes I stop tracking out of laziness (it is really annoying to have to input your custom recipes etc) but sometimes I stop tracking because I’m eating Starbursts and cupcakes.
• Get connected with the “fitosphere” again: It really helps me out to read about what other people are doing!  I lurk read so many different blogs and I need to up my fitness blog rotation again.  When I am dealing with my own struggles I sometimes want to avoid this world when connecting with others is exactly what I need to do.
• Do at least 5 of the 10 Precision Nutrition Habits daily:  There are 10 habits I’ve learned to follow.  Some are easier than others but I am committing to doing 5 of the 10 each day.  I will up this number each week.
• Strive for 90% compliance:  I eat 4-5 meals/snacks a day depending on my hunger level.  That is 35 opportunities to do the right thing.  If I slip up and break the rules (by eating rice outside of my post-workout carb window for example) during 3 of those meals that is not a big deal.
• One cheat meal per week: I will allow myself 1 cheat MEAL (not day!) a week.  I have a few weekend activities and some travel coming up that will make a strict diet challenging.  I don’t want to stress over perfection, so a cheat meal might be in order during these times.  If I eat mindfully the rest of the week this won’t be a big deal.
• Blog at least 3 times a week:  Blogging for me can be a bit like food tracking.  If I’m real quiet for a long time it might be because I’ve got a cupcake stuffed in my mouth LOL.  The simple act of putting out something for 3 people the world to see helps me feel accountable.