When it’s just not working….

Sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with me. I mean, I know that the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. So when my current Body Bugg program isn’t working so well for me after 20-some days, WHY did it take me until NOW to change it?

Simply, I don’t know, but the important thing is, I have changed it now.

Here’s where I was. I started things back up on January 2. I would go back to logging food and staying as close to that target as I can. I would also make darned sure that I hit my burn target every day. Well, the sad thing with weight loss is that 60 pounds ago, it was a lot easier to hit 3000 calories per day burned. As you lose weight it’s harder and harder to consistently maintain those high burns. Logic would tell me that as I lose and find it harder to hit the burn I would need to reduce my caloric intake to offset the lower burn.

Logic and I don’t always see eye to eye.

So I have been struggling. Now, I must throw in here that I’ve also had some hormonal issues. Not wanting to get too graphic on you, but I have been having problems and the weight loss was assumed to be a culprit in those problems. Apparently fat produces testosterone. So my body now has much less testosterone than it did before, so my hormones are all outta whack. That struggle plus the whole lower burn (even when I work my ass off) has made for a tough 20-something days.

But no more…today I finally pulled my head out of my behind and thought “OK….I have a hard time hitting the burn, which makes me mad, so I eat because I’m just pissed. Maybe I need to REDUCE the burn target and focus on the calories IN target to take some of the stress off”.

So I did….I re-did my program. I went down to 1.5 pounds a week loss. My calories in target is still 1800 but now instead of a burn target of 2800, my burn target is 2550. I KNOW I can hit 2550 in a day, even without a huge workout. So now I can focus on the real problem for me…the calories IN. I am no longer beating myself up on not hitting the burn….I should be able to hit that fairly easily. I am focusing on what’s going IN…that is my weakness.

Here’s another big revelation I had. I was struggling for the 1000 calorie a day deficit to lose 2 pounds a week. I didn’t want to lose less than that. Well, honey, it’s sure better to consistently lose 1.5 pounds per week than to lose 2, gain 3, lose 1, etc. So, I am shifting my thinking. I am focusing on controlling the difficult thing, which for me is the calories in. I will hit the burn target every day and be vigilant about logging after each meal so that I have a good grasp on where I’m at, calorie wise.

The lesson for all of us in this is that YOU have to know when something is NOT working for YOUR body. And when it’s not working, don’t be afraid to make the changes necessary for your success. I’m not sure why it took me 20-something days, but I’m here now, and I am confident that these new targets will help me get back on track and lose the 30 pounds that I so desperately want to lose to finish this journey.

~Lori~