Erin Does Life.

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Yep, it’s official - I think I’m at a plateau. I’ve weighed pretty much the same, within about 3-4 pounds, since October. 

The good news: apparently I am a rockstar at maintaining. Awesome, but I don’t want to maintain just yet. 

The bad news: It used to be - well, not easy, but doable - to lose weight. Now it seems like I need to put forward a heraculean effort. It’s time to re-examine my strategy and adjust.

A few thoughts…
- Been tracking food more closely than ever this week. After playing around with increasing my calories, as of yesterday I cut back my calorie budget. I’m kind of freaking out about this - I can live with 1500 calories a day, but 1485 seems really, really restrictive. If I have to restrict my calories further, I’m not sure I can keep this up. I’ll keep trying though. I’ve been flirting with the Engine 2 diet, with its emphasis on whole foods and low sodium.

- I have been doing other activity to make up for the fact that it’s winter and my lifestyle is generally less active these months. I’ve been walking the dog more, but still not daily, and so still not enough.

- As I’ve gotten more efficient as a runner, the total time required to complete my training mileage has gotten shorter, so the total time I’m active each week to complete the same mileage has decreased (talk about a bittersweet development!!). One of my running coaches is cautioning against adding additional mileage than my marathon plan. Coincidentally, I also need to do more strengthening, which I have yet to consistently integrate in my training schedule. And I can integrate more swimming. Hello opportunity! 

- As my marathon training ramps up in mileage, I expect that the activity, at least, should get to a point where it’s easier to lose weight - IF I correctly manage my food!