No longer logging food...

It seems like such a small thing, and at the same time, I know it is huge. From the first day I logged into SparkPeople, I logged every bite of food. It was integral to my success. I reached my goal weight just under a year later, just before Christmas 2008, and I faithfully logged everything for another 7 months. In July, I noticed that I had gone a week with only notes on scraps of paper...it took me a couple of hours to log everything, and I was sure I didn't want to do that again! However, the very next week, I went five days again only making notes on scraps of paper. And then I did it again the next week. At this point, I wondered several things.

First, I wondered what I was thinking! Had I lost my mind? How was I going to stay on track if I didn't log everything?? Then I realized that I hadn't had any trouble staying on track, and I hadn't eaten badly or gained weight, either.

Next, I wondered about the time I was spending on tracking food. I truly hadn't realized it was such a time committment--at least a few hours a week.

Finally, I wondered why I felt I *had* to track everything. How important was it to maintain the streak, be consistent? I was proud of my streak, but maybe it wasn't serving me the same way anymore?

So, I've decided to stop tracking all of my food. I will still track servings of fruits and veggies, the all-important water, exercise, and other goals, at least for now. I don't really need to track food to do well, and if I step on the scale one day and get worried, I can always start tracking again. There are other areas of my life that desperately need the kind of intensity and focus that I gave my eating and exercise habits, and they require time and energy that will be freed up by not needing to log every detail. I was sad to end my streak, but it definitey served it's purpose, and I know I can do it again if I need to.

So, this is a transition, a graduation of sorts. I feel just a little bereft, but excited about the next thing I will tackle with the same determination, using the same basic skills that SparkPeople taught me.