Getting into The Zone

I'm pretty sure I've used that picture at least eleventy million times on this blog now.  What can I say....it seems to fit my entire way of thinking.

When I first started Crossfit, everything about it was waaayyy outside of my comfort zone.  But you know what?  The cool thing about comfort zones is that if you push yourself outside of yours often enough, you find that the scary stuff becomes your NEW comfort zone.  Then you get to push yourself further.  Isn't that awesomesauce?

So, I'm not saying that Crossfit has become "comfortable".  Nope, I'm still gasping for breath and begging for mercy at the end of every WOD, but the idea of Crossfit and the fact that I'm an active person is my new comfortable.

I had a pretty solid grasp of nutrition before I started Crossfit.  I didn't always eat the way I knew I should, but I'd done enough research to know what was up......putting it into consistent practice, though, well that didn't happen until the Spring Challenge last year.  You give me a competition and it seems I can do anything!  I'm competitive like that!  After the challenge was over, I kept an eye on my macro ratios, but I wasn't being nearly as strict.  Eating this way has become my new comfort zone, and my weight loss has pretty much stagnated....since about September.  My BF% is still creeping downward and my inches are slloooowwwllly going in the same direction, but I think it's time I step it up a notch.  I've got the quality of food nailed down.  But it seems the quantity of food I need is changing.  Time to start playing around again....

.....which means I'm considering going back to doing The Zone for the month of Feb.  I've made it clear on more than one occasion that I really don't like "diets" and I don't believe in food rules.  I also know that The Zone is simply not a sustainable way for me to live long term.  I've gone back and forth about how to jump start my weight loss again and I keep coming back to what worked last Spring.  I'm ready to step back out of my comfort zone.

Even though I've been maintaining my loss since September, I've increased my muscle mass and strength quite a bit while seeing NOTHING on the scale.  So.....in my mind, I'm sort of likening it to a 'cutting and bulking' cycle in the body building world.

I've decided that while I don't necessarily enjoy The Zone and I don't believe its sustainable forever, it's a good tool for me to use temporarily to jump start fat loss again.

So, while I don't expect to see many PRs over the next four weeks, I do expect to fit into that pile of jeans I have waiting for me in my closet.