Have you ever had a wake-up call to change some aspect of your life? Wake-up calls come in all sorts of sizes and levels of seriousness. Sometimes they are major, other times they are subtle. But they happen all the time.
At the end of last year, when I realized I was at my highest weight in years, I had a wake-up call that led to this 29-week blogging project. It’s a blessing that it happened and I am so much happier to be lighter now.
One of my biggest wake-up calls was a few years ago when a report came out linking high-fat diets with worsened asthma. At the time, my diet was extremely high in fat. But that jolted me into a lower fat diet, and I haven’t looked back. My asthma responded amazingly to the changes, and now I rarely have to use medication at all. Another blessing.
Now I am facing another wake-up call. But I am not sure where it’s leading me.
Since Eat. Live. Be. For a Better 2011 started in January, it’s led me to think and write a lot about aspect of healthy living that I hadn’t before. I’ve shared goals, successes and even my own failings. And overall, I have stayed the course, dropping weight like I intended. And I’ve become more brutally honest with myself too … another big benefit.
But that wake-up call that I’m facing? It’s about ELB. I’ve noticed over the past few weeks that instead of looking forward to posting, I have been more ambivalent. Maybe it’s the topics (which, in full disclosure, I’ve selected many of), but I’ve lost my groove. I don’t know if I will get it back. And frankly, I have seen so many of my compatriots fall away from the project that I just don’t know if it should go on anymore.
As it stands, there is only one more topic in the ELB queue. After that, I don’t know — next week could be the last ELB. Unless some topicsagically appear in the queue, this could be the end.
At the same time, I will be sad if it is the end. I was silently hoping that it would go for the whole year strong.
What do you think? Has ELB run its course?
Be sure to check out the other ELB bloggers for their progress too.
- Cate O’Malley from Sweetnicks
- Joanne from Eats Well with Others
- Chris Arpante – Melecotte
- Patsy – Family, Friends and Food
- Claire – Cooking is Medicine
- Rivki Locker – Healthy Eating for Ordinary People
- Sarah Rogers – Sarah’s Sweet Creations
- Kate – Paved with Good Intentions

Sarah Walker Caron is a cookbook author, freelance writer and founder of Sarah’s Cucina Bella. She is the author of several cookbooks including The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook and One-Pot Pasta, both from Rockridge Press. A single mother to two kids in middle school, Sarah loves nightly family dinners, juicy tomatoes plucked fresh from the vine and lazy days on the beach. She also adores reading and traveling.
Kate
And here I am feeling bad about forgetting yesterday was Monday! What about a monthly check-in? Maybe it’s the weekly thing that’s wearing you down.
sarah
I like the idea of continuing a monthly check-in.
iscribbler
I’ve been keeping up with my ELB posts since the beginning and I’m very sad to see it go. I think I’ll keep on doing my updates since I find them so validating and I’ll stick with my goals from the first post. 🙂 I loved to read everyone’s ideas each monday, but I have noticed a sharp decline over the months. Still, it was a fabulous idea and I’m very thankful to you ladies for starting it!
sarah
If you have ideas for future topics, I am all ears. I am not 100 percent sold on ending it, but am contemplating it now.
Hazel Michalski
Hi Sarah,
I just found this site one week ago. I have been very busy reading and checking out all the great recipes. I find this very interesting and informative. I haven’t read all about you yet but what I have read I think you are a great person, mom and wife. What more can I say. I will really miss this if you stop your bloging. I’m an senior with health problems and always on the lookout for healthy recipes and I found so many here. I have a folder in my favorites with your name on it. I really don’t blog… I’m a lurker. Love to read everything. I pray you keep this up. I think it’s great. I can tell by your following they love you very much.
Thank you for all you do. Hazel Michalski
sarah
Thank you so much for the lovely, kind comment, Hazel! Don’t worry, I am not going to stop blogging. I am just considering calling an end to a weekly blog event (the posts have appeared on Mondays all year) that Cate from Sweetnicks and I started. But I will still be writing about food and recipes here, no matter what. Again, thank you so much!
patsy
I think maybe a monthly check-in might be better… I’ve fallen away from it because life has gotten hectic again and I’m simply not posting as frequently as I’d like the last few months.