diff --git a/fitbitsync.py b/fitbitsync.py
index bb83ffd..1cd85db 100644
--- a/fitbitsync.py
+++ b/fitbitsync.py
@@ -148,18 +148,29 @@ class ConfigManager:
                 logger.info("No configuration found in Consul at key: %s", full_config_key)
                 return
 
-            # Value is base64 encoded JSON
-            encoded_value = data['Value']
-            logger.debug(f"Consul raw value type: {type(encoded_value)}, value: {encoded_value[:50]}...") # Log type and first 50 chars
-            logger.debug(f"Consul encoded value: {encoded_value}")
-            
-            # Add padding if necessary for base64 decoding
-            padding_needed = len(encoded_value) % 4
-            if padding_needed != 0:
-                encoded_value += b'=' * (4 - padding_needed)
+            # Value from Consul might be raw bytes of the JSON, or it might be base64 encoded.
+            # We'll try to decode directly first, and fall back to base64.
+            raw_value_from_consul = data['Value'] # This should be bytes
+            logger.debug(f"Consul raw value type: {type(raw_value_from_consul)}, value (first 100 bytes): {raw_value_from_consul[:100]}...")
 
-            decoded_json_str = base64.b64decode(encoded_value).decode('utf-8')
-            logger.debug(f"Consul decoded JSON string: {decoded_json_str}")
+            try:
+                # Attempt 1: Assume the value is the direct UTF-8 bytes of the JSON string.
+                decoded_json_str = raw_value_from_consul.decode('utf-8')
+                logger.info("Successfully decoded Consul value directly as UTF-8.")
+            except UnicodeDecodeError:
+                logger.warning("Direct UTF-8 decoding failed. Falling back to base64 decoding.")
+                # Attempt 2: Assume the value is base64 encoded.
+                encoded_value = raw_value_from_consul
+                
+                # Add padding if necessary for base64 decoding
+                padding_needed = len(encoded_value) % 4
+                if padding_needed != 0:
+                    encoded_value += b'=' * (4 - padding_needed)
+
+                decoded_json_str = base64.b64decode(encoded_value).decode('utf-8')
+                logger.info("Successfully decoded Consul value using base64 fallback.")
+
+            logger.debug(f"Decoded JSON string: {decoded_json_str}")
             consul_conf = json.loads(decoded_json_str) # Parse the JSON
             logger.debug(f"Consul parsed config (dict): {consul_conf}")