Welcome 2010! And welcome to all of you who have picked up the pen and paper committing to a healthier and happier lifestyle this year. How many pounds have you promised to lose this year? What have you promised to do differently than you’ve done before or stopped doing for whatever reason?
This is the time of the year when everything is new and fresh — a break with the old and the promise of what’s to come with the new. Of course, it’s also the time when most of us try to get rid of those extra pounds we accumulated from Thanksgiving on through Christmas, or have decided to just get rid of extra pounds we’ve been carrying for a long time. Either way, we find ourselves at a cross roads. What do we do now? We’re filled with excitement and anticipation of what’s to come, dismay over what we’re losing and the possible fear of failure.
The real issue though is not letting all of this sabotage what you’re about to do. You need to concentrate on the here and now. Be present. Live in the present and look toward the future. Take it one day at a time. Be resolute and stay the course. If you follow your plan then everything will work out as you desire. If you stray from the course and go back to your old ways then you’re not going to see any improvements and set yourself up for a big let down.
They say that most diet resolutions set at the beginning of the New Year fail within the first month. I forget the specific reasons why, but I can only think everyone is under some false assumptions about how they need to tackle the issues put in front of them. For myself, I really don’t have any resolutions since my diet this year is a continuation of what I’ve already been doing for four months already. I just need to be more resolute in following it and not straying from the path I’ve set out for myself. See, even I’m guilty of this. It’s easy to do, so don’t be fooled by it.
My situation as I’ve explained before has several dynamics at play. The first is financial — I’m not always able to purchase a decent amount of groceries at any given time so whenever I run low or short, inevitably there are other more pressing bills that get in the way of me being able to spend $100+ at a time on food. It’s much easier to just go out and spend $15 or so on a meal at a restaurant. That’s what happened over the past two-three weeks. I’ve literally been eating pretzels for breakfast and my snacks until yesterday when I finally went shopping.
The second deals with energy and the constant effort it takes to be diligent in preparing the food necessary to stay on the diet every day. It takes a good 30+ minutes each night to get things ready for the next day. I’m not used to doing this and still am not after four months, and to make matters worse, I don’t enjoy it either. The only thing that’s spurring me on is the need to lose the weight. It’s a consistent motivator.
Dinners are also a real issue. Oftentimes, the meat I’m going to prepare is frozen, and it takes about an hour for it to thaw. This means that dinner can begin to be prepared starting at 7 p.m. or so. It’s just a hassle to have to deal with. If I leave the meat I bought in the refrigerator, I don’t eat it quick enough so it spoils and goes bad.
Now, you’re probably saying these are all excuses, and you know what, you’re right — they are. But, for me, they’re real excuses and get in the way of what I’m trying to do. I can overcome them, it’s not going to take an intellectual to figure that out. It’s a question of whether I’m willing to do so or not. It’ll be a similar issue for you as well. Your pushes and pulls will be different, but the excuses will be there and just as powerful too.
What to do? Try to be bigger than the issues. Realize something greater is at stake and at play here. We must be successful at what we’re trying to do for whatever the reason — improved health, fitting in those clothes, becoming more appealing in the eyes of others, etc. You name it, that’s the end reason and goal that’s going to make it all worth the while. The rest will fall into place along the way. Sure, there’ll be stumbles, bumped knees and scraped elbows, but it’s all part of the experience.
Let’s experience it together. I’ll be right by your side arm in arm. We can do it together!
Until next time, eat well and be healthy!
Robert M.
No comments:
Post a Comment