Start your year with the motto: Don’t be a fool, eat for fuel.
Can you believe it’s almost time for a whole new year and time to set new goals and resolutions. This year I want to do it smart, and set myself up for success by focusing on chosing resolutions that are achieveable and based on goals that are within my control.
In preparation for the annual “setting of resolutions” festivities I’m already making plans. On my Christmas wishlist I have some items to help me get fit and stay on track – Nordic walking poles, an ipod (so I can have music along on my walks), and a new journal.
I know some folks don’t think a journal is really worth it or it’s too hard to keep one – but I believe it’s one thing that should be at the top of every one’s list as a weight loss tool. I use a simple steno pad, and just jot down daily food (I use a lot of abbreviations) and misc. relevant notes for each day – one page lasts me a week, at the end I flip it over and continue on the back of the pages (so a pad lasts me the whole year) – it takes me about 3 minutes a day. It really is a great way to see patterns, habits, etc. and then be able to make constructive changes as needed.
I started this journey to lose weight (once and for all – no more yo-yo’ing) over 80 weeks ago, and lost over 95 lbs so far. I have a little over 50 lbs to go – and it’s very exciting because it is doable in the coming year – IF I stick with eating for fuel and move my butt!
However, my resolutions for the New Year are NOT going to be to lose a specific amount of weight. I can’t control how fast or slow the weight will come off. But goals do need to be specific – not just vague statements like I want to lose weight, I want to organize my house, I want to be rich, etc. Resolutions and goals need to be specific, measurable, doable and then followed up by an action plan, followed by actually taking steps to carry out that action plan.
So instead of setting a vague goal of “losing weight” or a specific weight amount (which could lead to disappointment and frustration if it didn’t happen) I am going to focus this year on the biggest change I need to make – getting up off my butt and moving more. My #1 New Year’s resolution is to exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes – now I know that really isn’t enough for weight loss (that requires 1 hour a day at least) – but it’s a start, and it’s enough for maintance, and for a person who doesn’t do much exercise at all it will be boost and could result in some weight loss to start off with. I hope to increase the amount of exercise over time – but for now I’m keeping my resolution to a smaller goal so that I don’t end up feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and then giving up because I couldn’t achieve some lofty goal of hours and hours of workouts.
I am also not going to beat myself if I falter, or don’t achieve the goal each week. I am going to be gentle with myself, admit my faults (I am a true couch potato at heart), but keep gently nudging myself and getting back on track as needed.
In 2006, it took me until May 1 to really get on track and stay there for that year’s resolution to eat healthy, reduce calories, and get serious about weight loss. I had a lot of false starts and mishaps. But if I had given up and waited till the next year to set my resolutions again and start over I would have missed all those months in 2006 of good healthy food and pounds lost. It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about winning or losing, achieving your resolutions is about making small changes and taking baby steps to reach your goals – even if you don’t reach the final goal line, you can still achieve a lot in a year.
The year is going to go by, time is going to fly. Where will you be in year? What resolutions are you making for your health?
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Currently Diet Pulpit is rarely updated. Lady Rose is now blogging at Blissful Moon, where she is staying healthy and continuing to have adventures, please stop by and visit.
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