Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday parties, New Years, bowl games, the NFL. The events where you can overindulge during November and December are endless. You doubt you can lose weight during this time and you will probably gain a few pounds. That's why New Year's resolutions are so popular. They are rife with promises to lose weight, eat better or exercise. You may even plan your "resolution" right before Thanksgiving knowing you will be indulging for the next few weeks.
Then New Years comes and goes and you begin the promised changes with the energy of a zealot. You head to the gym where you find each packed with fellow resolutes. You pass on the double cheese burger for a salad. You may even join a weight loss program. You're excited, sure that this is the year where you make the health changes you promised yourself every year.
Three weeks in (longer than most resolutions last) you make your first excuse. A family member's birthday party has your favorite pizza and wings. A couple of slices of pizza and three or four wings don't do the job but double that does. A few days later and the bed speaks louder than the gym. Pretty soon the Super Bowl arrives with its more parties, food and drinks.
New Year's Weight Loss, February's Weight Gain
Your New Year's resolution is really a January hope. It lasts a few weeks because the reason you started the resolution after the holidays is the same reason you stopped it by early February. There is always a reason to start tomorrow. Each month has built-in excuses not to exercise, not to eat healthier and not to stop drinking calorie containing drinks. You are the politician who finds herself campaigning year round. You view Thanksgiving through New Years as the busy time where eating right and exercise are difficult but in reality you are always too busy to make healthy changes.
Start Losing Weight Today
The time to start your weight loss, the time to eat healthier, the time to exercise is now. Plan, prepare and start. You will have days when it's not easy or "better" alternatives intervene. Those days don't start Thanksgiving Day and they don't end January 1. Learn to live with occasional lapses but focus on changing habits and behaviors that will last past the end of the month. Learn to eat one cookie instead of three. Eat carrots instead of chips and skip the creamy dips and dressings. Learn to pass on the second glass of wine or the supersize soda.
Turn exercise into a part of your daily routine. Don't obsess over it, thirty minutes a day of aerobic exercise or resistance training is plenty. Don't jump into it thinking you will become the next Michael Phelps or Mia Hamm. Look for routines you can sustain without burning out or injuring yourself. You don't have to yell through your last repetition or bend over in pain after your run. You will benefit from exerting yourself passed your comfort zone but you don't have to feel the pain three days later.
New Years is an excellent time to reflect and reassess your priorities. But it is not the only time. November 20 will work too. Any day is a good day to make positive changes in your life.
Gregg Ghelfi is founder and contributor to http://fitinthemiddle.com. Fit in the Middle is dedicated to providing information and resources on nutrition, fitness and weight loss. We invite you to read our blog at http://fitinthemiddle.com/blog/ and comment on the various articles. We also welcome you to submit guest blogs to info@fitinthemiddle.com.
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