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We usually don’t make New Year's resolutions that we plan to keep for life. Rather, we plan on keeping them for a few months, unless were really brave and plan to keep them for the whole year! Weight Watchers and the like are probably already inducing guilt and setting us up to spend a lot of money on that famous resolution -- weight loss. Here’s the scenario: The holidays are over, we’ve partied and eaten for the past month and a half, now that the new year is here, we can start being "good" again and finally lose that extra weight we’ve been carrying around. We get ourselves geared up for that diet -- the one that's finally going to work. We start the diet and promise ourselves that we really are going to be "good" this time, no cheating allowed. The first couple of days go okay. It's hard, but being "good" feels good and reinforces that we have willpower and can control our eating. After more time passes it gets harder to stay on the diet. We’re hungry when we're not supposed to be and the same foods over and over are getting boring, We start feeling tired and irritable, but in the name of weight loss, we believe this is how it must be. We step on the scale each morning hoping to see the number going down. When it does, we resolve to keep dieting because it’s working. When it doesn’t, we believe we aren’t being "good" enough, we have a bad day that day, and we resolve to try harder. Maybe we lose a couple more pounds, maybe we don't. We start to get discouraged because this time it was supposed to work. If we have lost any weight, all of a sudden the weight loss slows down. Eventually we hit that plateau where no matter what we do, we stop losing weight altogether. We get even more discouraged and can’t believe we failed again. Why doesn't this ever work? We we're trying to be so "good," We stop dieting and start eating again. In no time, we gain weight again and can just hear everyone saying behind our backs "They just aren't committed enough to do it. If they really wanted to lose the weight, they would." We feel really bad. This scenario is probably way too familiar for way too many people. Weight loss is always a no-win resolution because it requires dieting. Dieting is what we call it anyway. Our bodies know it as starving and our bodies don’t like it at all. Our bodies rebel against starving, that's why diets don't work. What alternatives are there for New Year’s resolutions? How about resolutions you can make and keep for life that have nothing to do with dieting, but can perhaps help you reach a healthy weight in the long run. These are resolutions that require you to take care of yourself from the inside out. They can also be fun, relaxing, soothing, calming, nurturing, etc., none of which will ever come from dieting. Here are some examples of healthy resolutions for life: **Instead of hit-and-miss grocery shopping when you’re starving and have no food in the house, plan your meals for the week, make out a grocery list and develop a grocery shopping routine. **Schedule time each month with a friend(s) so you are sure to get together. Don’t rely on "I'll call you..." because in our hectic lives it often doesn’t happen. Set a monthly date. **Treat yourself to something you normally don’t take the time for -- get a massage, a manicure or a pedicure. Make a standing weekly or monthly appointment. **Take 30-60 minutes each day to do something you want to do that has nothing to do with taking care of others. Challenge yourself to come up with other resolutions that you can and will want to keep for life. How can resolutions such as these help you reach a healthy weight? When you start taking care of yourself based on what you really need, you will find that the things you really need take the place of eating. When you are getting what you really need in life, the weight usually takes care of itself. Now that sounds really good!
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