After a month of celebrating the holidays with our friends and family, indulging in cookies, candies, chocolates and so much more it’s always nice to find one’s self in the calm after the storm. January is a month of quiet repos where our time is spent resolving to reset and start the new year off on the right foot. Very often we approach our search for balance with the same vigour and determination that we have when we become obsessed with devouring every piece of fruit cake, every drop of wine and every morsel of turkey that is laid in front of us. Very often it the loftiest ambitions that are so far out of reach they cause our new found desire to “be a better me” to collapse. After only a week or so our New Year’s resolutions fall apart under the weight of the pressure we put on ourselves to lose that holiday weight or any of the resolutions we promise ourselves that “this will be the year we make it work”.
Instead of getting ahead of ourselves by trying to accomplish an insane short term goal too quickly it might be better to see the bigger picture and set long term goals that can be broken down into small intervals of time, making it easier to achieve success at a reasonable rate. For example, saying I am going to get in better shape by June is more reasonable than saying I need to lose 30 pounds by February. This can certainly helps takes the pressure off. Sure we can kick-start both these types of goals with the same level of determination but when we see that we are not losing that 30 pound as fast as we want it can backfire and discourage us from continuing. These goals are dangerous and when we end up failing, making us feel much worse about ourselves.
Starting small and working our way up to a reasonable goal while seeing smaller progress overtime takes patience but reaching that goal is all the more rewarding. Late last year I decided that it was time to take my health into my own hands. As a blogger my lifestyle isn’t necessarily the healthiest. I don’t sleep enough, I eat at all hours, I don’t eat well all the time and I drink almost on a daily basis. The rubber band that we are is much stronger when we are younger but as we age that elastic tendency to bounce back after a night out on the town slackens. It takes more work to get back to a place where we feel good. Towards the middle of last year I wasn’t feeling great about my physical appearance and that began affecting my mental state. I avoided mirrors as much as possible and I hid behind joking about my weight. I had decided that this spare tire was an inevitable side effect of getting a little closer to 40. Justification is often my strong suit.
My New Year’s resolution was not to go on a diet but to increase my exercise, eat better when I can and cut alcohol, junk food and greasy food as much humanly possible. I started thinking this way late last fall when I was trying my best to squeeze into size 33 swim shorts and positioning myself creatively in front of the mirror so I wouldn’t see the gut that was forming. I’ve always been a big walker but I needed to do more exercise if I was going to enjoy my indulgences. There’s no way I am giving up my fried chicken or my cheeseburgers but I don’t need to have those every day.
For lunch I try to bring something homemade or something that’s low in sodium, sugar and calories. If I have to do frozen I will chose the PC Blue Menu frozen meals from Provigo. They are big enough to satiate my appetite when combined with a little more fruit or a homemade soup and they keep me going until I’m done at the office. With dozens of events every month it’s tough to have a schedule that makes sense and it’s even harder to not drink or eat properly. When I stick to my guns and decide that I am going to the gym on a weekday I take care not to have alcohol and I limit the food that’s going to make me lethargic. On the days that I don’t go to the gym I enjoy whatever I am eating and drinking because that’s also part of what I do.
The key, at least for me, is not getting ahead of myself and setting a series of smaller goals for myself that I know I can reach and that will eventually build to something bigger. Knowing your strengths and playing to them instead of kidding yourself and feeling bad about yourself will mean more success in the goals you set. Sometimes the best New Year’s Resolutions are made in the middle of the year.