Happy New Year! I wonder how many people are right at this moment in the process of crafting their New Year's resolution? That this will be the year that they get to their ideal weight - this will be the year that they get to the gym. Every January the gyms are full of new recruits, the lanes at the YMCA pools are clogged with new members. And slowly one by one those resolutions fade, the people drop out and one more year goes by with goals unmet. Who is left in the gym and in the pool? The people who have made their own health a priority in their lives. They've simply decided to incorporate a workout as a daily requirement like teeth brushing and table clearing, lawn mowing and tax filing. Not fun or romantic, but necessary. Whose ad campaign was it that stated, Just do it? Nike? There's so much more behind that statement. Translation: DON"T: whine, feel sorry for yourself, make excuses, deny the need, complain about the expense, pretend you have no time, list your other obligations, lie that nothing works for you, state that you have no equipment, whine about the expense of the gym or the sneakers or the goggles, throw up your arms in defeat. Just do it. So simple and so incredibly hard. My New Year's resolution is to list all of the things I do in my life on a daily basis to maintain myself, my family,my house, my job and my car. I'm predicting that that list will contain hundreds of things that I routinely do to take care of the people in my life, to take care of my career, and to take care of my stuff. I need to put my health on that list, my healthy weight on that list and Just Do It.
I'm at 239 today. Nice to start the new year with a new digit in the tens place. Challenge yesterday. Went to a party at a friend's - you can easily imagine - lots of fun foods and plenty of alcohol. I took my diet Sprite with me - looks a lot like a vodka tonic - and didn't sit near the food. I wrestled with the food a lot during the party - should I? couldn't I have one? how about that? or those? But I made good decisions and when I got home I felt terrific that I didn't cave. Because for me, falling into food at that party might have started a binge that lasted for two or three days, or two or three weeks or two or three months. Every time I make a good decision, I strengthen my resolve for the next time. Every time I pat myself on the back for a job well done, I make it easier to do well the next time. So, Happy New Year. Here's to 2010 - the year that I will leave behind the weight and move on. I'm Just Doing It.