It's always the #1 goal for Americans on January 1. Lose weight. Everyone is hopped up and raring to go. The gyms are full of people and I'm sure gym owners are thrilled. They're making lots of money right now. I see numerous coupons for Slim Fast shakes and weight loss pills. But by Valentine's Day (Maybe Presidents' Day if they're lucky), the motivation dwindles and the gyms empty. Lines to McDonald's and Taco Bell get longer and longer. It happens every year. Even with me. Especially with me. I'm hoping to change that this year.
Let's start with me and a bit of my history. I have PCOS. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I was diagnosed at age 17. And while my menstruation problems (I've gone a couple of years without a period before) have been fixed with Metformin, my weight issues have never been resolved. 3 or 4 years ago, I lost about 25 pounds doing the Biggest Loser plan and I finally discovered what worked for me. Clean eating and A LOT of exercise were the only tools that helped me lose weight. But I didn't stick with it. I know I should have. I have no excuses. I didn't have fast food for 3 months and then got so sick after eating a taco. Mhmm, that should tell you something. :)
Let's talk about diets for a minute. I have some strong opinions on some of them. And they don't come from bias or media hype. I'm very educated on them. I've done extensive research on a couple of different diet plans including The Paleolithic diet and the Gluten Free diet. I've written research papers on them for school. My degrees are in Biology and Chemistry. I know how the body operates. My goal at the end of my education is to be in medicine. Not nutrition (though that's my brother's end goal) but I still have a fascination for nutrition and especially for the trends going on in America's diet right now. I don't say all of this to brag but to show you that my opinions don't come lightly. They come from a well-educated, well-researched mouth. But we're not going to get into those opinions right now. If you want to know, ask me. I'll tell you what I think and I'll have support to back it up.
Tonight, we're talking about resolutions and pitfalls. Especially MY pitfalls. Did you know only 8% of people will complete their New Year's goals? That's pretty small. Here's my plan for avoiding being one of the 92%.
1. I'm not going to focus on a number. I'm not going to say, "I want to lose 35 pounds by Spring Break." or Summer Break. Or whenever. I'm going to focus on changing how and what I eat. Cutting out the sugar, white flours, processed crap. I'm upping our food budget a little in order to introduce whole foods. I'm going to eat out WAY less to balance out the food budget increase. Eating out gets old anyway. And I love to cook!
2. I'm getting a personal trainer. I've had a gym membership for like 3 years. And I think I went all of a dozen times last year. Granted, almost 4 months were spent in a different state but I didn't go to the gym there either! For me, it doesn't matter how little I eat. I don't lose significant amounts of weight without exercise.
3. I'm not going to beat myself up and give up if I get off track. Sometimes I get distracted. It happens. Move on!
4. I'm going to focus on prayer. Because that's what's crucial. With God, all things are possible.
Do you have resolutions this year? How do you stay successful?
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