A goal
I realize that a New Year's Day post about resolutions is lame, and that a resolution to lose weight is the most boring and typical of all New Year's resolutions. But I'm going ahead with it anyway, and if you are bored by ot, you can return at a later date for a more interesting post.
I have resolved to lose weight many and many a time in my life. Probably every year since the age of 12 or so. I have had only rare and limited success.
However, this past year has been one of those times of success. All that time I'm spending at the YMCA has actually shown me some results; I've lost 20 pounds since having the baby seven months ago. Which is a good thing, because I was at the highest weight I've ever been, and I really needed to get rid of some of it.
Now, however, I seem to have hit a wall. I am pleased with my success, but I have more to go, and I've made no progress in a month, maybe more. The holidays, with all their yummy food, were probably part of it, as was the snowstorm that made it difficult to get to the gym or to get out and run.
The truth of the matter is, though, that exercise alone won't produce results. I have to eat less, too. And that's the hard part. Because I like food so much.
I used to think, when I worked in an office, that if I wasn't at said office, with all the temptations of the food table where people frequently brought in snacks to share, the co-worker with the desk drawer full of candy, and the vending machine full of sodas and sweets, that it would be easier to lose weight. I just wouldn't have any unhealthy food in my home, I reasoned, and that would be the end of my poor eating habits.
The reality is, eating habits have to do with self-discipline, not just with available food. If I want to eat, I can find things to eat. Consuming two or three granola bars, or a couple containers of yogurt, or a giant bowl of honey-nut Cheerios, or a couple cups of coffee doctored up with cream and sugar, can push un-needed calories into my body pretty effectively. Even if what you're eating is not technically "junk food," if you eat too much of it, you're still over-eating.
And so the only way I'm going to see continued results is if I Just Say No. No to the food that I don't need, that I eat when I'm frustrated, that I tell myself I deserve because the kids have been so difficult that day. I want to lose the rest of the weight that's accumulated over the course of three pregnancies more than I want the temporary happiness that yummy food will bring me.
It will be hard, because I really love yummy food, and eating it does make me feel good. For awhile. But I'm going to work on developing my woefully under-exercised self-control this year, and stop sabotaging all the good my exercise is doing me with the things I put into my mouth.
That's the resolution. I'll let you know how I do.
I have resolved to lose weight many and many a time in my life. Probably every year since the age of 12 or so. I have had only rare and limited success.
However, this past year has been one of those times of success. All that time I'm spending at the YMCA has actually shown me some results; I've lost 20 pounds since having the baby seven months ago. Which is a good thing, because I was at the highest weight I've ever been, and I really needed to get rid of some of it.
Now, however, I seem to have hit a wall. I am pleased with my success, but I have more to go, and I've made no progress in a month, maybe more. The holidays, with all their yummy food, were probably part of it, as was the snowstorm that made it difficult to get to the gym or to get out and run.
The truth of the matter is, though, that exercise alone won't produce results. I have to eat less, too. And that's the hard part. Because I like food so much.
I used to think, when I worked in an office, that if I wasn't at said office, with all the temptations of the food table where people frequently brought in snacks to share, the co-worker with the desk drawer full of candy, and the vending machine full of sodas and sweets, that it would be easier to lose weight. I just wouldn't have any unhealthy food in my home, I reasoned, and that would be the end of my poor eating habits.
The reality is, eating habits have to do with self-discipline, not just with available food. If I want to eat, I can find things to eat. Consuming two or three granola bars, or a couple containers of yogurt, or a giant bowl of honey-nut Cheerios, or a couple cups of coffee doctored up with cream and sugar, can push un-needed calories into my body pretty effectively. Even if what you're eating is not technically "junk food," if you eat too much of it, you're still over-eating.
And so the only way I'm going to see continued results is if I Just Say No. No to the food that I don't need, that I eat when I'm frustrated, that I tell myself I deserve because the kids have been so difficult that day. I want to lose the rest of the weight that's accumulated over the course of three pregnancies more than I want the temporary happiness that yummy food will bring me.
It will be hard, because I really love yummy food, and eating it does make me feel good. For awhile. But I'm going to work on developing my woefully under-exercised self-control this year, and stop sabotaging all the good my exercise is doing me with the things I put into my mouth.
That's the resolution. I'll let you know how I do.
1 comments:
Best of luck to you, Jen! I know that you're not looking for advice, but some things that really help me when I'm "grazing" or over-snacking is to substitute some sugar-free gum for whatever I think I want to eat. It may not work for you, but for me, the act of chewing something sweet helped me eat less snacky food, and I still felt emotionally fulfilled, the way I would after eating, say, half a pint of Ben and Jerry's.
Good luck, and stay strong. You can do it!
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