Each year before New Year’s I buy enough of my preferred vegetables to last me through the first 7-10 days of January. I do this because the stampede of enthusiastic consumers whose New Year’s Resolution is weight loss and eating healthy leaves the grocery produce section haggard and spent. Come the second week of January I return to my shopping as usual routine, because the majority have already fallen off their New Year’s Resolution wagon.
You may lose sight of your resolution with excuses as to why it really isn’t that important and why life is really a whole lot better when you can’t be bothered. When the summer, tropical vacation or big celebratory event approaches and you want nothing more to shine in all the photos, is when you will beat yourself up for not having stuck to it. Make this Year’s Resolution STICK. As one of my friends says “Get ready, to Stay Ready, to Be Ready!”.
You might be uncomfortable with the initial lifestyle changes required, but I guarantee you won’t regret it once you get the hang of it. The typical scenario is this. You make that New Year’s Resolution with excited enthusiastic determination, but determination is often like a sunny day, the sun doesn’t shine all the time! When the gung ho has waned you will be in the thick of a few realities you hadn’t counted on, and those are likely to bounce you right off your chosen wagon. Eating healthy and weight loss are not so simple, and here are just a few of the reasons why.
♠ Going food shopping is mostly an auto-pilot no brainer that takes about 1-2 hours door to door. You know your routine. But eating healthy and weight loss change the food shopping game entirely. Expect to spend two times more time than before and be prepared for inner conflict. One side will be warring for you to grab the good ole’ foods while the New You wants you in the produce section. Breaking addictive patterns is enough to put a man down at lightning speed in aisle four.
Count on being tired on arriving home, but know that as time passes you will have a new routine that is a breeze, especially in your slimmer body.
♠ Weight loss success stories happen to people who re-pattern their kitchen behaviors, organization and form strong relationships with healthy foods. If you rely on fast food, restaurants, processed foods and don’t know how to cook healthy then the uphill climb will be steep. The more you hike up that steep path, the stronger your muscles will become.
♠ Your resolution of eating healthy and weight loss may be nowhere on the radar of those you share a lot of time or live with. There is nothing harder than being up against a military resistance force made up of loved one’s who should be supporting you, but are more personally challenged by your choices and wish for nothing more than to get you back to your previous behaviors. Their goal is about THEIR comfort and has nothing to do with your success. Will you give up and give in to that resistance? Or will you find the 24/7 brawn needed to carve yourself a new you? The more you hold strong with your resolution, the more cynical their tactics may become. You may find yourself the direct target of their verbal abuse, sarcasm, cheap shots and attacks on your personal value and/or could even include behavioral punishments like their withdrawing their love and approval for you. Make your person your priority. You and your life are worth it.
♠ You may hold ground like a solid oak tree, but it may get sticky when you come face to face with your communication weaknesses. How good are you at delivering a respectful clear unquestionable “no”? Do you walk away from inappropriate behavior with respect for self and others, without holding a grudge or guilt? Upgrading your communication skills for weight loss success may land you that desirable promotion at work because new skills in one area transfer to every other area.
These are only just a smidgeon of reasons why it is so easy to fall off the wagon in record time – the wagon you alone wanted to be on. Breaking shopping, eating, kitchen and behavioral habits while improving communication skills and then standing tall to hold ground against homestead resistance forces on uncharted territory. Your seemingly simple resolution to eat healthy and lose weight may have landed you center stage ring leader of a traveling circus. I don’t know anyone prepared to manage, for the first time ever, the clowns, animals and acrobats in a circus, so you probably aren’t either.
Weight loss is complicated, it is far more than just eating less and moving more!
Which side will win? The way of life you want for yourself, or the old routine of comfort? The side that will win will depend on which side you choose to feed.
Will you opt for the predictable concretized path of time held habits? Or will you present the power to the curious part of you who will find pleasure in the fresh discoveries and safe adventures?
This is the sixth article in my weight loss series. The first five articles are really good so you might want to go back and read them. I will be writing about three short articles every month. Each will present a new area to consider while coaching you along towards what your heart has really been yearning for – Permanent weight loss for a new experience of life. Get your name on my mailing list to ensure you receive each article at intervals where your own resolve will probably be losing steam, this will keep you on track. Sharing this series with loved ones who have the same desires as you will instantly create a supportive network, where each of you favor the success of one another.
If my Do-It-Yourself style is just too big a bite to chew then call me and work with me personally. I get to the grass roots with each person much faster in the order that the hurdles are showing up. Working with me is like being shown your own personal short cut.
Until my next article I send you my blessings,
Krista
PS – I wish you a Bright & Happy New Year – Full of Radiant Health, Joy and Success !
And may your New Year’s Resolutions this year be Flamboyantly Successful in ways we usually only see in Hollywood films.
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