Happy 2012 everyone! I’d like to talk a bit about resolutions, since it’s that time of the year again.
With each turn of the calendar there’s so many people that make resolutions to “better” themselves, such as quitting smoking, alcohol, caffeine, saving money, or losing weight. Regarding this last group, most of them flock to the gyms to start the road to keeping their weight-loss resolutions. There’s just something magical about New Year that gives us this idea that we can start fresh. It’s a big milestone in the year and it basically represents point zero for the next 12 months. The trouble with resolutions is that most people who make resolutions on January 1st will not be able to keep them past February. If you attend a gym regularly, you’ll know what I’m talking about: can’t get a machine on January 5th, but by mid-February it’s all back to normal. Some of the new members stick around, but most just quit after realizing that weight loss isn’t easy, at least not the way they’re doing it.
I made my own resolution two years ago, on January 1st, 2010. At that point I was at my heaviest weight of 275lbs and I’d had enough of not being able to enjoy life. I also didn’t like that the Wii Fit system kept calling me obese. I had trouble fitting in airplane and roller-coaster seats. I realized that I became “that fat guy”. This led me to set a resolution to lose weight. Thankfully, I am one of the people who stick to their resolutions and I’m happy to say that on January 1st, 2012 I weighed 224lbs, a full 51lbs lighter than two years ago.
I’ve still got a long way to go before hitting my goal, at least another year of slow fat loss, but I am so happy to be at this point. I also realized in the past few months that weight loss doesn’t have to be hard. The latest holiday season passed without any weight gain, which made me really confident that I can conquer this problem. Having passed the 50lb milestone also makes me happy, mainly for achieving part of my goals.
I don’t know what the future has in store for me, but I have a more positive outlook on life. The more weight I lose, the bigger my grin gets. This positive attitude is also mirrored in the way other people interact with me, which is also more positive and open.
But enough about me, the question is did you make a New Year’s resolution? If so what is it? Do you have a plan to succeed? What’s your time frame to success? Is the time frame realistic? Please share your experiences with resolutions, weight-loss or otherwise, in the comments, Facebook, or Twitter.