Sorry to say....
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 5:39 pmBoth on the journal pages and also in the lounge we have the holiday blues being sung by many that couldn't see there way to eating healthy through the holidays. I mentioned before Thanksgiving that one of the saddest things to read is the parade of messages here extolling guilt and grief for letting things get out of hand. It is heart wrenching reading story after story of admissions of poor eating, getting sick, and weight gain that ends the year on a sad note for many.
I encourage those that feel they let themselves down to make this the last holiday season of unhealthy holiday splurging. For those that chose in advance to splurge with out of plan eating this message will not be for you. If anyone is happy with the off plan choices they made, more power to you and this won't be of any benefit for you.
For those that are disappointed with themselves and want to break this seemingly endless cycle of dietary disaster around this time of the year it's time to make the changes that will not put yourself in this position.
1st this is not a weight loss diet to be enacted when the scale starts creeping up. It's not a health restoration diet to jump on when you start to feel sluggish and ill. It's not a magic tonic to put everything right after long time periods of self abuse.
This is a LIFESTYLE that when followed can do some amazing things but not when treated as a temporary fix for our current maladies. It must be embraced and woven into our lives to fully reap the benefits it can bestow. Trying to jump on and off the program on a whim will do nothing but frustrate us and make things worse.
If you do see this as a way out of your current state I recommend a couple things that will either drive you away or make this program finally work for you.
1. Make this your way of life. Not only during the week, not only at certain specific meals, not only when company isn't over. Make it the way you choose to eat going forward. Pay no thought to whether that is for 6 months or 60 years. Embrace it not as something you do but as who you are. Do people see this way of eating as something you sporadically follow then just as quickly abandon? When you truly embrace this way of eating the rest can flow from it. Is this a part of your being at home? At parties? On vacations? I can tell you that those that have turned their weight and health around have done this. It doesn't matter where they are, work, play, home or away. It is truly not just the food choices they make but who they are emotionally and intellectually.
2. Make the very hard decision to truly fully embrace this program. Those that have not know full well what I am talking about. The very difficult decision that will bring some ridicule, some condemnation, some alienation. The decision that will forever change your social life. If you have help from a spouse or family that's great but don't count on it. Go in knowing you may only have yourself to rely on. That's okay. It will be the best person to count on when times are tough. It may teach you more about yourself than you ever knew. You may not feel respect when you start but do this long enough and you will earn the respect soon enough.
Make every moment of decision a moment of reflection. Ask yourself if this is something you would eat if you were truly following a particular lifestyle. Would someone following this lifestyle blow back and forth with the prevailing winds or would they be resolute despite whatever was in their surroundings? Do those that have made this a lifestyle have to deal with the guilt or shame of what transpired last night or is this something their decisions remove from them?
The answers are obvious, the path to changing is hard. The rewards are infinite. Do this. Make this year, 2011, be the last one you have to write a message here of sorrow and depression. Make 2012 the year you adopted a new lifestyle. One that defines you, not imprisons you. One that sets you, steadfastly, onthe path toward your goals. Don't let 2012 be yet another year of poor health, excess weight, and month after month of excuses about why you couldn't do it. For many of you it will happen. You can, you will, the year will end with the same you, only so much better off than you imagined. So make your plans. New Years resolutions are a dime a dozen, lifestyles are forever. Choose wisely and be ready to fire off a message to the group at the end of the year about why they should follow the path you are blazing.
I wish you all a happy new year and everything you want in 2012. See you on the other side!
f1jim
I encourage those that feel they let themselves down to make this the last holiday season of unhealthy holiday splurging. For those that chose in advance to splurge with out of plan eating this message will not be for you. If anyone is happy with the off plan choices they made, more power to you and this won't be of any benefit for you.
For those that are disappointed with themselves and want to break this seemingly endless cycle of dietary disaster around this time of the year it's time to make the changes that will not put yourself in this position.
1st this is not a weight loss diet to be enacted when the scale starts creeping up. It's not a health restoration diet to jump on when you start to feel sluggish and ill. It's not a magic tonic to put everything right after long time periods of self abuse.
This is a LIFESTYLE that when followed can do some amazing things but not when treated as a temporary fix for our current maladies. It must be embraced and woven into our lives to fully reap the benefits it can bestow. Trying to jump on and off the program on a whim will do nothing but frustrate us and make things worse.
If you do see this as a way out of your current state I recommend a couple things that will either drive you away or make this program finally work for you.
1. Make this your way of life. Not only during the week, not only at certain specific meals, not only when company isn't over. Make it the way you choose to eat going forward. Pay no thought to whether that is for 6 months or 60 years. Embrace it not as something you do but as who you are. Do people see this way of eating as something you sporadically follow then just as quickly abandon? When you truly embrace this way of eating the rest can flow from it. Is this a part of your being at home? At parties? On vacations? I can tell you that those that have turned their weight and health around have done this. It doesn't matter where they are, work, play, home or away. It is truly not just the food choices they make but who they are emotionally and intellectually.
2. Make the very hard decision to truly fully embrace this program. Those that have not know full well what I am talking about. The very difficult decision that will bring some ridicule, some condemnation, some alienation. The decision that will forever change your social life. If you have help from a spouse or family that's great but don't count on it. Go in knowing you may only have yourself to rely on. That's okay. It will be the best person to count on when times are tough. It may teach you more about yourself than you ever knew. You may not feel respect when you start but do this long enough and you will earn the respect soon enough.
Make every moment of decision a moment of reflection. Ask yourself if this is something you would eat if you were truly following a particular lifestyle. Would someone following this lifestyle blow back and forth with the prevailing winds or would they be resolute despite whatever was in their surroundings? Do those that have made this a lifestyle have to deal with the guilt or shame of what transpired last night or is this something their decisions remove from them?
The answers are obvious, the path to changing is hard. The rewards are infinite. Do this. Make this year, 2011, be the last one you have to write a message here of sorrow and depression. Make 2012 the year you adopted a new lifestyle. One that defines you, not imprisons you. One that sets you, steadfastly, onthe path toward your goals. Don't let 2012 be yet another year of poor health, excess weight, and month after month of excuses about why you couldn't do it. For many of you it will happen. You can, you will, the year will end with the same you, only so much better off than you imagined. So make your plans. New Years resolutions are a dime a dozen, lifestyles are forever. Choose wisely and be ready to fire off a message to the group at the end of the year about why they should follow the path you are blazing.
I wish you all a happy new year and everything you want in 2012. See you on the other side!
f1jim
. As a result of MikeT's challenge and careful food logging, I'm down 7.5 pounds so far this holiday season. First year THAT ever happened. For once I'm not starting the new year needing to lose 10 pounds 
.