No Reason to Wait

This is the time of year when people want to lose weight, but decide there is no use in trying with all of the holiday food around, and so often decide to wait until January.  I even did a version of this myself in the week before Thanksgiving, knowing I needed to get refocused on my goals, but putting it off until I got back from travelling.

The problem with this line of thinking is, there is always a reason to wait.  If you say to yourself, “I’m going to wait until next week to achieve my goals because I have a party to go to this weekend,” you will likely find a new reason to wait by the time the next week comes around. This week it's the office luncheon, next week it's a neighbor's Christmas party, then an office party, then Christmas with family, etc. But waiting til the weeks after Christmas does not automatically make a diet  easy.  You will still have biunrthdays to celebrate, goodies brought in to the office to share, meals out with friends, etc., whether it's January or May or September.    

Putting it off is only going to make the situation worse. You’re going to have more pounds to lose when (and if) you finally get around to getting started.  A handful of parties or family gatherings spread out over two or three weeks won’t ruin a diet.  Espeically if you go into them with a plan to enjoy the food you love in moderation and to make up for these indulgences by eating a lighter lunch or adding an extra workout that week.

Today was our campus wide holiday drop in, where they have lots of good food.  I filled my plate with tasty fruit and two pieces of cheese, because I knew I will have more holiday challenges this week.  It wasn't easy, but it will be worth it when I achieve my goals.