Resolution Schmesolution

Have you made a New Years Resolution? 

Don't.

I think there is a danger to committing to start something on a particular day of the year. A particular day of the year that will come around again in 12 months time. You resolve to do/change/stop something today, you may lapse within a week and then you resolve to try again next year.

Even Quit (...Smoking Victoria) suggests holding off from quitting the fags until mid January. They say that quitting on New Years Day is one of the hardest times to do so because of the events that surround the season and that if one fails they will lack motivation to try again. They emphasise the importance of planning how to make the change, how to manage with cravings and how to cope with lapses.

Likewise I advise against having an "end date" for your resolution.

Working in the fitness industry, I see a lot of people aiming to lose weight for a particular occasion. I once had a client who said to me "I'm getting married in 6 months and I DON'T want to look like this." I nodded my head politely and told her I would help, but in my mind  (as harsh as it sounds) I was thinking  you shouldn't want to look like this at all. She was unhealthy and unfit. Her wedding shouldn't have been the catalyst for her losing weight. Her quality of life should be. And as it happened she dropped a few kilograms for the wedding and within weeks it was back on.

So if quitting sugar is on your agenda for 2012. Go for it! (I can't recommend it highly enough). But don't quit it today.  Instead, just start thinking about doing it. Start looking in your pantry at the things that you may need to eliminate. Start thinking about the times that you will find the most challenging and how you might handle them. Start investing in some cookbooks, recipes or seeking out some helpful websites that suggest alternative foods. And then when you feel ready, start.

Bayasaa

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