Getting Started

Ok, so I’m starting a wee bit late on the New Year’s Resolution.  Part of me worries that that means I’ve already blown it.  I won’t be able to start my project now.  It’s 10 days late.  Too bad, failed the class, move to the back, start next year!

Ha!

Another excuse.  Another reason to put off the changes that I need to make. 

So here is the modest proposal that I am starting the year with.  To get a handle on my weight and eating.  I currently weigh 170 lbs, give or take!  Shit.  I was that same weight a year ago.  And despite my countless decisions to do something about this problem, I have been stalled for years.  For years.  I can’t believe that.

What makes matters worse is that I’m a professional counsellor.  I encourage and support people in making changes in their lives every day.  And every day I see that it’s possible.  So if they can do it, why do I find it so hard? 

That’s what I’m setting out to find out.  I want to explore this from every angle and find a way to make it work for my life.

I know that I need different angles from the ones that I’ve seen so far because they haven’t worked.  I’ve lost the weight countless times, but it just comes back with a vengeance.  I’ve quit drinking coke and eating sugar, I’ve gone on low fat diets, and I’ve done a lot of exercise. 

The funny thing is, I didn’t hate any of these things.  In fact I enjoy eating healthy, and I love the great feeling physically that comes with it.  I enjoy exercising when I’m relatively fit, it feels good.  But somehow despite this, there’s a negative momentum that drags me back down when I’m doing well.

So I plan to dig into the research on weight loss, use my own counselling techniques on myself and design my own program of weight loss and personal transformation. 

Here are my commitments,

·         Every choice and option that I try must be compassionate.  I believe that compassion is what is so often missing from “diets.”

·         I will not make a change that I don’t believe that I can stick to for the rest of my life.

·         I will honour my personal limits but work to challenge myself and grow.

·         I will write at least four times a week about what I am doing and learning.

·         I will have a sense of humour and not take myself or my efforts too seriously.

And so it begins...