So What are you Waiting For?

January 1! The token holiday of all resolutionaries!

Weight Watchers meetings will be overflowing. The gym will be crowded! The price of wholesome food will go up for a few weeks. This week the shelves of cookies, ice cream, and chips will be barren as people get their last and (probably not) final gorge-fest in.

Why? Because January 1 is the day I'm recommitting! January 1 is the day I start my diet! January 1 is the day start exercising! January 1 is the magic day!

You know what? If you're serious, you'll start now. Not January 1. Not Monday. Not the day after your birthday. Now. There truly is no time like the present.

Why wait? What do you gain by waiting?

• Weight
• Indigestion
• A false sense of doing something
• More time to make excuses
• Another failed resolution

I don't know why, but I do think that most resolutions are bunk. We make them every year, but we rarely follow through. It isn't that we don't mean it at the time, but I think because we've gotten into the habit of NOT following through that when we fail we say "Oh well, there's always next year." At least that was my experience. Honestly I've rarely kept a New Years Resolution. Once I'd fall off the wagon my mindset would be "Well that's it for this year. I guess I'll try again next year."

How convenient! I could drop all my healthy new "habits" that were not yet ingrained for another 10 months or so (in a good year) and go back to overeating, couch potatoeing, and excuse making! Oh I had it down...go at it gung ho for a month. Stumble around for another month. Give up in that third month.

Then one day I realized that resolutions don't have to be made only once a year. They can be made every week...why not make a new week's resolution every Monday? That way if you fall off, you only have a matter of days until you start over. Heck, you could even do new day's resolutions. Why not? What do you have to lose?

I say this because all over the boards, the mailing lists, the country people are saying "I'm going to recommit on January 1!" The first person I replied to with a "Why not start now!? You could lose 2 pounds within the next week and be well on your way to making a true lifestyle change." Responded like I'd made some horrible suggestion.

Others jumped on the excuse bandwagon with her, "Well there's all this food lying around." (So throw it the hell away or feed it to the dog. Jay-sus, you're not a freaking animal. You're a human...and ADULT human. Grow up and act like one.)

"But I have a party a wedding and a toe cleaning contest to go to!" (So what? You won't have any of those after January 1 ever? Give me a break. Why not just say what you mean. "Really I just want to spend the next six days eating like a pig without feeling guilty so that January 1 I can recommit, so that by January 10th I'll be crying to you all again that I'm not losing any weight because I'm not really committed to anything but food.")

"Because I just know THIS YEAR is the year!" (If you're not committed enough to start now, why would this year be the year? What is so different than last year when at the same time you said the same thing?)

"Because my DH is going to do it with me this year!" (Did you "DH" do it with you last year? Did that make a difference? And do you know how much the term "DH" makes me want to up my Christmas cookies?)

Oh yeah, I'm harsh. I'm harsh because it drives me CRAZY how people diddle around with their lives! I mean yes, I went many years doing the same damn thing and at the time it pissed me off too...and so I have no room to judge. But still! Just DO IT! Just put down the fork. Just back away from the table. Just put on the running shoes. Just go for it. Do it. Make the erroft. Make the time!

Don't be another resolutionary...be a rebel. Start now!