A New Year, a new day

The New Year’s holiday certainly calls for celebration. It’s a time filled with happiness and hope, as we anticipate a new beginning. It’s also a time for planning and prioritizing our personal and professional as-pirations.
This week, many of us will make lists and set goals to better ourselves, and the lives of our families.
But let’s face it, there’s a big difference between wishes and reality.
I began planning for the New Year a month ago. I informed my girlfriend that this year was the year I will go to the gym and start working out more after work. Sure I say that every year, but I feel energized and ready to go this year. It’s not for a lack of trying in the past. I even bought a Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii to try and motivate myself to workout in the comfort of my living room –– that lasted all of a week.
I also attempted to participate in the “Flat Belly Diet” a few months ago. That attempt lasted two days. Again, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I just couldn’t get myself to drink a gallon of something called “sassy wa-ter” everyday for three days. In hindsight, I think I could drink a cup of gutter water and it would taste better than this “sassy water.”
But, I am not deterred. After looking at a few recent pictures taken over the holidays, that’s enough incentive to start doing something, even if it’s just learning how to eat better. Since moving to Michigan almost three years ago, I have gained about 13 pounds. I guess all that pizza and “on the go” meals have finally caught up to me.
I can just hear my mom: “You need to eat better.” Eating three square meals a day is not always the easiest task when you are on deadline.
For me, resolutions can be put into two categories, “should do,” or “will do.” For instance, I “should” make an effort to study for the GRE so I can apply to graduate school this year. However, I “will” find time to finish unpacking the boxes that currently fill the living room of my new apartment.
In order to make my weight loss resolution a reality, it must be moved from the “should do” column into the “will do” column. Like most of you, a lot of times my resolutions end up in the “should do” column, where they stay until I dust them off for the following year and the cycle repeats itself.
“Should do” resolutions rarely inspire us, but instead cause anxiety and dread. “Should do” resolutions are usually less likely to become a reality.
A “will do” resolution, however, is something we believe is possible.
If I have time, resources and drive to exercise this year, I could shed 10 pounds by 2011. Believing that I will achieve my goal is the first step to a successful resolution.
In order to prepare for this year’s resolution, I found an apartment that has a built-in gym down the hall from me. If I pay for it with my rent, I should use it. I also started reading articles in “Men’s Health” magazine to inspire me. I have also spent more time in the grocery store looking at the nutrition information on food products versus throwing something in my cart because it looks good.
I’m confident that I will approach 2010 with an open mind. And for those who have also decided to make weight loss their goal for the new year, you can follow my progress online via periodic entries in our new online blog, “Inside the Newsroom at Chelsea and Dexter,” at http://chelseanewsroom.blogspot.com/
We will also soon be posting a link to the blog directly from our Web site at www.heritage.com. In addition to my weekly posts, Chelsea resident and Heritage staff writer Lisa Allmendinger will also contribute as well as our staff writer, Sean Dalton.
I encourage readers to check out our blog and leave us a comment or two. For all my fellow readers who are committed to a resolution this year, good luck!