New year resolutions

I started last year like any other by creating a New Year’s Resolutions.  I planned to be healthier, and for this, I was partially successful.  I did well for the first 4-6 months, and then I began to be less successful.   As soon as I returned to live with my family (we were separated for two years because of my job), my unhealthy habits returned.  Maybe my goals are overly ambitious.  I only have myself to blame.  I shipped up and began eating unhealthy foods again, my exercise has slipped to near zero, and the weight quickly returned.   

Fundamentally, my plans for being healthy are flawed, and I did not take into account my return to home.  Challenges that led to me eating too much and exercising too little.    

• Travel eating:  My family and I eat a lot on the run, and it is very hard to eat healthy at fast food restaurants.  The past two to three years, I have eaten very little in fast food restaurants.    
• Peer Pressure:  Peer pressure is tough to overcome.  My wife and son rarely make healthy choices for food.  They want to come somewhere to eat, and I tend to cave.  It is impossible to lose weight if you fall for unhealthy choices.  
• Indecision paradox: After a stressful day, it is hard to make a decision, and I often look to others to make simple decisions.  If I am with my family, I often will ask what they want.  “I don’t care” is the answer you will get.  This process bounces around a couple of times until someone picks a comfort food.  It is not a healthy process for picking a healthy meal or my blood pressure.  
• Lack of urgency:  Procrastination is the bain of my personal and professional life.  I set a goal put off implementation until another day.  I swore in October that I was done gaining weight.  Three months letter and I yet to implement anything.  
• Accountability: I often blame others of the situation of my life.  The blame for weight gain and poor eating lies squarely on my shoulder.  My family had no need to be healthy.  I do, and I need to keep with it this time.  

My New Year’s Resolutions this year will be more fo the same, but this time I am going to evolve.  The intentions are the same, but he follows through needs to be different.  No more will delays and distractions derail my plan. Broken promises and plans need to be a thing of the past.

The Evolution

Resolutions have never worked for me, and I would expect this year to be no different if I keep on the same path.  Instead of making a resolution to make an absolute change to my life and health, this year, I plan to evolve.  Like human evolution, this will be a slow process of change.  

This year, I plan to:

1. Be decisive: Make decisions on good food choices.  Avoid the peer pressure by making the decision for your family and friends.  
2. Exercise is not optional:  I need to exercise every other day no matter where I am.  It is simply not an option. It is an investment in future good health.  
3. No time like today: Avoid the bug to procrastinate.  Choose to do it now — every minute you wait to make it more likely not to happen.  
4. Strive to the doggy bag: There is no penalty for not cleaning your plate.  Sure you paid for it, but if you eat it all, you will pay for it with poor health.  Serving sizes in restaurants are too big, and it is better to take some home for later or leave it on your plate.  
5. Chew more: I am a fast eater.  I think my biggest flaw is that I often finish eating before others even get started.  Chewing more times will help me prevent eating more by allowing me to register fullness.  

The bottom line: At 51, it is time to start living healthier.  It is time to evolve from make resolution that I will never keep.  Evolution is slow, but it creates lasting to change.  I will strive to make lasting, gradual changes.   I strive to evolve my decisions.  I will make them instead of relying on others to keep me making good choices.  Wish me luck.