New Year's Resolution: Do you set one?

It starts right after Christmas, you know, all the advertisements for Curves, Jenny Craig or some celebrity-endorsed weight loss program. Every January, gyms sign up legions of new members hoping to that this will be THE year that they lose weight and/or get in shape. All while behind the scenes many health and fitness pundits mock these "Resolutioners" as they are called, noting that many will start a program and often half will quit within the first month or two. I however like New Year's resolutions. I too have set them and broken them but rather than look at that as failure, I see it as progress. Progress that indicates that I want to lead a purpose-driven life and aspire to be the best me that I can. In fact, I embrace setting health and fitness resolutions or goals throughout the year. I revel in the challenge that I create for myself. Without it I get complacent and find it easy to backslide into old, unhealthy habits. Living a healthful life after 40 years of obesity requires a lot of "unlearning". I often find that breaking my goals into smaller milestones along the way makes it less overwhelming. On my weight loss journey my goals changed and evolved over time. First, I wanted to just wear a single digit dress size then, I wanted my BMI to be in a "normal" range. After that I wanted to be a certain weight on the scale. and then finally, I wanted a to get to a certain body fat percentage. Setting my goals this way, allowed me to celebrate my successes along the way and enjoy the journey by staving off dieting fatigue. So if you like New Year's resolutions, then go for it! Dream away and aspire to what is possible.