By the time you read this, I will have started 2015 right, with several sessions of lap swimming, water aerobics, walking and circuit training and a total of 1,100 sit-ups, and some heart-to-heart visits with loved ones.
No sugar, flour, white rice or dairy products shall have passed my lips, but I will have consumed a colorful array of fresh veggies, in salads and soups and steamed with a little device that was a Christmas present to my new, improved self. It's shaped like a cute piggy, something I don't wish to be myself this year.
I will have recorded 55 things for which I am grateful in my daily gratitude diary, and spent some quality time each day with mediations and uplifting reading projects. I hope that will include some books by Las Cruces authors I've been wanting to investigate.
This scenario of success is officially predicted as 2014 draws to a close amidst the last of the office sugar shock bounty of cookies, cakes, pies, pastries and fudge.
Then again, I look toward the future as I wonder if it's really too cold today to do laps, even in a heated pool, and wonder if I really should be hiking until the bruises from a recent stumble have fully healed. And shouldn't I really get in one last enchilada feast before my favorite restaurant takes a holiday break?
What are the odds of sticking to my resolve and stated goals for the first days of the new year? And then long enough to make a real difference?
Pretty darn good, I think.
Most resolutions for the new year are things I manage to do, generally, consistently anyway. I think the key is in the "generally."
With my body type and metabolism, when you get to a certain age, losing weight seems to be almost like solving a complex scientific puzzle involving chemistry, math and physics, never subjects in which I have shined. (Talking a good game, does not, alas, seem to burn many calories or increase muscle mass.)
I am resolved to devote the time and study necessary to solving that puzzle in 2015. I've assembled a file of diet plans, videos and programs that have been personally successful in the past, along with methods that have worked for trusted family members and friends and ideas from usually reliable sources.
I'm going to go through them one by one, until I come upon a program, or combination of programs, that work.
Most of us who have fought avoirdupois for decades are surprisingly skilled in self-denial. I've come to look at the process more as self-preservation. I know what I'm allergic to and what to avoid. I know I feel better when I eat what's healthy for me and that it's not the same for everyone.
I also have learned that there are ways to have treats and savor life if you put some thought into it.
When I became allergic to garlic and onions, I discovered ways to make my own magically delicious meals with celery, green chile and other spices. (As all New Mexicans know, chile makes everything better.)
As with so many things in life, a few perfect bites, slowly savored, are considerably more satisfying than mindlessly wolfing down stuff you don't really want in the heat of battle.
And successful exercise programs, which I'm generally pretty good at maintaining, also involve a kind of mindful approach. I love swimming and have to push myself to more frequently cycle in the treadmill and circuit training sessions, reminding myself that I always feel more energized on those non-aquatic days, even if I'd much rather be in the pool.
In 2015, I've resolved to focus less on goals, though I still have some, and more on the journey. To eschew stress and take time to experience and enjoy each day, to discover and appreciate the new adventures that can surprise and delight each of us, and be shared with those we love.
I'll let you know how it goes. Happy New Year, and may we all have the health and awareness to savor and make the most of whatever life has to offer, each day.
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