by Analisa Novak
I’ll never forget Super Bowl Sunday 2014, I single handily finished an entire pizza, a 2-liter Pepsi and some nachos. I was only a little over a ,month into my New Year’s resolution to loose weight and I gave up. It wasn’t the first time and like many New Year’s resolutions it happened around the start of February.
After gorging my face in more than 5,000 calories, I noticed I was an absolute mess. I went to the bathroom and wanted all of the food out of my system, so I attempted to make myself throw up. Before I could, I leaned in the toilet bowl and yelled, “What am I doing?” Then, I decided it didn’t matter if it was Feb. 3rd and I failed at keeping up with my public New Year’s resolution. This was about my mental and physical health.
After that day, I found a diet that worked for me and began to heal the damage done to my body and mind, by focusing energy on myself. I no longer looked at the calendar, I didn’t weigh myself weekly and I didn’t compare myself to my friends. I made myself uncomfortable and forced myself to see at 22 I was unhealthier than people twice my age. I went to gym and dealt with judgmental glances. I purposely left my money at home so the temptation of the vending machine at work wouldn’t faze me. Soon after the weight slowly trickled off, but I didn’t allow myself to be content. To my surprise making a New Year’s resolution wasn’t the key to loosing weight, consistency was.
Two years, 95 pounds and 10 pants sizes later I feel I repaired my body physically and mentally. I shudder at the thought of how I would look and my health state, if I gave up at the start of February, two years ago.
If you’re in a similar situation and giving up on weight loss goals, I advise to figure out why you are doing this. Is it because of pressure to look good for someone or because you publically posted on Jan. 1st you would loose weight.
If those are the reasons then I hate to tell you, you wont be able to maintain consistency. Forget it’s been a month since you said you were going to loose weight and haven’t. Examine your health, how you feel about yourself and dig into why you’re unhappy with your weight. Consider January a test month and make February where you really work on yourself, without pressure of starting this race with everyone else. Jan. 1st is overrated, find your own day to start and finish for the most important person, yourself.