Resolutions Schmesolutions! 

By Becky Andrews

It’s that time of year again. Relatives are heading home, we say goodbye to the tree and that stupid elf till next year, returns are made and my jeans feel about three sizes too small and I’ve not even put them in the dryer. Regret from my over consumption of cheese balls, peanut butter balls, chips, dip, wine, cookies fill my head every time I see a new ‘NOT APPROVED’ photo floating around on Facebook. I have to diet and lose the weight that crept on between October 31^st and January 1^st. I knew it was time for an intervention when I bit the inside of my cheek while noshing on a handful of fried peanuts (Seriously!). Extra weight was now on my already full cheeks!

So I decided to get a head start on the weight loss wagon and made the plunge on December 27^th. Then by noon of that first day of a sugar detox, I caved and ate a piece of candy out of the office stash. In order to forego the guilt, I thought it’s better to ease in. Who starts a diet a few days before New Year’s? What was I trying to prove? Yes, I want to lose weight but it’s not like I’m training for the Olympics.

The smartest thing to do was look at the calendar, pick a date and stick to it. While January is the perfect month to start, January 1^st is out for obvious reasons. January 2nd falls on a Wednesday and everyone knows, Monday is THE day to start a diet. The following Monday is out because we have a dinner to go to that night and it would be rude to say no to the host’s offerings. In fact the only Monday in January I can start my new plan is the 7^th and the following Monday is the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. That means the kids are out of school so that would only give me one good week to eat right so why bother?  I could start on the last Monday of January but that weekend brings Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl so that’s out. If I start the first Monday of February, that gives me eight good days before Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day so that’s out.

The way it stands now I have two weeks at the end of February and the first week in March to lose the weight I gained from the holidays. After that there’s International Women’s Day, Daylight Savings Time, World Kidney Day, Spring Break for the kids, Saint Patrick’s Day, Good Friday, Easter… the list goes on and on. But I’m going to do it! I’ve got 21 days (18 if you count the days we have a kids birthday party) to lose this stubborn weight.  I have no doubt I can do this and as long as no one asks how the diet is going the first 3 days nobody gets hurt.