Saturday, December 24, 2011

2012: end of the world or new beginning?

It's been a little quiet on this blog for the past month, so apologies for my distractedness.  December was a whirlwind month with many elves spending many hours getting ready for January (our Christmas).  I finally clocked out Friday, December 22, celebrated Christmas and got on a plan with my family for a week in Mexico.  It was a great trip, which was oddly educational.  We spent most of the time traipsing on old Mayan ruins in the Yucatan and visiting villages and cities on the Western part of this Mexican state.  After that, we had two days of R&R on the Caribbean coast.   It was an amazing trip, and there is now one more culture (the Mayan) of which I am now only mostly ignorant.

Right around 12/22, I got weighed, and I was very much at goal weight (yay me!).  From there, I had three days of Christmas merrymaking followed by seven days of Mexican/Maya cuisine -- lots of homemade tortillas and tortilla chips.  I was disallowed from exercising for SIX WHOLE DAYS.  Fate was indeed cruel.  I was not able to start getting back on physical activity until this past Saturday.  This was longest stretch without a workout in the better part of 10 months.  I was half convinced that my failure to exercise was going to accelerate the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world.

Dear Earth:  I'm sorry that my failure to
work out for six days caused a planetary event.
Will try harder next time.  
Yet, I am still breathing along with all of the other Earthlings, so I guess my lack of working out did not actually cause the planet to plunge into catastrophe.  I have not been weighed in yet, but I am guessing about a 3-5 pound gain.  Hardly another reason to predict the end of the world.

As a side note, my tour guide to the Mayan ruins informed us that the Mayans never said the world would end on Dec 21, 2012.  They merely had to reset their odometer and use it to mark a new beginning.  That sounds much more encouraging than the whole planetary destruction thing.

This vacation I did my noble best to try to force myself to disconnect from job, diet, and workout routines just a little bit.  I even managed to go a full day without having my iPhone in easy reach.  This is not small achievement for yours truly.

But now it's January, and it's time to get my game ON.

There are many who would criticize the premise of January resolutions as useless or bad.  I am not one of them.  I love treating January as the start of a new year and the opportunity for new beginnings.  I personally believe that any time we can create an internal trigger to stimulate a new behavior change effort, why not.  As long as we keep the resolution in perspective and not get down on ourselves when we don't completely change every single aspect of our lives in the course of three weeks, resolutions can be a very good prod.

So I start this new year 2012 with the best of intentions and the most positive of beliefs.  I try to keep my resolutions pretty basic, so here you go:

  1. Getting my food patterns back on course.  I want to make sure that I have a good stable of menus and meal ideas as I go into the new year so I can resist the temptation to stray little-by-little into less healthy territory.  I've got my tracker out this morning, and I'm going to try to keep it out for the next few weeks.  It's a great course correction tool.
  2. Continue working on my efforts not to snack after dinner.  Made good progress on this at the end of 2011, and I have a great opportunity to build on that progress.  My primary tool here will probably be some more public commitments via Twitter where I mark my progress at the end of each day for a week.  Worked great the last time I did it.  
  3. Find someway to up my exercise output by 10% to 15% by adding some new activities.  Planning here is still nebulous.  
My biggest New Years resolution has nothing to do with weight.  It has to do with my outlook and what I show other people.  

My #1 2012 resolution:  smile more.  

What do you have loaded up for the new year?

Cheers,

David

14 comments:

  1. To be more forgiving of myself when I slip off of program, hit the one year mark of being Lifetime (which I have never achieved) and to have a more positive outlook in general. Thanks, as always, for sharing your experiences!

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  2. I begin 2012 as a freshly-minted Lifetime member (http://diet.johnabell.com), so it's all about protecting my investment and staying as motivated this year and every one to follow as I was in 2011, when I lost 80 pounds on Weight Watchers.

    Freedom is a blessing and curse; I aim to attend meetings more than once a month, starting as early in the month as possible to help me not stray too far or for too long.

    You will understand, I am sure, that I'm determined not to pay you one more thin dime, ever again! :)

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  3. I love that you got clarity around 2012 from the source, so to speak. So many people are all up in arms over what amounts to a change in calendar; a simple change we all make ourselves every year when one year becomes another.

    Great resolution after what sounds like a great, and much-needed, vacation.

    Bright blessings for happiness and success to you and your family!

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  4. I just saw you on Fox this afternoon. Great voice. Your vacation sounds fun. Everybody needs time off now and then. Happy New Year!

    Oh yes, so glad to hear that Jessica Simpson is not going to be a spokes person for WW. :)

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  5. Love this. Welcome back!

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  6. I just read your interview in Wired and am happy to find your blog, as well. As a marketer, I find it refreshing that the CEO is so open to feedback and open conversation. My resolution is to be more forgiving with myself and keep dusting myself off each time I fall off the plan. I started again (after a few years away) in October and found WW so incredibly helpful through the holidays. Thanks for the revision- it will take time to get used to but I think it's good for all of us to rethink and relearn WW.

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  7. Hi There :)

    My biggest 2012 resolution, like yours, is also not necessarily weight related, but I suppose it falls into all parts of my life: To live outside my comfort zone. It's a nice place, but nothing ever grows there.

    So I'm planning to push myself, physically (I see some serious running PR's on the horizon!) in the theatre & music worlds artistically, and yes even in the meeting room. That's the only time we really find out what we're made of!

    Happy New Year - hope to see you soon!

    XO
    Melanie

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  8. Happy New Year, boss! How about shaking up your activity with a triathlon? How does Maui Triathlon (June 2012) sound? It's my goal for the new year and I can't wait. Your trip to Mexico sounds great. Wishing you all the best!

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  9. I appreciate your honesty in telling us about weight gain over the holidays and getting back on track. Shows it happens to us all and we can all get back on track!

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  10. Great to hear that your public commitments via Twitter are helpful, I'm trying the same thing this year with a blog. Not snacking after dinner is sometimes very hard :(

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  11. I found your blog after I picked up Weight Watchers magazine and read your letter, which hit home with me since I have started a new years resolution blog. I have just started the program again. I have followed the program in the past and it is the only way for me to be balanced and not obsessive. Food is not the enemy.I am a vegetarian and ww helps me stay in balance.I live by my tracker.

    I too believe in new beginnings, and letting go of past failures. I decided to blog my resolutions to be held accountable. This is my first week and I am already enjoying the process instead of trying to speed past the finish line.I have many resolutions but the first is to lose weight and exercise, and be as fit and as healthy as I can be for me. Weight Watchers is the only way to go.I have been following my points this week and I weigh in on Mondays. :-)

    Funny, so called end of the world date falls on my birthday, December 21st. Not only do I get the shortest day of the year, everyone now is saying it is the end of our days.I do not believe any of it though, I do believe it is a new beginning.

    Please come follow my blog as I too embark on the beauty of new beginnings in 2012.
    www.blossomingrose2012.blogspot.com

    Thanks for an awesome blog for inspiration.
    Rose

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  12. Dave, I love your openness about your personal experiences with WW. At my Saturday meeting the "newness" that came in was contagious.

    I don't normally make resolutions for January, but you inspired me to look deep within to find something I will commit to improving. I've not done so yet - but perhaps I will come up with something while I shower and get ready for work.

    Thank you again for your openness and accessibility.

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  13. Happy New Year to you!

    In 2012 I hope to make it to my goal weight. I have already lost 80 pounds (since rejoining July 2010) and have about 20 to go.

    Over the holidays, just like you and the rest of the world, didn't exactly stick to the 'plan'.

    Hoping to get re-revved up in the new year. Enrolled in the at work program so the next session starts on Thursday for folks. Those are always great as it's a refresh on the plan basics for all of us! And every time you can grasp one more thing that you may have missed the last time.

    Here's to reaching goal in 2012!

    Pam

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  14. I am sure you are back on the exercise horse by now! I had an intense autumn and gained 10 pounds back of the 40 I'd lost...so I am back on the whole horse: loss rather than maintenance, exercise, weighing portions and of course, tracking religiously. It's already working too...aah, such a relief to know that the WW formula is there to work its magic! Thank you and Happy New Year!

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