I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

Here we go again: a new year and new resolutions all for new beginnings that lead to new life. Not a bad thing, by any means.  The tough part for me to swallow (and by studies I’ve seen, you too) is how few of us are successful at these new beginnings.  In fact, only something like 11% actually believe they will be successful before they even begin! YIKES! That’s a whole other conversation right there one day!

So I have come to a realization. We get by much better with a little help from others.  We really do. Sometimes a friend will do, and other times a professional is needed. I’m jumping right to the pro this year simply to up my percentage for success.  I do like to succeed.  Ten years ago I went on a ten year journey toward healthy weight for my body frame, degenerative joints, and bad knees. Me and my doc decided a reasonable 4 pound of loss per year would force me to make life style changes that would hold much better than some crash lemonade/maple syrup/cayenne pepper regimen or some other crazy fad “diet”. 

I began the journey with hope in my pocket and stayed on track for the first six years… and then, well, let’s just say, it got a little harder.  Not only was I nearing 50 but I quit smoking cigs for the last time (yay!!) and man, did it add two more levels of difficulty to the entire endeavor.  I fluctuated back and forth until finally, honestly, I gave up this past year. And then I not only stopped losing my 4 lbs per year, but I started gaining back some that I had already lost!!  ARGGGHH!! I hate it when I do that!  It would be like seeing the finish line and seeing that someone else won the race and you weren’t going to so instead of finishing 3^rd or 6^th or something, you just sit down and never finish, or even worse, you turn around and start heading back to the starting line.  Are you kidding me??!

So of course my joints are sore again and I’m tired again and all that baggage that comes along with eating too much sugar and not enough protein and yada yada yada.  [sigh] 

In comes a friend… or pro… or probably both by the time I’m done.  I’ve decided to hook up with a professional weight loss clinic in order to really get me back on track. No messing around here. I’m done falling into the failure bracket and ready to move back over to the successful bracket… and even more importantly, I want to feel good about myself again. This is going to take sacrifice in other areas of my spending, but darn it, I’m worth it. My health is worth it.  My self-esteem is worth it.

This is not about what my hubby thinks (who is wonderful about it all, the saint he is) or what others think. This is about me. When I wake in the morning and start searching for what to wear and have to try 4 jeans before I find one I can wear and breathe, I start the day discouraged.  And when I get ready for bed and stand before the mirror and think “NOOOOOO!”, well, I end the day even more discouraged.  Therefore, Plan B is being deployed… and darn it, I’m gonna do it this time!.. with a little help from my friends.

So, if you need a little help from a friend (or a pro), get it. You’ll be glad you did. And more than likely, so will everyone else around you. Because when we are healthy, others are certainly blessed as well. If you don’t have a good friend to take the journey with you, let me know. I’d be glad to fill that role in any way I can.

Happy New Year my dear friends! Happy New Year!!