I hope everyone had a nice Christmas holiday. The time seems to have flown by. I can hardly believe it is 2012. Yes, a new year has arrived, along with the great anticipation of completing resolutions. Barf! Yeah, right! Merry Christmas to that! Well, don't I sound optimistic? For most people, the new year brings "new beginnings" to either stop a bad habit or to re-enforce good behavior.
I like my dad's reasoning, "I resolve to make no resolutions." His commend has some truth to it. Why do we make resolutions? Why do most of us stop our progress or quit what we had started? For those of you who do successfully complete your resolution ... I hate you. Ha-ha, just kidding. In all seriousness ... you suck! I'm still kidding.
Well, now that I got all those years of built up angst of failure of non-completion of resolutions ... I feel better; as I leave from a session with my therapist. The fact of the matter is ... yes, I do make resolutions and no, I usually don't complete them. I personally think that resolutions have that self-fulfilling prophecy attached. Sometimes, we may set our expectations too high or have a rigid way of trying to complete them. Therefore ... we "fail."
I try not to use the word, "fail." It is a harsh word. In my situation, using the word "fail" constitutes more deviant behavior after the fact. The following event happened several years ago. I had made a resolution (that whatever year it was at the time) to eat healthy and exercise and lose weight. Well, boom, boom and boom (and that wasn't me walking either) that sound equates three resolutions. That is a rather large resolution to try to conquer. Losing weight is hard enough, let alone the other two. Needless to say, it was too much and away by the wayside went the three resolutions. I essentially sabotaged myself by trying to cram in so much that I lost sight of what was important to me and that it needed to be realistic.
Fast forward to today. Honestly, it hasn't been a good year so far. More importantly, I went to see the orthopedic ankle doctor in Columbus. I am finally "biting the bullet" to schedule ankle fusion surgery for my severely arthritic right ankle. Unfortunately, I broke two bones in my good foot and I have to wear a "space boot." I was told that if it does not repair itself, then he will have to put screws in it. So, essentially ... I'm screwed no matter what.
I had asked the doctor that when everything heals to his satisfaction, will I be able to walk and exercise? A long time ago in a far away place (before crippling arthritis and weight became a huge factor - no pun intended) I once walked 2 miles a day. I also once used the YMCA (the weight machines and such) and loved it. The doctor said, "yes" I could exercise (once I heal) the way that I want. That actually brought some glimmer of hope and something to look forward to.
So, back to the resolutions. The previous two paragraphs laid out the way my year is going. So, what am I going to do about it? One thing for sure is to tell myself that I don't need to be extravagant in making a resolution that I know I won't keep. So, what can I do? Unfortunately, I also started out the new year with a terrible mindset. A very negative mindset. I thought everything was against me - so I ate, drank and wasn't so merry. I got into cookies and chips. I found some hard cider for New Year's, which incidentally has a load of calories. Of course, I wasn't merry for stuffing myself (but at least I wasn't praying to the porcelain god after said activities).
This is what I can do. Before surgery, I can eat healthy. I will maintain my protein shake with skim milk, Greek yogurt, and a half of a glass of orange juice in the morning. Lunch and dinner are a work in progress. I don't know about you, but I have more trouble trying to find something healthy during lunch and dinner than any other time period. Another reasonable thing I can do (before surgery), I can try to lose weight by eating healthy. I want to have that mentality that I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't succeed.
I encourage everyone that if you have made or make resolutions to be good to yourself. Also, use positive reinforcement (like going to a movie or buying smaller clothes) when needed to promote your new resolution or healthy lifestyle. Finally, do what you can; it's better than no effort at all. After all, a healthy lifestyle is like a canvas ... it is a work in progress and you call it your own.
Until next time ...
Casi Stewart can be reached at casichilstew@yahoo.com. A Weighty Issue appears every other Monday on the Life page.
