New Year's Resolutions? Bah humbug!

I was talking to my husband last night, and I told him I want an exercise or recumbent bike. He says we’ll look in February. I was confused about why February, and he said “because traditionally, people give up on their exercising (Resolution) in the middle or the end of January, and by February are selling their new exercise equipment.

I had never thought about it before. I know that people give up on their “new year’s resolutions” shortly into the new year, but it’s sad to me that it’s so predictable that people like my husband know when to go shopping for exercise equipment. Which made me think. My resolution started in September. And it’s continued for a little over 2 months now. The thing about a “new year’s resolution” is that every 365 days, there’s a new year. Which means that it ends. Every year. And restarts. EVERY year. And most people have no problem giving up for the rest of the year, after all, “there’s always next January”.

I have to say, (while I’m in the Thankful mood), I’m thankful that I’ve never set a new year’s resolution to lose weight before. Because I think I would've failed. I’m also thankful I’ve never dieted. The thought of dieting and losing a lot of weight, and then gaining it all back, and then some, makes me leery. I know that if I lost the weight I’ve packed on all these years, and then gained it again and again and again, my family would never stop harping on me.

Right now, they haven’t noticed that I’ve lost 15 pounds (which I’m thankful for), and I’ve only told my husband and roommate, one sister and a cousin. The few people who I know won’t pressure me about anything. They don’t ask how much weight I’ve lost, because they know I would feel pressured, and the stress of that would make me give up and eat. So, when I hit a new low, or something that makes me proud, I tell them, and they congratulate me, and move on. I can’t say how much I appreciate that.

But, is that why people stop in February? They felt pressured by themselves or family? I hate to say it, but even jumping into exercise and healthy eating without preparation would feel like pressure to me. It’s a pressure of sorts to have to make time in your schedule for exercise or food preparation. There are soo many places that this pressure comes from, it’s no wonder exercise equipment can be bought cheap in February. I’d probably give up too, if I jumped in that way.