Recommitment With A 2 Month Head Start (Part 1 of 3)

October 29, 2015 | Self Help

Photo by American Baking Company on Flickr.

The season is close. If you think I’m referring to the Christmas commercial season, I am not. That has already started. The Hallmark Channel just promoted that they were going to begin the Countdown to Christmas next week?! Seriously? We haven’t even celebrated Halloween yet?!

I digress. The season I’m referring to is the “eating season”. I did not come up with this term. I first heard it from Dane King, an expert in the wellness industry. In the interest of full disclosure, Dane is also my 1st cousin. He says that the eating season begins with Halloween and ends with Valentines day. In between, we have Thanksgiving, Christmas Parties, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years, and Super Bowl.

A recent study noted that only an average of one pound is gained during the holidays if we look at the entire US population. This is the good news. The bad news is that folks that are already overweight gain as much as 5 lbs during the holidays(source). If this weight is not lost during the following year, one could gain 50 lbs in 10 years.

We are also approaching another season, the resolution season. One will know when this season hits because all we will see are ads for fitness products, gym memberships, and diet plans. This campaign usually starts hitting media outlets the day after Christmas. Please do not misinterpret my tone. Resolving to change one’s bad habits and replace them with good habits is a good thing! My question is why do we have to wait until January 1st to make this commitment?

My proposal is to begin this resolution process 2 months ahead of time. Let’s start November 1st and lets not call it a resolution. Let’s call it a recommitment. I’m sure the habits we resolve to change have been something we have tried to change in the past. Recommitment implies that we never lost sight of the importance of having good habits or never changed our minds that certain behaviors were desirable. It is just a recommitment to practice these habits and behaviors to shift momentum in our favor.

I am neither a nutrition nor a fitness expert. All I know is that I have implemented this practice for the last 3 years or so, and the result has been a consistent drop in weight and more positive numbers for cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose on my annual screenings. In the next 2 posts, I am going to share some of the strategies I have used to achieve success.

Another question that I am sure people are asking is, “What does this have to do with being an effective leader?”. In my experience, in order to lead, mentor, and take care of others, we must first take care of ourselves.

What habit or behavior do you feel a desire to embrace in 2017?

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