New Year, same old you...

Self-improvement can and should be done at any time. Needing an arbitrary start date for the “new you” is pretty pathetic since you were more than aware of your flaws already, weren’t you? That bit of flab is nothing new even if you christen it “Christmas excess”. New Year’s resolutions conveniently allow you to delay change until the beginning of the following year.

Now, if you made the change at New Year’s and stuck with it perhaps I could come to terms with the idea of New Year’s resolutions, but between you, me and that lamppost, it’s not going to last. The chances of keeping New Year’s resolutions are slim; it’s often said that most people have broken theirs by the end of January. I get a huge kick out of using the word “slim”, as weight loss is what I really want to whine about.

Eat less, exercise more. Why do so many wannabe-fit people try and escape this mantra? When people say it’s easy to lose weight and get fit, they are lying, because they are advertising weight loss regimes. It’s not easy; abs don’t come from nowhere. As with most things, you would like to wriggle out of the hard work involved.

But you already know all the advice, e.g. setting yourself achievable goals. I’m not here to give advice about weight loss because it’s been in the public domain for a long time now. I’m here to tell you to stop being a namby pamby. (Same as “man up” but not so overused that people ignore it.)

We’ve all heard that it’s better to “eat little but often”. The physiological benefit of this approach is irrelevant here because seemingly rational people choose to translate this into eating as many meals and snacks as is socially acceptable in a day. More when they think no–one is looking. To them, it means “have as many portions as you want as long as they are all small”. They seem to miss the point, which is “EAT LESS, PIGS!”

I suppose knowing what is best for oneself, but being too lazy and greedy to act upon it, is merely a part of the human condition. It is human nature and no–one is perfect, least of all myself. I admit that short–term pleasures are sweet and doing what’s best in the long term is a dry, dry prospect in comparison.

However, the important thing is not to lie to yourself (and others) about what you are actually “resolved” to do. The gym at Ethos is an absolute haven and you have a fair idea of what a healthy balanced diet consists of, so just get on with it. Bridget Jones may have been able to get away with it but you can’t.