Have you begun “Fasting” yet? If cooking is not something you regularly do, then I would suggest that you get in the habit of cooking at home for the next 30 days first. Why? Because it’s a continued cycle that starts with frequent eating out, which can contribute to unhealthy food choices due to limited control over ingredients and portion sizes. This can lead to unwanted weight gain. Additionally, if there's a lack of physical activity or exercise, it further contributes to weight gain and negatively impacts overall health. It’s really genius on how they do this to you ON PURPOSE! Let me break it down to you even further.
Alright, check it out! So, you start off the #NewYear with a fast and/or going to the gym! IF you successfully complete the fast (and that’s a BIG IF…unfortunately), you want to “reward” yourself by eating again. Maybe you eat the same bull or maybe you try to do better and eat more salads and smoothies, right. Cool. But after a while, life gets in the way and you’re back to the same old habits. If you’re still on track of your resolutions…fantastic! Congrats! The possibility does exist to where THIS IS GONNA BE YOUR YEAR where you don’t fall off and are perfect from here on out. If not, it’s just time to be honest with yourself. Think for just one moment and ask yaself, “Have I been here before?” If the answer is yes, then maybe, just maybe we need to rethink some things.
The numbers don’t lie. Research says, “Only 9% of Americans that make resolutions complete them. In fact, research goes on to show that 23% of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January. https://fisher.osu.edu/blogs/leadreadtoday/why-most-new-years-resolutions-fail#:~:text=Researchers%20suggest%20that%20only%209,fail%20at%20New%20Year's%20resolutions.
Because you chose to wait until “the new year” when you knew you should’ve started back a month or two ago or maybe even last Summer…you’ll realize that new role around date is really just another day…and chances are you’re back to eatin' out all the time because you haven’t created good habits that will keep you from eating fast food, takeout, or whatever else is easy. Before you know it, you're piling on them unwanted pounds, and your body's like, "Hold up, what you doin' to me?"
Now, add to the mix, the fact you're chillin' on the couch more than you're movin'. Ain't no workout happening – just a marathon of Netflix and chill. So, you're packin' on more weight, feeling sluggish, and your body's in protest mode.
And here's where it gets real. You start lookin' in the mirror, feeling some kinda way. The scale ain't your friend, and the joy you used to get from food turns into a cycle of guilt and sadness. It's like Katt Williams said, "You gotta fight the air sometimes!" …meaning facing challenges that may seem intangible or invisible.
That sadness can snowball into a deeper funk, like, full-on depression mode. Your motivation's on vacation, and self-care takes a back seat. Now, you're stuck in this loop – bad food choices, no exercise, feeling down, rinse and repeat.
Breaking out of this loop ain't easy, but it starts with small changes. Move that body a bit, swap some McDoo’s Doo’s fries for some homemade Burro Banana Fries, and maybe talk to someone about what's going on in your head. Yes, I give tough love but at the end of the day it’s love. People that witness watching you get bigger and bigger, sadder and sadder, putting poison in your mouth, not helping you make real change…do they really love you? Do you really love yourself? Hmm. If you can’t say Amen, say OUCH! But guess what, this isn’t the end of your story. We will get to a better you! So, let's flip the script, make some tweaks, and break out of that cycle, one laugh and one healthy choice at a time, cause I gotta live in this world with you Micky Fickys!