2013 New Year's Resolutions

Cheers to the New Year! Hope everyone brought 2013 in with a bang...

I know that I sure didn't because I passed out about forty five minutes before midnight struck, AND, to make matters worse, turned on the TV about 5 seconds after the ball dropped in Times Square. Maybe next year my party hat will fit a little better...

The last few days have been quite a bit of a blur trying to get back into the swing of things. I've been focused mostly on finishing up my grad school applications, and have spent little time on the other things I enjoy like baking, blogging, and doing various crafts.

In the midst of this, there was one thing that I knew I did NOT want to sacrifice, and that was coming up with a New Year's Resolution.

I've been on a pretty good track with my diet the past year, and so I decided not to focus any of my resolution's around food; however, I did want to set some personal goals for myself, including not taking things so personally and doing a better job of not getting frustrated or upset with people.

I've learned how easy it is to forget about personal commitments if I'm not being reminded of them. That's why it's important to write them down on paper and keep them in a place where you can read them, like by your bed, in your purse/bag, or hanging on your mirror or desk at work.

Thinking about my own New Year's Resolutions got me thinking about something I read on Facebook the other day that struck a really strong chord with me.

Somebody posted a status, saying that they've been seeing more and more people posting statuses that make fun of people who go to the gym as a New Year's Resolution. Somebody replied that it's because they "pack the gyms for a month and then quit" and another replied how funny they thought it was "that it takes a New Year's Resolution to finally care about their health."

If you're an avid gym goer, I get it. Yes, it might be annoying or it might be an inconvenience that you have to wait for a machine, a rack, or some dumbbells, and yes, it might be frustrating that there's more people crammed into one area, but how big of a deal is this in the grand scheme of things?

First of all, If you've made the decision to take good care of your health, because it makes you feel good, why put others down for doing the same thing? I found it so disheartening that people who WORKOUT THEMSELVES would put other people down for trying to do the same thing. Staying in good health for yourself, should also be about motivating others to do the same thing. If all you're doing at the gym is focusing on the other people around you, maybe it's a sign that your workouts just aren't hard enough.

Secondly, who cares if people are signing up for a gym membership as their New Year's Resolution - it's just a reason for them to get into the gym and workout - just like we all have our own personal reasons. Everyone has different things that get them motivated, so why is it up for us to judge what makes one reason better than the other? If someone is doing something positive for their health, why is it up for others to judge if it's the right time or if they have the right reasons for doing so?

Lastly, if you are one of these individuals who have a problem with the New Year's Rush of a gym membership, I encourage you to ask yourself why you workout. Do you do it because you believe in good health, or do you do it because you just want to look good? If you are a living, breathing representation of a "healthy" person, I encourage you to use your own health and fitness levels as motivation to help others take control of their health, not to put others down with it. If you allow yourself to believe this, being a member of a gym is a way to find inspiration from other people, as well as a way to share positive interests and goals with others; it shouldn't be used as a tool to put people down.

It's not my goal to step on toes here, and I personally am not looking to offend anyone, I just feel so disappointed at the lack of care and concern that I've seen displayed this past week. As an individual on a pathway towards a career focused around health and nutrition, I view these "type of posts" or these "negative attitudes" as barriers to a person's ability to get healthy.

I ask you to think about your own friends and family, who may have their own struggles with weight. I know, personally, setting a New Year's Resolution to lose weight two years ago is what HELPED MY MOM DISCOVER SHE HAD BREAST CANCER. My mom made a New Year's Resolution to "get healthy", and as a result, she lost 30 lbs. Early one morning as she was changing, she felt a small lump in her right breast. She went to the doctor that week and found out she had breast cancer. My mom was certain that had she not chosen to get healthy and lost the weight she had, that she never would have been able to feel the lump in her breast. IF WE HAD TOLD MY MOM THAT MAKING A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TO GET HEALTHY WAS A POOR REASON FOR DOING SO, OR IF WE HAD TOLD HER SHE WOULD JUST BE CROWDING THE GYM, MY MOM MIGHT NOT BE ALIVE TODAY. My mom thanked my dad, my sisters, and myself for encouraging her to take control of her health and supporting all of the lifestyle adjustments she had made to do so.

Please keep these thoughts in mind as you continue into the New Year..