Ever have one of those months??

So, it's coming to the end of the month and I have to ask . . . Who has stuck with their New Years resolutions??  No pressure, I'm just asking.  Have you been good? . . . Or very, very bad??!!  Me??  I have been very, very bad.  I have not exercised more or eaten more healthy local groceries.  Bad me!  BAD, bad me!!  Off to the corner for some time out to think about what I did (and didn't do)! 

It has been less than 30 days and I couldn't even stick to my resolutions for 30 days!  Okay, then. . . what is the problem??!!  I have one of the best organic food stores quite close to my home. 

I have a wonderful trail system, also close to my home, (used to be a railroad line, now converted to a walking/riding path) that is miles long and surrounded by wonderful woods, wetlands, and wildlife.

So I have the environment that should allow me to fulfill my resolutions which were to eat more healthy, organic and local foods . . .

and to get more exercise.

 
What caused me to derail almost immediately??  The honest answer to that one is what happens to each of us when trying to change bad habits to good ones.  We get our sites set on lofty goals and don't build the structure that is required to maintain the weight of our goals!  In other words, we often set our goals too high and we go for those goals hell bent on achieving them in 6 months or less, without doing any preparation or easing into things and building up slowly!!!  So, it is a recipe for failure!  Then throw the variables of everyday life into the mix and failure WILL happen, and you can be sure it will take place sooner, not later!  So here is why I failed:  I had decided to change my eating habits.  I decided to get more exercise.  I did not define what it was that I needed to eat or what kind of exercise I needed to get.  The goal was way too vague and open to slack interpretation.  Agree so far?  So I should have defined that I would be eating more fruits and vegetables from Lakewinds.  Good!  Even more definition would  be great!  Like, decide how many fruits and vegetable I should have per day.  Maybe even establish a diet that guides me for at least a couple of weeks so I am not susceptible to slacking or misinterpreting my resolution.  That's even better!  As for the exercise, I should have identified which areas on my body needed help first and established that as Phase I.  Don't think for a minute that I could start out like an Olympian running miles and miles and bench-pressing twice my weight when I am overweight and out of shape.  I have to start out SLOW and build up.  So, I should prepare an outline that defines what I will be doing for the next few weeks and add to that and tweak it as I achieve each phase.  Wonderful!  I feel like this is providing a much better basis on which to start!
 
One last thing to add to the formula for success:  Motivation!  I am doing this for MYSELF!!!  I want to live longer!  I want to bend over without grunting!  I want an end to blubber-bind!  I want to walk up the stairs without becoming winded!  I want the pain in my knees to be able to subside when they are no longer required to carry all this unnecessary weight.  I want to be able to fit in a nice swimming suit and not gross myself out!  And if that doesn't do it?? . . . I'll just have to get a critter with a big head and little tiny arms!!