It’s 2023! The start of the year, which means New Year’s Resolutions and the plan for improvement, goals, changes, accomplishments, etc. Every year it is always the same right? I know in past years I have signed up for a gym membership (went for two months), purchased a bunch of motivational books, (read none of them), even purchased a new wardrobe in a smaller size (that was an entire fail!). Yesterday though, I had an interesting conversation with my father. My aunt has bladder cancer and just had surgery. She has been a smoker her entire life. I asked how she was doing and if she had quit smoking. He responded yes, but then said something profound. He said “you know I am at the age where I understand that each person has the right to decide how they live and die. For some, they want to live long and have goals while on earth. For others, a long life isn’t important. For some, they have decided that with whatever time they have on earth, they would rather do what makes them happy, even if that something that makes them happy guarantees a shorter life. And who am I to judge or question?”. I thought to myself….#thatsaword. We spend so much time deciding that each new year, we HAVE to improve and set new goals. We see it on TV, hear it on the radio and I swear #newyearnewme is on everyone’s social media thread. But what if we first asked ourselves “What is my goal?”, and then work to really answer this question honestly. Do I want a new career or just more money? Do I want to go back to school, or am I happy with where I am? Do I want better grades, or do I want my parents off my back? Do I want to lose a couple pounds or be healthy?
I can’t help you decide about schools, relationships, or careers but if you want to talk about weight and health, I am here for it. See there is a difference between shedding a few pounds and improving your health. Getting skinny is not the same as treating obesity. And don’t get me wrong, I am not here to judge whichever is important to you. If it is fitting into a smaller dress size, let’s keep it 100, there are fasts, weight loss pills, and detox drinks that work! Like legit work. And maybe you read the back of the pill bottle and see that it is recommended for 18 and older, but you decide to take them anyway. Chances are nothing terribly bad will happen. You will lose a couple pounds, and I know you will look amazing in those jeans! But chances are that weight WILL come back, so if you want to still fit into those jeans in June or October, you may have to consider doing something different. Now there is liposuction and fat freezing, if you are an adult, and let me tell you, after those procedures you won’t be able to walk past a mirror without saying “damn, I am fine”. But that excitement will probably only last a short while too. However, if you are ready in 2023 to stop paying for the blood pressure meds, if you are ready to get rid of the dark skin on the back of your neck, to stop spending hours in urgent care waiting on a breathing treatment, you may have to proclaim “THIS IS MY YEAR TO IMPROVE MY HEALTH”. This is the year to finally learn what overweight and obesity is, why do I have it, why my kids have it, why do my parents have it, why working out 3 times a week doesn’t help, why whenever I lose weight it comes back? This is the year I am going to stop worrying about what the scale says, and talk to a doctor about treating obesity as a disease.
It is January of a new year. Before you spend a single dollar, for you or your child, spend some time with yourself really deciding on what your goals are. Your REAL goals and then lets #elevate.