Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The perfect day to start a new diet

Wednesday:

I've been fighting off the impulse to put off a big "restarting my diet" until next Monday. It is very appealing to think that there is a "perfect" day to start a diet. Monday is traditional in itself, of course, but next Monday is also the first of September so it's a whole new month of unblemished days. AND, biggest of all, it's the first day of spring. Not just a new week, a new month, but a new season - and the most new-start-y season of them all.

And this week is so hectic there's hardly any point trying, right? And I keep trying and failing which is disheartening, so better to start when I have a chance of succeeding, right?

But the thing is, even on a Monday, even on the first day of spring, I will still be me.

I. Will. Still. Be. Me.

Nothing wrong with being me. I am quite nice, overall. But on Monday, I will still struggle to drink enough water. On the first day of the month I will still be lazy about exercise. On the first day of spring I will still be tempted by unhealthy foods. I won't miraculously change just because I've turned a page on the wall calendar.

Sometimes I somehow think I will, though. Like there is magic on the first day of the month. Like somehow it will be easier on that mystical day in the future.

Maybe on Monday I will be glad of the new page, the clean slate. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on today.

3 comments:

  1. I had planned my restart for Monday as well, but then decided it didn't make much sense to eat like a pig just because the "magic" day hadn't arrived. So I just started on Sunday, it's as good as any other day.
    -FogDog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I started this successful effort on 1/1/13...so who am I to say? I gave myself the last 2 weeks of the year/all the holidays.

    We each have to follow our own paths. We can use all the great research and newest finding there are, but we still have to do the mental work. I personally feel that's easier when I'm 95% grain and sugar free (my brain chemistry isn't fighting cravings then)...but it's still work on some days. You can start working on the mental and emotional aspects of dieting ANY day. Don't wait on that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You know the cool thing? You can start this very minute too, no matter what has happened today, even. :) It's all in your own power. if the 1st works for you, that's good too, but if this is a permanent change to your lifestyle, why wait to start living the way you plan to for the rest of your life?

    ReplyDelete