Gotta Start Somewhere

Okay, I've made my decision -- it's high time that I lose weight. Yeah, I know -- New Year's is around the corner this weekend. And the vast majority of New Year's resolutions fail. I know because I've had my share of those failures.

This time it will be different. I know what I have to do. After all these years of being overweight, I know how to do it. I just haven't.

In 2004 I did lose a fair amount of weight -- about 40 pounds worth. Did I gain it back? Yeah, I'm afraid so. And although I will "blame" (if that is the right word) it on the hurricanes we had in 2004, I know deep down that's not the case. Sure, maybe I gained 3 or 4 pounds then. But it was just an excuse.

So why do I blame the storms? Because we stock up on convenience foods. Crackers, cookies, juices, bread, peanut butter and jelly, canned meats -- stuff that's easy to prepare and doesn't need refrigeration. We lost power for a little over a week in one storm, for three days in the next. And because the electrical outage was wide-spread, the grocery stores didn't get fresh foods for several days after that.

But I could have gone back to losing weight after that. I just didn't. Even though I had already lost 40 pounds, so I knew I could do it. Even though I felt better with the weight off. People told me I looked better, too.

Why did I stop? Probably because I had so much still to lose - at least another 60 pounds. So far to go. And after those couple of weeks of the convenience foods, they called to me once more. I craved them again, like I hadn't for a few months.

Anyway, I want to go the distance this time. Lose the weight, for good and for all. There will be tough times, I'm sure. Maybe times I fall off the wagon (so to speak). But this time I will stand up, dust myself off and climb right back on.