It's Not Too Late To Act On Your New Year's Resolution

Next to New Years, I have always thought of fall as the best time of the year to begin dieting. As children, the start of the school year was always the chance for a new beginning new clothing, new teachers, and new friends. As overweight adults, when we move from our summer clothing to our fall outfits our main concern is whether we can still get into them. If you are struggling with weight, I bet you promised yourself at New Years that by summer you were going to be considerably lighter. Were you? If so, congratulations. But even successful dieters can go off track in the summer.

You would think with the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables and the outdoor activities of summer it would make it a time of ease for dieters. But it rarely is. For one thing, don't you find all those summer cookouts and barbeques difficult? Many of the food choices such as potato salad and macaroni salad are mayonnaise based, which ups their calorie count significantly. Choices such as steaks and ribs pack many a calorie. Also, those kind of social events tend to last for hours and hours and the temptation to head back for second and third helpings of food and drink grow as the day and evening progresses.

Plus who feels like cooking? We go out to eat or pick up carryout to avoid the heat of the kitchen. Then of course there is ice cream, one of the great joys of summer. Yes, they do have good lower fat ice cream choices, but those half-cup servings never seem to be enough. Lastly comes the vacation.

It is hard not to gain weight when you travel. Eating out three meals a day, wanting to try the cuisine of a region, and being away from the constraints of everyday life seldom lead to weight loss. Even all that walking never seems to balance out the increased calorie consumption.

Fall is a great time to begin dieting for many reasons. If you can achieve some success early in the fall, then the accursed string of Haloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years will seem doable. If you have not managed your weight before then, it is likely you will throw in the towel for the last two months of the year. And, once again you will promise yourself you will begin anew in January, thus ending another year heavier and more discouraged than when you began. It need not happen.

Pledge to yourself now that you will end the year weighing less than you did when you entered it. Research has shown that even modest amounts of weight loss can make considerable differences in your health. Can't you imagine how elated you would feel to end the year happier and healthier? Fall is another chance to act on that New Year's resolution.

If you are struggling and need some help you may want to consider a weight management coach.