A major milestone in the life of those with food and body image struggles has recently passed.
The first Monday of the first week of the new year was January 5, 2009. As Mondays for many weeks serve as the start day for many diets, this was the Superbowl day of the dieting world.
A landmark day for many millions, it fills the deep pockets of the diet industry. They know and are counting on the New Year's resolutions which undoubtedly include diet and exercise goals. So entrenched are these goals, that they are made automatically, often without formal recognition.
I can't help but asking...after all the pomp of the ball dropping on times square, when the diet commercials start playing so often on television, if given a multiple choice test you could correctly match the diet program with the celebrity, new gyms are joined, and fridges are stocked with food that promises to thin while you sleep...
Was there time in all of this to serious consider what you really need (versus want) right now?
When carefully constructed, resolutions can be good and the American Psychiatric Association offers suggestions on making them, stressing that they should not be punitive and overly restrictive.
Frame your resolutions in the positive: This year, I will give dedicate more time and effort to my recovery process. This is more gentle, self forgiving and puts less pressure on yourself rather than stating "I resolve to recover this year."
Learning to break yourself of the all or nothing mentality, may be difficult, but it can be done.
Over the week, some resolutions were kept. Others not. What happens now? If your resolutions were based in the belief that if you weren't perfect on the meal plan, recovery is out of reach; Your thoughts are based on fallacy. Reexamine your thoughts and dare to give yourself an opportunity to be less critical of yourself.
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