I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions. I've seen how quickly people fail to follow them, or how fast they are to forget making them.
Resolutions, for the majority of people, simply aren't motivation enough to do what they set out to do in the new year.
But an incident that happened last Saturday is making me think twice about setting a goal for 2008.
I was at a good friend's house to enjoy a night of Texas Hold 'em poker with the guys. Upon entering my friend's bathroom, I spotted a scale.
There's something about a scale and me. It's like a scale is a tractor beam pulling in an unsuspecting person, eager to disappoint.
Maybe it's my fascination with statistics and charts. Maybe it's my desire to know how fat I've become, but whatever it is, whenever I see a scale, no matter where I am, I have to weigh myself.
I was in the bathroom only a couple minutes when I bellowed, "Oh my God!" The guys in the kitchen getting chips set up said they rattled. One column of multi-colored chips even toppled.
The cat sitting just outside the doorway shrieked and I could hear her sprinting up the steps above the ceiling of the bathroom.
When I got back into the kitchen, the guys asked me what happened. Did I miss my target? Did I see a bug? Even worse.
When I looked down at the digital scale, the ones that painfully make you wait a few seconds before giving you the business, there were only two digits making up my weight. Twos and fives.
According to this silver, evil measuring instrument, I weighed 222.5 pounds. It couldn't be right. I weighed myself again, same number.
I was visibly upset when I got back to the kitchen, and after telling the guys what had happened, they snickered. They are all at least five years my junior and blew off the concern I had with my weight.
You used to be able to have two of me weigh 222 pounds. When I graduated from high school, I weighed a scant 130. When I graduated from college, it was 190.
That's the weight I stayed at for quite a while, but lately the pounds have been put on faster than the Roadrunner escapes from Wile E. Coyote.
The last time I knew my weight, about a year ago, I was at 206, and at that time I felt that was too much. I would love to be around 195 or 200. Getting there is going to be the tough part.
When I've had to lose weight before, I limited myself to 1,500 calories a day and exercised as often as possible. The calorie count is tough to follow now that my family's schedule is much more hectic, and the exercise chances are rare with a full-time job and a 3-year-old to take care of when I get home.
This weight gain has got to stop, for myself and my family's sake. The last thing I need is a wife worrying about my weight and a ornery toddler making fun of my belly.
So, I'm going to do it. I resolve to lose weight this year. I resolve to get back down to 195 to 200 pounds.
Wish me luck. I will need it. I'll let you know how it goes.
n n n
Don't want to make a resolution about yourself? Try a community resolution. Instead of making resolutions for myself in the past, I've made community resolutions, promising to do something to help my community.
It can be as simple as going to a senior nursing facility one hour a week to spend time with a senior, or as difficult as becoming a member of a volunteer organization which strives for community improvement.
- Jim Winter is news editor of The Monroe Times. He can be reached at
newseditor@themonroetimes.com.
Resolutions, for the majority of people, simply aren't motivation enough to do what they set out to do in the new year.
But an incident that happened last Saturday is making me think twice about setting a goal for 2008.
I was at a good friend's house to enjoy a night of Texas Hold 'em poker with the guys. Upon entering my friend's bathroom, I spotted a scale.
There's something about a scale and me. It's like a scale is a tractor beam pulling in an unsuspecting person, eager to disappoint.
Maybe it's my fascination with statistics and charts. Maybe it's my desire to know how fat I've become, but whatever it is, whenever I see a scale, no matter where I am, I have to weigh myself.
I was in the bathroom only a couple minutes when I bellowed, "Oh my God!" The guys in the kitchen getting chips set up said they rattled. One column of multi-colored chips even toppled.
The cat sitting just outside the doorway shrieked and I could hear her sprinting up the steps above the ceiling of the bathroom.
When I got back into the kitchen, the guys asked me what happened. Did I miss my target? Did I see a bug? Even worse.
When I looked down at the digital scale, the ones that painfully make you wait a few seconds before giving you the business, there were only two digits making up my weight. Twos and fives.
According to this silver, evil measuring instrument, I weighed 222.5 pounds. It couldn't be right. I weighed myself again, same number.
I was visibly upset when I got back to the kitchen, and after telling the guys what had happened, they snickered. They are all at least five years my junior and blew off the concern I had with my weight.
You used to be able to have two of me weigh 222 pounds. When I graduated from high school, I weighed a scant 130. When I graduated from college, it was 190.
That's the weight I stayed at for quite a while, but lately the pounds have been put on faster than the Roadrunner escapes from Wile E. Coyote.
The last time I knew my weight, about a year ago, I was at 206, and at that time I felt that was too much. I would love to be around 195 or 200. Getting there is going to be the tough part.
When I've had to lose weight before, I limited myself to 1,500 calories a day and exercised as often as possible. The calorie count is tough to follow now that my family's schedule is much more hectic, and the exercise chances are rare with a full-time job and a 3-year-old to take care of when I get home.
This weight gain has got to stop, for myself and my family's sake. The last thing I need is a wife worrying about my weight and a ornery toddler making fun of my belly.
So, I'm going to do it. I resolve to lose weight this year. I resolve to get back down to 195 to 200 pounds.
Wish me luck. I will need it. I'll let you know how it goes.
n n n
Don't want to make a resolution about yourself? Try a community resolution. Instead of making resolutions for myself in the past, I've made community resolutions, promising to do something to help my community.
It can be as simple as going to a senior nursing facility one hour a week to spend time with a senior, or as difficult as becoming a member of a volunteer organization which strives for community improvement.
- Jim Winter is news editor of The Monroe Times. He can be reached at
newseditor@themonroetimes.com.
