I Resolve...

res⋅o⋅lu⋅tion

–noun

2. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.

3. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.

4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions for 2010. Not in so many words, anyway. Certainly not in any public forums, like here.

Maybe I should have?

I've been drifting downward (not on the scale... in my mind, in my habits, etc.). I explained it in another journal as the mental equivalent of a triumvirate of appetite-inducing EVIL all converging on me at the same time (severe PMS, the general mid-winter desire to dig in, fatten up, and hibernate, and watching my town get buried under the biggest snowstorm I have ever experienced in my lifetime - 6+ feet in 2.5 days). Excuses... they are a talent, yes?

I didn't make a resolution this year because I have never been able to follow through with one (if I had, this journal wouldn't exist). See, I usually have that number 2 definition down pat. For the first few weeks, anyway. Number 4... that one comes on hard and strong for the first month or six weeks, too.

Number 3, though... action, course of action, method, procedure... that has been consistently absent from any resolution I have ever made.

So, let's talk action, shall we? Then maybe I can ACT.

• In order to lose weight at my current age, weight, and activity level, I MUST eat fewer than 2,000 calories/day. Preferably, 1,500-2,000 calories/day.
  
  
• In order to add the joy (and it IS a joy) of being FIT to my steadily slimming frame, I MUST implement an exercise routine. Ideally, it would consist of 30-minutes of cardio (in addition to any walking to/from work that I do) six days/week; a strength training routine three days/week; flexibility training three days/week. This most likely means at least 60-minutes a day, six days/week MUST be devoted to exercise.
  
  
• I MUST drink at least three liters of water/day.
  
  
• I MUST be in bed before 10PM six days/week, no later than midnight on the excepted night.

There.

Four clear, solid points that should not be that hard to follow. But, as every person who has ever tried it knows... THEY ARE.

I am not resolving "to lose weight." I am not resolving "to exercise." I am not resolving "to go on a quest for the holy grail." Nothing quite so ethereal or directionless.

I resolve to aim for the 90/10 principle on the above four points. Aiming for dietary perfection is the equivalent of aiming to fail.

I resolve to accomplish these four healthy lifestyle points 90% of the time, and to forgive myself wholly for the 10% of the time I may not accomplish them.