I’ve seen a lot of resolution YouTube videos and blog posts lately….and to be honest, I have to laugh and/or shake my head.   I’m not sure what it is about the beginning of the year that deceives people into believing things like:

-2 protein shakes a day is all you need to lose a ton of weight and be healthy even though you have been sitting on the couch and surfing the internet for most of your adult life.

-if you exercise and join a gym after not moving your body for 20+ years, you will look awesome and be in ‘bathing suit’ shape for summer.

Now, don’t get me wrong….being inspired to finally respect your body is admirable but what’s different about this year?   What about the ‘big’ (no pun intended) picture?  Are you sure you will hang tough and put in the effort?

So while everyone else is resolution-ing to do this or that, I thought I would update you all on my status since I wrote this blog post.

Briefly ( if you don’t care to read the prior post),  I have struggled with my weight almost my entire life.   I’ve never been one to blame a fat ‘gene’ but I do believe that my body fights me with a vengeance when I try to stay healthy and/or lose weight, get fit, etc.

check out the gut on the girl in plaid….yup, that was me.

Fat and a bad haircut? Yup, that was high school….

Finally, at the end of 2006 I decided enough was enough.  So I did this…it only took me about a year and it was the longest year of my life.

So how have I been doing since that post?  Well, I’ve certainly have had my ups and downs but lately I’ve been on the up and up.  Check out some photos from the past several months:

Downs:

At my brother in laws wedding-looking a bit ‘full’-that dress didn’t help either.

Hiding in the back at a Beauty Blogger event….behind the girl in blue

Ups:

At a L’Oreal event after some ‘shaping up’ on my part.

Getting ready for an event…..not too shabby!

A holiday party dress-maintaining so far….

My company’s holiday party December 2012

Now…while that IS more ups than downs, I still had some rather “pudgy” moments in 2012.  So what am I going to do this year to make sure I stay on the up and up?

-drinking as much water as I can throughout the day: I have found this to be super duper helpful-especially when I have an event where I’ve had a glass of wine or an appetizer or thirty.  Flush it out!  I also begin my day with lemon water-that really gets me going!

-moving my body EVERYDAY (besides the walking during the workday).  Making a conscious effort to move with a purpose outside of my daily routine is super helpful:  maintaining lean muscle, keeping myself flexible, staving off those ‘threw my back out’ type injuries.  I have a bike that goes up onto a trainer, adjustable dumbbells and plenty of workout DVD’s to keep me busy!

-keep myself accountable-I achieve this with my Nike Fuel Band (love this thing) and several apps on my iPhone.  I am also doing a detox program with joyous health this month AND following @SarahDussault.  I may even try DietBet.  Nothing like seeing it in print and putting some money behind my goals.  Why talk the talk and not walk the walk?

-being conscious of what goes into my mouth: this is critical for me.  I keep it interesting with a mix of protein, fat, and fibrous carbs (read: vegetables.  Vegetables are carbs people…and slow burning carbs at that.  The best kind, if you ask me).  Nutrition is 80% of my maintenance plan and I’ve found over the years that my body is incredibly sensitive to items high in sugar, preservatives, alcohol, or any foods that contain gluten.  So basically everything that tastes “good” is pretty much off limits to me. Does that mean that I will never have any sweets, breads, pastas? No, but it will have to be a pretty darn special occasion because I know that it sends me into a tailspin when I ingest that stuff.

Now, I don’t know what challenges/obstacles the year ahead brings me.  But I do know that I am going to work my hardest to be healthy and happy during 2013.

To you resolutioners….I urge you to take a good, hard look at what you’re doing-ESPECIALLY if you are making your resolution public via YouTube or a blog somewhere.  It takes a lot more than your resolutions-it requires effort, dedication, willpower, and determination.  But you owe it to yourself to treat your one and only God-given body the absolute best that you can.   After all if you can’t take care of yourself, how will you be an inspiration to others?

All the best in 2013.