Our Biggest Weakness:When Greed Comes Knocking at the Door

By: Myriam Bouchenafa, FW Writer

Since 2010 is already here, we have to start all over again. We failed to achieve all the New Year’s resolutions we made in 2009, and now, they’re back in the game. We promised ourselves that we would lose the extra pounds and will never have to deal with weight related problems EVER again. We have also treated ourselves to new gym memberships, only to give up after three months. We started eating healthy foods and ended up hating everything that looks more or less like it.

“Are you going for a salad?” “God No, the salad looks disgustingly healthy I rather go for the delicious deep fried French fries and that giant burger…Mmm Yummy!”

This year I came up with a couple of rules to always keep in mind when greed comes knocking at your door.

RULE NUMBER ONE

If it looks too delicious, look somewhere else. Remember that everything, and I mean really everything that looks deliciously good will robably be a delight for the mouth but most likely a disaster for the derriere. And yes, that includes ice cream (even the Oreo cookies n’ cream), cookies, chocolate chip muffins, or any desert of any kind. A strawberry tart is not a healthy choice because it has strawberries on the top - you’ve got to stop lying to yourself.

Nutella won’t do you any good, nor will the alcohol. Have you heard of the Facebook group called “alcohol won’t resolve any of your problem but nor does water or milk?” I found it hilarious, but then again, we keep making excuses for ourselves to keep doing what we do. We love eating junk food and we love a girls’ night out with drinks. There’s always an excuse we can’t resist. Next time, try to remember that just one glass of Vodka contains an average of 180 calories. How many did you have last night?

RULE NUMBER TWO

Don’t take rule number 1 too seriously. Even with a will power stronger than the United Nations, if you stop eating everything you love, the only thing you are going to end up with is a feeling of deprivation. That’s not going to do any good to anyone because eventually on a lonely Saturday night you are going to end up crying while watching Bridget Jones’ Diary and eating 3 cartons of ice cream.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, we’re only human. We need comfort food from time to time. What we really need to concentrate on isn’t not eating, but rather to stop overeating the foods we do love.

RULE NUMBER THREE

Don’t fool yourself If you didn’t make it to the gym last year, no matter what you might think, history may repeat itself. Don’t waste the money. Instead try something new, try an activity you never thought you would like. Most of the time, you will get a free trial for newcomers. Invest your time in finding something that suits you the best. You love to dance? Why not take a belly dancing class? You have a crazy life? Try Hot YOGA.

Do whatever you can to find that extra activity that will make you feel good about yourself. Something you will soon be addicted to. Not only will you never miss a class again, but you have also gained a new passion and a new outlook on life!

Now you can work on the extra pounds you need to get rid off and feel proud and good about yourself because this year you are going to do things differently and you are going to achieve your precious goal. It is your time to shine!