New Year, New You… Well that is the saying for the first couple months of any New Year. I wonder why we have to be new. Can’t we be happy with who we are? New seems all shiny and perfect and top of the line. Well that is not me! I am not all shiny or perfect or top of the line. So, what does it mean?
I think it should be New Year and a Happy You. We should all just be happy with ourselves. No need to be new or worry about our body image compared to other people. Who has time to be all new and shiny and top of the line? Not me! Most of us have life we must deal with and life makes a lot of demands on us.
And yes, you should try to do something new this year. Be happy with You!
The ads for diets and exercise memberships are in full force. You sit and listen to how you should be getting fit and losing weight and blah, blah, blah. If you are like me, you then don’t feel good about yourself.
You may try to start exercising. Then after a couple of months some may keep going and they then feel happy! I on the other hand, might not make it. I don’t like going to gyms. Too many people I must look at and compare myself with.
I would rather go somewhere I feel comfortable. For me that is working out with a friend. Someone who will not judge me if I can’t lift a lot of weight or if I can’t do ten full push-ups. Plus, we then hold each other accountable for getting up at the crack of dawn to workout in the garage. Of course, if someone isn’t feeling it, we don’t get mad and still encourage each other.
Doing this may still cost money for an online membership, but you can split it. I don’t feel guilty for missing a workout and spending money on something that isn’t fun. Plus, I don’t have to go very far. I roll out of bed and go, bed head and all. Nobody cares. Well maybe the cats that sometimes look at us as if they are judging, but at least they don’t say anything to our face. Sometimes the dogs are up and they just think exercising is the best thing ever!
Do something for you because you matter. Then you will have a better chance of making yourself happy.
Now comes the diet part. Yes, there are many to choose from. Several work for some people. But typically, diets are hard to maintain and then you are right back to where you were in the beginning. Why is it easy to gain weight but when you want to lose weight you have to work triple time? It is so annoying. What do you do?
For me it is hard. I mean seriously, I work at a bakery! I walk by sweets and treats multiple times every day! Yes, there are healthy options here as well, but the sweet stuff is way easier to eat. What are my options? Sit in the office and don’t go through the shop? Ummm, that isn’t going to work.
I reach out to my friends and send them messages about how I really want to eat this or that. In return I get told not to eat it and “OMG” that looks so good. For the most part this does the trick and I can reel myself back into making good choices. Let’s be real, it does not always work and that is OK.
I also have friends who are struggling with the same things as me — body image and self-respect. We communicate and support each other, never putting each other down. Never judging, but just being a sounding board for what we are feeling helps. Life is hard enough as it is. Being happy with yourself is even harder. We try things and if it doesn’t work, we try new things. All while being supportive of each other.
So, my point in all this is that you aren’t alone. There are many people out there that are thinking New Year, New You is what they must do. And yes, you should try to do something new this year. Be happy with You! Don’t worry about comparing yourself to someone other than you. Do something for you because you matter. Then you will have a better chance of making yourself happy.
So, here’s to a New Year and A Happy You!
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The Local Stir is the regular column of Natasha Frost, Brigitte Rasmussen, and Nicole Lange who all happen to have Wooden Spoon in common. At its heart, The Local Stir is about food culture and life in the kitchen but along the way you’ll be touched by the personal lives of all three contributors as well as being stirred by some of their other passions.
