If at
First You Don't Succeed...
My New Semester Resolutions
Amelia Gonzales, staff writer
I have to start off by admitting that I am part of the huge
percentage of Americans that set up a “New Year’s” resolution for myself and
have failed. I, unlike most people, can admit my failures.
So what were my resolutions? I wanted to lose the extra
weight I had somehow acquired quickly over the past four years, and I wanted
to stop biting my nails. Both of these resolutions, I wanted to accomplish
for the sole purpose of feeling better about myself, not for anything or
anyone else.
During my senior year of high school, I could fit into a
pair of pants that today I cannot even get one leg to go into the top hole.
I find myself getting teary-eyed every time I go shopping for new clothes. I
don’t find myself to be what some may call fat. I just am not at my ideal
weight and I am not happy with my current weight. Every morning, I find
myself saying that today is the day I will start to eat healthy and
exercise. Every morning, with the exception of maybe one day out of the
month, I fail at doing just that.
I do everything wrong as far as not eating the right foods,
eating past a certain time, drinking soda as if it were water, and becoming
best friends with chocolate. My exercising consists of up-and-down hand
movements I do while drinking a 20 ounce bottle of Big Red and the brisk
walk from the
Communications Building to the Student Center and back every Tuesday and
Thursday. Other than that, I can say I do absolutely no other type of
exercise.
Last spring semester, I told myself that I would be able to
wear a bathing suit and look good in it by the summer. When summer came
around, I found myself wearing the extra large long white T-shirt that had a
painting of a skinny swimsuit model on the front of it. When this fall
semester started, I told myself that I would feel and look absolutely
radiant in a size 8 black evening gown for my grandparents’ 50th
wedding anniversary. When that came around, I found myself wearing a size 14
black evening gown. As I flipped through the pictures from that event, all I
could see were cheeks with no neck and arms that resembled the turkey legs
from the fair.
So, again I found myself looking for a set date that I would
start my diet. The new year came around, and I started the day drinking lots
of water and eating fruit between meals. Then came the last meal of the day,
and I could not resist the tamales with Mexican pastries and coffee lined up
across my mother’s kitchen table. I suppose I could have indulged and eased
myself back into my diet action plan, but like every other time I would try,
I failed.
This repetition of starting and failing has only caused me to
stress about the whole situation, which in turn leads to even more weight
gain. America
has been labeled as the fat country, and more than half of Americans are
considered to be overweight today. I have taken the first step in realizing
what I am doing wrong. Now it all comes down to gaining the strength for
doing something about it, so I do not become part of the statistics.
I cannot seem to remember if all the weight loss commercials
existed when I was only a size 4. I’m sure that they did. They just did not
apply to me at the time, so I did not pay any attention to them. Now that I
am at an uncomfortable size, it seems as though every commercial has to do
with losing weight. The TV show “The Biggest Loser” drives me insane when I
see everything those people have to endure to lose the weight.
I also never understood what people meant when they talked
about letting themselves go when finding someone you’re comfortable with.
Well six years after I met my boyfriend, I am 11 sizes more than what I was
when I first met him. He does not help much, when all he does is offers me
food every hour of the day. Unlike me, he can eat anything and at any
quantity and never gain an ounce. I shiver with disgust every time I meet
someone like that.
This time, I have created what I have labeled “new semester
resolutions.” This time, I decided I would include my actions and results
with all my readers. Yes, I know it’s a brave and bold thing to do. This
way, at least I might push myself to follow through and maybe even succeed.
I will also be able to share with readers what I do as far as eating and
exercise habits while juggling school, work, and personal time all at once.
There is only one more thing that drives me insane, biting my
nails. I have had the habit since I was a child. Now, as an adult, I still
catch myself with my fingers in my mouth during class and on the road. I
have been told many times how disgusting that was and yet I fail at
stopping.
I have entered into this semester at the age of 25. I am 5
feet tall and weigh 145 pounds. I wear a size 14 in pants and am forced to
buy extra large tops in order to fit around the upper chest area. Ladies
that have that problem know that this is not a good thing. As for my nails,
let me just say I have never met anyone with nails shorter than mine.
By the end of the semester, I would like to have lost at
least 15 pounds and be able to have enough will power to keep my hands out
of my mouth. I have had enough of purchasing acrylic nails that cost me $25
every two weeks.
My
goals are big, but possible. Hopefully, if I succeed, I can share with
readers how I succeeded. If I fail yet again, readers will be able to see
why and find alternatives that will in turn help them succeed.
