Here it is almost a month into 2014. Like most people, the new year brings new opportunities and naturally the traditional new years resolutions. Hopefully you have stuck to yours!
One of the most common resolutions is of course to lose weight and be more healthy in general. I started off the year with the most positive of intentions, but a case of the flu and strep raging through the house has prevented much in the way of exercising and sticking to a great diet. We have more or less been hanging on through survival mode.
I turned the dreaded 40 last year and have vowed that my 40's are going to be my healthiest and most fit ever. Problem is that I have incredibly low willpower. What bad can one pizza do? Eh, I'll skip the workout because that hilarious repeat of Friends is on. Never mind, the existence of DVR and the fact that I have probably seen it 50 times already. See what I'm getting at?
This year I have decided to get my students involved in my weight loss resolution. They are ALWAYS begging for extra credit but I am somewhat of a grinch regarding it. What I told them is that however much weight I lose in the next semester becomes their extra credit gift at the end of the year. Basically my loss is their gain.
I did this little project with some hesitation because I did not know how they would react. At first they were pressuring me into an eating disorder but over the last week it has sparked some good conversation about healthy eating and portion control. I can even see students questioning some of the choices available to them in the vending machines at school. Rather than blindly eating the junk that is available, they are even beginning to make better choices and be proud about it.
Have I been perfect so far? Uh, no, but since the plague seems to have left the house with a healthy scrubdown and more Lysol than I would like to admit, I am ready to tackle it full force. Now that I have put it out there and on here, I have no choice but to succeed. There's no way I'm gonna stand up in from of my students and tell them I only lost 5 pounds. Sometimes pressure can be a good thing.
