Let's talk about New Year resolutions. I'm serious.
Here's why.
The most common New Year resolution, by far, is to eat right, exercise, get in shape, and lose weight.
On Jan. 2 of each year, hundreds and hundreds of people where you live -- all of them armed with some determination and perhaps a gift card for a gym membership -- go exercise at the same place at usually the same time.
The gym parking lot will be full, and, once inside, it will be hard to find an elliptical machine or a treadmill that is open.
It seems like everyone in the world is going to trim up, just like you. Not everyone will stick with their own resolution, of course, and the crowd will begin to thin out in a few weeks.
Here is an alternative.
This year, you could say that Tuesday, Nov. 1 is when you start your intense exercise regimen and you begin to eat more reasonably.
Wait a minute, you say, how am I supposed to get serious about cardio and weight control through Thanksgiving and the holidays?
Hear me out.
In November in Arkansas, there are many pleasant days to exercise outside, and you might as well enjoy it. In addition, if a day is too frosty, the gym won't be crowded, not like it will be in early January.
The potential is there to start a workout routine and to build on it each day. By the time you are seriously thinking of Christmas shopping, you may be doing an extremely intense workout every day.
There will be holiday parties and Christmas treats at the office, I know that. But if you have a cupcake at work, don't beat yourself up. Just go take care of it later on the treadmill. You are committed to working out every day, remember?
In short, hold your own when it comes to sampling the holiday treats. Enjoy something if you want; just don't make the Christmas cookies one of your major food groups.
You can even have a strenuous session the morning of Thanksgiving on Nov. 24, and then later that day enjoy a good Thanksgiving dinner, some football, and a nap. Your body deserves the down time.
As each day goes by, and Arkansas transforms from beautiful fall days to even cooler winter ones, you are building on your workout.
Work out with more intensity each day as New Year's Eve approaches.
Dec. 31 could be a day in which you have planned to meet a major workout goal. Then, when Jan. 1 rolls around, and everyone has decided, "I've got to get to the gym," that is when you give yourself a break.
You could take winter walks outside each day for a change of pace. You can hit your own piece of exercise equipment at home four or five times a week.
Then, when it gets to be late in January and the gym crowds have dissipated, you can get serious in the gym again.
It's just a thought.
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David Wilson, Ed.D., of Springdale, is a writer, consultant and presenter, who grew up in Arkansas but worked 27 years in education in Missouri. You may e-mail him at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 10/19/2016