| Another Year, and It Too Shall Pass When I was trying to decide if I should go back to college for more education, my mother stated a simple truth to me: Another Year of your life will pass, with our without your education. And she was so right. Another year did pass, and it was up to me to take advantage of that year ahead of me and make the most it. And I did. Then my sister echoed this same truth to me, after she and I both had a baby in February 2000: Another year of our lives will pass, if we diet or we don�t. It took a few months of coercion and failed diet starts and stops on our own before we both decided to join Ediets in October 2000. She reached her goal weight in a matter of a few months, (I blame her added bonus of breast feeding to burn calories) where I will need that full year to get there. I work full time, so I have a longer list of lame excuses than she does anyhow. October looms in the future. Just a few more pages turned on the calendar. This dieting year is more than half over and the weight is more than half gone. Her motivation, even if only through email and phone calls, since we live in different states, has kept me on my path through this year of mine. It is mine. And it will pass with or without the diet. I will have another birthday, and my kids will move on to new grade levels at school, and I will register our family van once again at the dept. of motor vehicles, but this year I will be in charge of my diet and my health. Nearly every article that I�ve read over the past 7 dieting months suggested that I walk with a friend, visit a support board, or otherwise buddy up to keep motivated. I figured it�s like someone who�s trying to quit smoking. After telling all your buddies, you feel more apt to stick to your commitments. You say it out loud, �I�m going to diet� and then your expected, by your world of people, to attempt to diet, even if only in public. So I worked on this part pretty hard. I visited support boards at Ediets, and surprisingly managed to �connect� with a few women that inspired me or visa versa. We did a 20-day challenge together, and then turned around and did it again. The accountability was key to our successfully finishing the challenge. What a powerful feeling. Control is addicting. Now my sister kept me in check quite often, as well. Weekly phone calls and virtual chat rooms made it simple to relay to each other �yes I did my aerobics tape this morning� and �sure I walked 2 miles last evening� and �I found this great fat free recipe for eggplant parmesan�. It does work, we both agreed, and a pound lost by either myself or by her were small victories that kept us motivated and in control. It�s a powerful feeling to be in control. We love it, and now we crave it. There�s still 5 months ahead of me, and my sister still calls weekly to check out my progress. We managed to get together for Easter this year, and compared babies and waistlines. It�s not a competition, but we had to verbally decide that it wouldn�t become one, being sisters. We�ve celebrated through email for tossing out our baggy old jeans and loose oversized shirts. We�ve joyed at each other�s progress as we slipped into smaller shorts to wear this summer. And it�s all been worth it, because this year will pass, just as surely as last year did. But this year we have control of our health. It�s a powerful year. Cynthia Lineberry May 25, 2001 |