Tag Archives: losing weight

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A Year of Diet, Socialization, Exercise and Pumpkin Pie

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

As my brother pointed out last week, this is the time of year when we are full of resolutions. We strive to eat better, drink less, lose ten pounds, limit social media, and be kinder to everyone. To be honest, I don’t think I can do all that. At this point in life, I have to make choices…and face reality. I’ve made the same resolution to lose the same ten pounds for the past thirty years. In 2026 I’m not even going to try. In fact, as I’ve watched countless friends whittle away to bare bones due to the “miracle” of GLP-1, I’ve consoled myself that those extra ten pounds will serve me well if I ever get sick. Basically, they serve as my cushioning in more ways than one. I have rounded third base, and though I hope it will be a while before I slide into home plate, I intend to do so clutching a big piece of chocolate cake.

I actually do eat a healthy diet except for the occasional sweet. Okay, maybe more like a daily sweet, but always in moderation. Except when I buy the pumpkin pie at Sprouts and consume the whole thing in four days. But pumpkin is very healthy for you, and it is seasonal, so I have to take advantage while I can. So… I have the eating part of things figured out. I also don’t drink much these days. I love the socialization that usually is entwined with it, but the waking up at 1 a.m. part? Not so much. I can’t have a one-year-old puppy and drink at the same time. I simply don’t have the energy.

Being kinder to people is an admirable trait – one that I strive to exhibit. I try to remember that you never know what people are going through so everyone deserves some grace. Except for the people who tailgate me in a 45 MPH zone, then zoom around me and give me the finger because I was only going 50 MPH. I don’t think that person deserves my kindness, but in 2026 I will try not to flip them off in return.

Social media usage has become a problem throughout our population in general, and for me specifically early in the morning because I find catching up on dog videos and recipes preferable to the news. I fix myself a big cup of coffee, turn on Good Morning Football or ESPN, and peruse Facebook and Instagram. So, you can imagine my annoyance when people take to social media platforms to “school” me on the latest political events. I get it from both sides, but one person in particular posts at least five times a day, alerting me to Trump’s every movement. I actually am insulted by these people – do they assume that I am so uncurious and ill-informed that BUT FOR THEM I would wallow in total ignorance? I worry about people who spend so much of their time thinking about what to post. The phrase, “get a life”, springs to mind. So, I will save some time spent on social media in 2026 because I plan to block them. Nothing gets between me and my dog videos.

I DO intend to exercise more. I recently finished the book, Outlive, by Dr. Peter Attia. He specializes in helping people have a long health span, vs a long life span. After all, what’s the use of living to be 100 if you have been confined to a bed for ten years? One of the staples of Dr. Attia’s program is to increase strength as you age. He acknowledges that it’s more difficult to build muscle mass after age 70, but not impossible. I have saved about 50 exercise reels on social media platforms. I even created a folder on each one and carefully filed each reel away for future reference. So far, my only exercise has been whatever energy is expended by my index finger to move to reel to my files. But today – TODAY! – I am starting with a trainer at the gym, who also read Outlive and we are going to set up a program to help me live healthily to 100. I’m good with that as long as I don’t have to give up my pumpkin pie.

Posted in opinion

I RESOLVE TO DISSOLVE

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

If you’re like me, you’re avoiding the scale this week. All of the eating and drinking over the holidays has taken its toll on my hips.  I don’t need a scale to tell me that – my zipper does a fine job of letting me know I’ve overindulged.  I always make an attempt to form resolutions at the beginning of the year, a time when I feel particularly guilty about my mental and physical state.  Most years the ink isn’t dry on the paper I’ve written them on before I’ve broken one.  I thought this was true for everyone.  But John C. Norcross, a professor of psychology at the University of Scranton has researched New Year’s resolutions and finds that contrary to popular belief, a fair number of people actually do stick to their good intentions.  In fact, in a study he conducted of people who wanted to change a behavior, he discovered that more than 40% of those with resolutions stuck with them, while only 4% of the group who didn’t make a resolution achieved the behavioral changes they had in mind.

In a larger study in Sweden a professor learned that how New Year’s resolutions were framed helped determine how effective they were. For example, if you want to spend less time on your phone, you have a better chance if you commit to reading a book than if you delete Instagram.  He discovered that starting a new activity is “stickier” than quitting an old one. The new activity quickly transforms from a chore to a habit. The upshot of both studies was that if we want to keep a resolution longer than say, January 10th, it needs to be specific and realistic.  One person vowed to begin flossing his teeth every day and a year later he was still on track.  That makes me wonder what took him so long to perform this basic hygiene task, but as with all resolutions, we shouldn’t judge.  Besides, I’m sure this guy’s dentist was thrilled so actually he made two people happy that year.

A software developer based in Australia built an app called Streaks, a to-do list that functions a bit like a game. When users assign themselves daily tasks, they suddenly feel an urge to complete them: they want to extend their streaks. I get it.  I do the same thing with my Fitbit app – trying to extend the number of days I do at least 10,000 steps a day.  Two years ago, I was up to 246 days but then had to have some minor surgery.  It was not a big deal, but just enough that I couldn’t exercise for a day.  Since then, I’ve gotten to 109 days and then broken it again.  I think my streak on Candy Crush is now greater than my step goal.

This year I’ve resolved to get my walking streak up again – perhaps I’ll accomplish it every day this year.  Or not.  The only thing I can really commit to is eating cake once a month, watching dog videos, and binging programs on Britbox.  You can hold me accountable for those last three and I’ll report back next January.