Stop Smoking

In September, I stumbled across SparkPeople again. "Oh, yeah, I remember this," I thought. I chuckled over the goals I had set in January, remembering how fresh and full of potential the New Year had seemed, back then. I stepped on the scales. Wow. I weighed just about the same thing I had nine months earlier. (I know that sounds good to you if you're caring for a newborn and working on losing the "baby weight," but I'm 43 and my "baby" is ten years old.) I browsed through some of the other members' pages and saw their "before" and "after" shots. Some of them used virtual proxies built through retail clothing sites, but even those are surprisingly accurate. (I can just see all those virtual models getting together in cyberspace: “Don't you think she could've had the decency to dress me in something other than my undies before posting that for all the world to see?” People for the Ethical Treatment of Virtual Models requires that you post a photo of yourself, dressed only in a bathing suit – it's a much more potent motivator.) Anyway, it hit me like a ton of bricks: If I'd done what I'd said I was going to do, back in January, I'd be at my goal weight now. Instead, I'm right where I was...in January. Nothing has changed.