Welcome

"Michael, this is not the body that we hired," one ballet company director scolded me, "You are under contract and I expect your extra weight gone by the end of the month. Are we clear?" Today I'm in another career reliant upon a sleek public image. A fitness trainer must look the part of the service he sells; it is a vocation for the young and sexy. Sometime around age 45 I found myself wrestling with the same body fat annoyances as my clients. A man with a business called Volition Fitness cannot just blame his love handles on a taste for cabernet and call it a day. Temperance is essential.

"No work of love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now." - Alan Watts

Let's begin with acceptance. No, not resignation to a dissatisfying body size, but rather acceptance of the fact that nothing lasts forever, that the pattern of our diet attempts is cyclical and repetitive. It's the same for most people. So what? If that's the way it works then let's make the best of it, even have fun with it. The trick to sustained effort, until and beyond our goal, is keeping our endeavors fresh and creative. There is no final, diet quick fix, just a fascination with and exploration of our behavior.

This program is called Never on Sunday because we only commit to diet challenges during the week. Our weekends are about freedom and discovery. On Saturday and Sunday we eat when and whatever we want and see if the focus we held during the prior week alters our behavior even after the effort. Twelve (three month's worth) of weekly strategies follows. No one is suggesting that any of these diets will be sufficient calorie reduction to lower our weight or size. Indeed, the point is that diets don't work because they are not sustainable; but diets DO have value as reminders. If we play it right, a diet, silly as it is, can be a useful prompt. We're in this for the long haul, seeking a way to adjust our whole point of view when it comes to food.

If you'd like to gain the support of other participants in this program, feel free to comment on this post. Perhaps sharing your experience will contribute to the success of someone else.