New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2010 everyone!

Yeah, the pic isn't related to the post really but, a hot boy for the New Year can't hurt.

So, around this time, everyone seems to be making dramatic, sweeping new years resolutions. Tons of people are making up big exercise plans, attempting to stick to ridiculous diets, determined to loose weight. And most of these people, within a few weeks, a month or two tops, will fail.

Now, you may be thinking, why would I bring up people trying to loose weight on The Encourager? I personally think that there a lot of gainers fall into the same two main pitfalls that these New Year’s Resolution dieters hit.

Similarity one: The Impossible Goal

Yeah, he didn't drink all that and get that belly in one day

Much like dieters who proclaim “I’m never going to eat sugar or any kind of dessert again,” gainers often feel like they’re not doing enough if they don’t eat enormous meals all the time. By setting the bar unreasonably high, you set yourself up for failure, and then get discouraged.

Just like if you were going to diet, getting fat is a lifestyle shift. It doesn’t have to be a huge shift, but it has to be consistent. I was chatting with a buddy of mine who has been hovering around 200 for a while now. I pointed out if he consistently adds 500 calories to his daily diet (about the calories of 1 grande caramel Frappucino with whipped cream from Starbucks, or a handful of cookies) he’ll put on nearly 50 pounds this year. Now, adding a Frapp’s worth of calories to your diet every day isn’t rocket science, but, many guys try and just stuff themselves silly every now and then instead of the simpler, easier to follow through on option of just making sure they get an extra 500 calories right before bed.

Similarity two: Slow Results

Yum. He wasn't discouraged that it took a little while to get that big.

Many gainers complain that they just eat and eat and they don’t see any results. Many dieters complain that no matter how little they eat, they don’t see any results. The answer to both is the same. Changing your body takes time. If you’re eating to gain, or eating to loose, don’t expect to see any real changes in your body for at least four weeks. You may get a nicely bloated gut after a big meal, but, you’re gonna have to overeat pretty consistently for about a month to start noticing a change. To see a dramatic change in your body, it’s prolly gonna take at least 3 or 4 months.

So, in short, relax, eat up, and have fun. Just cause you don’t gain 10 pounds your first week, doesn’t mean that you’re not putting on weight, doesn’t mean your body’s not changing, it just means that you’re normal and this takes time.

Anything worth having is worth working for, right?


In short, keep up as regularly as you can, consistently getting at least 500 extra calories in your daily diet, and don’t get discouraged.

My Resolutions

As for my New Years resolutions, here is what I’m going to try and stick to:

Update the blog at least twice a month, with the end goal being a weekly update schedule. I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be to stick to this one, but, I am hopeful.

Be more regular about going to the gym. Since November I’ve been all over the place with holidays and parties and such and a regular routine will make me (haha and the boyfriend I imagine) quite happy. This shouldn’t be too hard to stick to as the weather will be getting warmer and I really love being outside.

Be more consistent about eating organic and avoiding transfats. Whatever your intention weightwise, gaining, maintaining or loosing, pesticides and transfats are gross. I think I'll be pretty good about this, cause I'm already pretty good about eating organic and avoiding transfats. I'm prolly looking to go from like 80% success to like 95%.

Be more positive, even when dealing with people I really don’t like / Find other ways to be funny besides putting other people down. This will be hard as I am exceptionally talented at making fun of people who annoy me.

My last resolution is to be more focused and organized. Making lists and such. This post was one of the first things I put into my new To Do app (Things for Mac), and look, I actually wrote it up! I’m normally a really super organized, a-type kinda guy so I’m most confident about this one.

What kind of things did you guys pick as resolutions (gaining related or not)? Post yours in the comments section.

Happy New Year everyone!