The Littlest Loser

Truth be told - I was a big New Year's resolution type of guy. For a couple decades I took the time to write out numerous, annual resolutions on multiple pages. This year and last year - I simplified this process by reducing the number of goals to something more manageable: "Don't give up." In a review of past goals it would appear that I haven't made much progress because the areas I struggle with have been surprisingly similar over the years - balancing my life, eating right, losing weight, making better choices with my time, and living with more intention. I imagine that the appeal of the popular TV program, "The Biggest Loser" (www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/) is the life changing dedication and hard work that results in such dramatic changes. I seem to have a number of patients that have made regular (daily?) resolutions to wake up and commit to improving each day. They consult for those areas that do not respond to diet and exercise. Some people even name these little unwanted fat pockets ("my little friend", "Fred", "my other butt" etc.) and many patients are surprised at the dramatic improvements they see with even the littlest 2-5 pounds of fat removal. That's not to say that these unwanted fat deposits are not noticeable - because they are - but my observation is more that the biggest rewards sometimes come to the littlest losers.