By Brian Tuck

"A little bit of a bad thing is better than a lot of a good thing", Tom Robbins mentions in his book, Jitterbug Perfume. If we can interpret and fit that into our lives responsibly, we'd be more nutritionally balanced and less guilt ridden about indulging in some of life's little pleasures. Living in any extreme, either completely unhealthy or as a purist, are both unrealistic.

Now before you get your Lululemons in a bunch, bravo to those who can maintain a 100% organic, pure, fresh, unsaturated and refined sugar free diet for the rest of their lives. Although for most, a goal best actualized is one we can easily incorporate into our day-to-day lives that won't feel like a punishment.  Go ahead, have a piece of cake, for goodness sake...The fact we may eat the entire cake is not even where the problem lies, it's why we couldn't stop. Did we eat it because it was freakin' awesome or did we chow down to fill an emotional void? If it is sincerely the former, bon appétit!

Unrealistic goals are the root of any failed diet and resolution. The golden question to ask yourself: is this is a reasonable goal?  Perhaps eating well and sweating on a regular basis per week can provide slower, yet consistent satisfying results. Yo-yo dieting simply messes up your metabolism, results in binge eating once failed and has taught you no long-term dietary habits. There is no secret here, no magical potion or book to help you through this. The equation is simple: calories we ingest must be equal to or less than the calories we burn per day, ahem....per day.

Forget the pills, forget the diet plans that require you to only eat certain things; quick fixes that promise you ways to shed pounds without having to lift a finger. Why would you not want to get on an exercise machine or take up an activity that gets you into a pair of running shoes or yoga pants? Why would you not want to use your body everyday to move, stretch and sweat, even if it's to simply run up a flight of stairs on the way to work? This is way more important to look into further than cutting out dessert. Locate the source. Change it up, make a plan to try a new activity per month and you are guaranteed to come across something you enjoy. If the activity is not fun, the routine won't stick.

Don't have the time to exercise and eat well? You either make the time or you are filling up your schedule with other things that prevent you from it and are dodging the obvious. Live well, live happy and start from the inside out. Stop obsessing about carbs, calories, sugar and pounds and fill up on more fruit, vegetable and whole grain portions per day and there will be no room for that second piece of cake. Move more and things will fall into place.

Lastly, surround yourself with supportive people and chew your food more to enjoy it. Take more time off if you are a workaholic and get off the couch if you spend most of your time lying there. Learn to breathe slower. Lead an active yet less stressful life that can filter into every potential for happiness and not just a smaller waistline. Applicable to any New Year's resolution, a realistic goal is one that yields a lifestyle habit and not a final result. So let's consider not what we need to do less, but focus on what we need to do more. Let that fill up our schedules and our bellies instead.

From the staff at GayCompatible.com,
Have a safe and Happy New Year, filled with positive long-term changes.