2023 turned into a great year for me, and I’m not quite finished celebrating. We have our annual New Year’s Day party for close friends and neighbors, so there will be one last hurrah before I start practicing for 2024.

With a birthday on the 108th day of the year, I “practice” what I want my habits to be for the first 8 days, and then I’ll be off and running for 100 days of “game time” effort until my birthday. I don’t need any resolutions with this. Just a few things I’ll do a little bit better each year.

Near the end of last year, when I was in-between celebratory holidays, I had what was a very strange thought for me for the first time in my life.

I felt in complete control of my body and had the certainty I could accomplish what I wanted to without anything that would be considered “effort” or willpower or motivation. Instead of needing to get “fired up”, I’ll just start doing it again, and I’ll get the results I want by my birthday.

Yes, there will be times when I’ll have to remind myself not to do a few things. I’ll make some mistakes, too. But overall, I’ll just cruise right to where I want to be.

For someone who has had lifelong depression and has “struggled” with weight loss and maintenance for the better part of always, that’s an amazing thought and feeling.

I credit the keto diet I used strictly to begin last year for this winning mindset. Throughout the rest of the year, I experimented with some different variations of it – with more protein specifically – and also had good results throughout the year.

Toward the end of the year, I definitely “let go” a bit and enjoyed some different foods I hadn’t had for the rest of the year. But during these last 5 weeks of the year, I didn’t feel like I was giving in to cravings, I didn’t get any extra delight out of them, and I don’t feel like I’ll miss them. I did it mostly for social reasons, and I had a nice time with family and friends without worrying about what I was doing.

That’s over now. I’ll still enjoy myself, but I’ll do it without the carbs and with quite a bit less alcohol. Close to none actually.

Ok, off we go into 2024.