Knee High by the 4th of July

jonesdav254

For those that are not familiar with this phrase that is the title of this posting, “knee high by the fourth of July” is used by local farmers who set the expectation of a good crop of corn based on the growth achieved by the 4th of July. Here is the rationale behind this phrase. It is partially based on the growing season in the northeast portion of the US. Another part of the logic is that if the crop is at knee level (by July 4th), this signals the initial part of the growing season has established strong roots ….and if weather (sun, rain) remain consistent, the crop will be very good. I’d ask you to focus on a visual of seeing a farmer bending at the waste and holding his hand at his knee to show the level of expectation. The other part of the story of “knee high by the 4th of July” is the reality. If the expectation isn't met, the crop will be less than expected.

I have often used the visual of holding my hand at one level to show expectations and then moving it to another level (higher or lower) to show the reality.

Once I was charged with watching my kids while my wife went out with some of her girlfriends. I agree I would feed the kids a nutritious dinner, help them with their homework, get them bathed, and then get them into bed on time (at 9PM). Upon her arrival home (around 9:30 PM), the kids were finishing some pizza (Pizza Hut), had still not finished their homework (cause we were playing video games), had not taken a bath and were obviously not in bed by their bedtime. Seeing the look of disappointment (and anger) on my wife’s face, I made my universal sign of holding my hand at my knee (expectation) and then lowering it to the middle of my lower leg (reality).

So let’s change topics slightly. It is January 15th, that’s two weeks after the start of the New Year. How many people do you believe have already abandoned their resolutions? According to an article in Forbes magazine, 25% of people broke their resolution within one week. By the time two weeks (today) 30 % of people will have thrown in the towel. By the end of January, the number that will have broken their resolution will be 45%. By the time we get to six months (July 1st), 64% of people will have walked away from their commitment.

So, thinking about my phrase I introduced at the start of this blog, where will people be by the 4th of July. Will their efforts had hit the expectation they set or will they have to lower their hand to show the realization of where their effort fell short.
We all know that weight loss, achieving a high level of fitness, and eating correctly are tasks that are LONG-TERM. Achieving these objectives takes a STRONG commitment and an enduring dedication. Every day we make several (perhaps 10-15) decisions that demonstrate our commitment. Think about it? You choose what to eat at least 3 times a day. For many of us, we eat smaller meals 4-5 times a day. So, we must make appropriate choices at each of these junctures. We also choose if and how long we will exercise. For some of us (myself included), I tend to be a creature of habit. As such, I have a strong NEED for working out to ensure I manage my stress as well as balance my calorie intake. Let’s say that deciding to exercise and staying with that workout until completion add another 2 important decisions each day.

Where am I going with this? Well, let’s do some simple math. If you have just 3 meals a day, that is 3 important decisions you must make. Add on the decision to exercise, and stay with your workout, that is another 2 important decisions. Let’s assume this is 5 important decisions per day. So, how are you going to get to “knee high by the 4th of July”? It will depend upon how you handle roughly the 5 important decisions over the roughly 185 days between January 1st and July 4th. Calculated out, this 925 decisions. Does that sound intimidating? Perhaps.

But you have to face each decision with the expectation that how you choose will impact you long-term. So far, if you have followed good eating habits for your 3 meals a day AND a good program of exercise, that means you have already achieved 70 good decisions. WOW! That’s nothing to sneeze at! If you stay with your nutrition and exercise commitments through January 31st, you will have made 155 good decisions!

Is it easy to achieve your goals of good eating, fitness and weight loss? Let’s be honest, it is a challenge and it takes commitment. Still, if you break it down to a day, and each decision, you CAN make significant progress towards your goal! I am nearing my 1 year anniversary on MFP. Impressive? I think not. It just means I've made 925 decisions since the day I joined a year ago. Many of those decisions were good. I believe my progress towards good eating, fitness are shown in my weight loss and body transformation.

There are still about 170 days until the 4th of July. When that day arrives, will my hand be held at my knees based on my expectation, or will I be able to hold my hand at mid thigh to show my reality was ABOVE my initial expectation?

What about you? Where will you be holding your hand when the 4th of July rolls around? At your knees?....somewhere at your lower leg?....or perhaps at your waist!?

intotennis

Good way to look at getting healthy; I'm aiming for the knee or above! :bigsmile: