Hey, Cinderella!

Hello everyone! First of all, please let me apologize for being absent the past few weeks. I have been fighting an ongoing battle with the flu and, most recently, a pulled back muscle. But, I’m getting back on track and just in time, it seems, to start enjoying the warm (ok, warmer!) weather of spring!

Spring, however, does bring with it, for me, one of the most dreaded tasks of the year…spring cleaning. Now, I will be very honest, I don’t really enjoy the everyday mundane tasks of cleaning. However, the idea of spending hours cleaning out closets, organizing junk drawers (yes, drawers) and trying to figure out what exactly I just swept out from behind the refrigerator, is especially dreadful to me!

But, alas, it must be done…maybe, next weekend!

I recently had a very dear friend ask me how I got started on my healthy lifestyle revolution. “How did you do it?” she asked. Well, I wish that I had some life-changing inspirational answer. Unfortunately, there was no magical slap-you-on-the-forehead ‘Ah-Ha!” moment, no light bulbs going off in my head, and no parting of the clouds in the sky.

I was at a point in my life where I knew I had to make a change. Making changes in my habits was like cleaning for me. I viewed eating healthy and, mostly, exercising as dreaded chores, that could definitely be put off… until next weekend. I would always tell myself that I would start my diet tomorrow or workout next week. But, tomorrow and next week would always come and go with another broken promise often remembered as I grabbed another slice of pizza.

There are consequences to face if we put off doing the laundry, dusting, or taking out the trash. Our homes become dirty, cluttered, and disorganized. The same happens if we overlook our health and put off making changes for another day. Our bodies, and lifestyles, become dirty, cluttered, and disorganized. The truth is, we often view living a healthier lifestyle like a dirty chore that we hate to do and, therefore, put it off for a later day.

The day that I seriously decided to start making changes in my eating and living habits was the day I started implementing the changes. I knew that if I ignored my decision until the next day, or the next weekend, I would think of too many reasons to delay it again. I couldn’t make any more excuses. I had to change my way of thinking and view this as a challenge, not a chore.

The bottom line is that we shouldn’t treat changing our lifestyles like another dirty chore. We must think of it as a new opportunity, a new adventure, a gift to ourselves, or at the very least, a reason to shop for new clothes!

So, go ahead, start implementing some changes, big or small, in your habits today. I promise you won’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight!