It All Begins Today

August 1, 2011. A brand new day, a brand new month, a brand new start. I am beginning a new lifestyle today and wanted to share it with you! Okay, honestly, I have been doing this for about a year and a half now, but today I am letting the word out and taking it up a notch.

I have been doing a lot of research and evaluating what I want out of life and how I want to achieve it. My research has been people watching, if you can believe it. As I sit at the parks, the playgrounds, the stores, I watch people around and wonder why they look the way they do and how they got there. If only I had the guts to actually ask them instead of to just guess! As I watch, I wonder three things: 1. How active they are and what they are active in (or not), 2. Is a healthy lifestyle important to them, and 3. Do they realize what impact their decisions make on their long-term happiness. Yep, these are some deep questions for a simple action like people watching. But it has really made me think, ponder, and wonder if there is some way to better myself by the "answers" these people give me.

Let me give you an example: while the kids were playing at the mall playground a few days ago, I was watching a nearby vendor, Auntie Anns Pretzel Shopp and the flow of customers that came to get a snack. Other than the yummy pretzels, there wasnt really anything in common between these people. Short, tall, skinny, fat, very fat, athletic, sloppy. All kinds of people were represented. So as they came to get some yummy (and glutenous) goodness, I "asked" my questions to each one. You can imagine the fun I have doing this! Hehe. But in the end, my conclusion was this. It is okay to get a big, soft pretzel if you want, but there are consequences for that choice and for me personally, a pretzel isn't worth the extra work or guilt that comes with such an unhealthy choice. So I open my pre-packed bag and pull out a simple piece of fruit or low-fat cheese, or a handful of healthy trail-mix and happily eat my snack knowing that my choice is a better one for me.

This is what I have been doing for the last year and I know that I am having enormous benefits for making better choices for me. I hope you understand this a little. But, on with today! Even though I been more thoughtful about my choices, I have not held myself accountable or even tracked my health at any level. That is what I am beginning today. Today I am starting the Slim & Sassy approach to a healthy lifestyle. I will blog more on that later, but the jist of it goes like this. Healthy meals, shakes, supplements, essential oils, and exercise. I will also be journaling my food and involving my big sister, Monica, in my journey. I will give a weekly update on my experience and give results if any. So please stayed tuned, cause I want your support! Help me, help myself.

So my health journey begins today with daily decisions, small steps, and a determination for long-term results and behavior improvements. Would you like to join me? I hope so!