Make A Choice…Change Your Life

Glorious news people…I managed to complete both scheduled days of my new race training plan. Yes I said “both” as in just two and yes one of those days was a rest day but you must celebrate the small victories! As I was in my apartment gym running 3 sweaty miles on the treadmill this morning, I saw a story that the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell reported a 30% rise in profit for their 4th quarter sales. This information blew me away! Here I was, getting in an early workout before I drank my green smoothie. Could this be possible? I could have sworn that the new trend was to be healthy. I thought it was getting popular to workout and be fit, eat the best foods for your body, and try to live a balanced life.

And then I realized something…being fit and healthy only seemed so popular to me because that is the world I chose to live in. Yes there still is an obesity epidemic out there. Yes a lot of people don’t actually know about health and fitness. And yes, you may be one of them. But what I hope you realize is that you have the power to change your mind about which world you want to live in: healthy or unhealthy. Reaching your potential or coming up short. Being able to do the things you truly want to do or just watching from the sidelines. It’s your choice.

I choose to read health and fitness based magazines, not gossip columns or magazines with recipes loaded with calories.

I choose to read blogs that focus on healthy living to give me the ideas and inspiration I need to make the right choices.

I chose to quite drinking alcohol because I didn’t think it was the smartest thing for my body (or mind!).

I chose to get healthy and lose 50lbs in the process.

I chose to give up eating all animal products in order to live a more peaceful and balanced life.

I chose to wake up at 6:00a.m. today to workout instead of sleeping in.

I chose to drink a green smoothie for breakfast instead of eating a bowl of sugary cereal (or skipping breakfast altogether!).

I chose to pack a healthy lunch for work (delicious lettuce wraps today) instead of running out to the nearest fast food joint for a quick burger.

The point is, every day I wake up and have to make a choice. Sometimes it’s not always easy. Sure sometimes I’d rather press snooze and snuggle a little longer in the morning. Sure sometimes the vegan donut case at Whole Foods calls out my name until I silence it with a chocolate-chocolate glazed donut. Sure sometimes I would really prefer a 5lb Chipotle burrito to a salad. But most of the time I do make the choice to live the healthiest life possible.

This wasn’t always the case. There used to be a day where I didn’t really think about my choices, I just did what was easiest and most appealing at the time. However, there was a disconnect with who I knew I wanted to be (and could be) and who I actually was. I didn’t like this disconnect, it bred low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy. It wasn’t just about my appearance either, it was about my actions. So one day I decided to change my mind and my outlook and start living the life I wanted to live. I made the choice.

And now, instead of days on the couch watching Law & Order reruns and only dreaming of what could be, my life looks more like this:

And I feel like this:

Are there choices you could make and things you could change to start living the life you really want to live? I encourage you to look within yourself and at least ask. You never know what amazing opportunities and experiences could be right around the corner…