Happy Thursday All!

“Be The Change You Want To See In The World” – Gandhi

I’m sure you’ve all seen or heard these 10 words at some point in your life, whether it was on facebook or on a billboard…somewhere.  There is a music video/song by Kat Edmonson called “Be The Change You Want To See”.  In the music video there are people of all walks of life holding a cardboard sign with what they want to see “Changed”.  My favorite sign was one that read “Empower Ordinary People To Do Extraordinary Things”.  We all have something be it big or small that we would like to see “Changed”.  For some of you, it’s making a lifestyle change so you can be healthier for years to come. This is the change I want to “Empower” you to make happen in your life!

The hardest part about making a lifestyle change is STARTING!  I can’t MAKE you start something you don’t want to or think you’re not ready to start. Well,  if not today…when?
Find your reason why:
~ I want to look better
~ I want to feel better physically and feel better about MYSELF
~ I want more energy to run around with my kids, nieces, nephews or grandkids
~ I want to run a 10k or 5k
~ I want to grab life by the horns and be the BEST me I can physically be 🙂

Oddly enough, when you do what it takes to look and feel better physically you’ll start to experience success in other parts of your life because of the disciplines you have learned and applied to your physically body.

Once you have found your reason why and have decided you are going to start TODAY, you need reminders of this reason posted in several different spots until you have created a steady routine.  On your computer, on your phone, on your fridge, on your steering wheel… you get the point.

Next, you need to commit to at least 3 days of activity for a duration of 45min.  If you need some help with effective ways to spend that 45min, please email me….I have LOTS of suggestions 🙂

I would also like to suggest you start a food journal, but before you do that, click the link below to figure out how many calories you personally need:
http://grapevine.mckinley.com/?p=206

Now you can start keeping track of your food by hand or if you have a smart phone there are several helpful apps to choose from.  Click the link below to view some of those apps:
http://grapevine.mckinley.com/?p=1118

Feel free to email me your food chart so I can review it and help make some suggestions…don’t forget to record your cheat days 🙂

Make the choice to be extraordinary and forget the past (we don’t drive our car looking through the rear view mirror, so we shouldn’t steer our lives with our focus on our past), start fresh TODAY…not tomorrow.  I’m here to help you navigate your journey towards a healthier lifestyle so don’t hesitate to email me with any questions :).  Enjoy the rest of your day!!

P.S.
I hope most of you were able to check out the link Albert M. sent out this morning.  Robert Brown, who lives at the Villages of Taylor, started The Villages of Taylor Youth Program.  He felt something needed to change and did something about it!  So Cool!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith