Vignette from a Weekday Afternoon

I stand in the kitchen stirring the pot. My eyes are glazed over. 
My man walks in from the day and I lean over the bubbling pot to kiss his lips. ("Every marriage is either going forward or backward…let's keep going forward," I remind him.)
He's had to step over a plethora of boots, coats, toys, dirty diapers tied in Walmart bags waiting to be taken out to the garage trash. 
Two kids sit at the back door making "music" blowing on a harmonica and banging on "drums." It's just white noise.
He asks me, "Who died?"
I look at him puzzled.
He has come in, stepped over the kids, kissed my lips, set his lunch container down and his mind has done something mine has not: tuned into the radio.
"Oh! I forgot that was on," I say wearily.
Apparently NPR has been reporting on some famous person's death.
I. STILL. DON'T. KNOW. WHO.
And I laugh as I tell him, "Ya know, I put that on when I begin dinner…thinking I'll enjoy listening to something intelligent. Something that will remind me I am a thinking adult. Something that will lift me out of potty training, medical need monitoring, settling squabbles, reminding people to do chores and checking on homework. Reminding me that I hold a place on planet Earth."
Then I realize: I am totally in my own Land of Make Believe.

That is all.

It's your CHOICE.

I've heard it so many times, I really couldn't even count.

"It's too expensive to eat healthy..."

I am here to tell you that I bought all our groceries today for 7 people for a week for $86.

$86.


7 people.


FOR REAL.

Now, that said, I still had some remaining staples in my cupboard and freezer that when I planned our meals (bfast, lunch, snacks and dinner!) I didn't have to buy those items because I had them already.

But really, planning meals and now the actual snacks that we'll eat in the afternoon is NOT that difficult.

(With my iPhone and the app "Mealboard" I can plan all our food with a few clicks and it generates an organized grocery list that I tick off as I shop through the store. It has an added feature where I can import recipes from online sites and I can also manually enter our family's favorites. SO EASY!!)

I get weary of people using the expense of fresh fruit and vegetables as an excuse to not eat healthy. I buy what is on sale, in season and use frozen versions when they aren't available fresh. I learn to eat new things and serve them to my family (MORE THAN ONCE to see if they really don't like it!)

The exposing question is: what ELSE are you buying at the store?

And...are you swinging through any establishment that serves you food quickly at any point during your week?

Are you spending your grocery money on soda? On frozen dinners? Prepackaged convenience foods? Are you feeding your children junk food...just because it's "cheap?"

Let me back up and say that I used to eat junk.

I used to have a serious addiction to sugar, fat and salt. Any combination thereof made my mouth water. I would gobble it up and secretly wish I had the nerve to order a second!

How did the change happen?

It was INTENTIONAL.


I meant to.

You don't leave a life of addiction (no matter what your vice!) without a serious desire, conviction, intent and support.

And like I tell all my Beachbody clients, you don't just wake up one day and suddenly eat fresh fruits, whole grains and turn down all items fried and made with sugar. Your caffeine habit doesn't just walk off with another lover and a desire to workout doesn't come in a package you order online.

It's a choice.

I have made this choice first of all for myself. As I leaned into a healthy lifestyle, I saw positive changes in the body I had given up on. This fueled me to try more...which continued to encourage me. My husband began to want similar things to eat, he (after years of watching me workout daily) began to desire to work through P90X and later Insanity, and our children have been watching and listening and actually ask for a snack of raw carrots.

All because of a choice.

None of it happened overnight. None of it. My resolve waived and faltered. But I had a group of people I was hanging with online who encouraged me. They challenged me. They spoke to me when I was ready to throw in the towel. And now, here I am 5 years later feeling better than I ever have. And I'm 5 years OLDER too! ;)

I want you to know that if you are TIRED of being TIRED, if you are stressed by the COST of good foods, if you are tired of buying new clothes that are ELASTIC in nature and you dread your child asking you to come play outside with him... I want you to know: you don't have to live like this.

You can change.

You can.

But YOU must be the one who steps out of what is comfortable, normal and easy.

Choose to step away from living addicted to bad food. Choose to get healthy. Choose to feel good. You'll be SO GLAD you did!!