Have you ever found yourself saying something like:

“It’s just one cupcake. I’ll start my diet tomorrow.”

After eating a ton of food at a get together you say to your friends, “The diet starts Monday.”

Tomorrow comes and so does Monday. Nothing happens. You don’t start. And really, it shouldn’t be about starting a diet. It should be about starting a healthy lifestyle change. Making small choices about eating better foods one day at a time. Deciding to to have a salad instead of the fries. Or even having the regular fry instead of upsizing it. Having one plate of food at the buffet instead of 2 or 3!

What about making the choice to take the stairs up that one flight of stairs instead of the elevator. Making the choice to become a bit more active.

I made excuses for a long time! Then I got to where I was 12 years ago. After a year at a college and eating three square meals a day where I ate bread and milk at every meal and probably dessert too I had gained at least 15 – 20 lbs. I went off to university for my undergrad where I played inter mural soccer. It was hard with the extra weight I put on. I wasn’t happy.

After my first year I came home and for 3 months I walked 5 days a week and watched what I ate. I lost the weight. I felt good and had energy. I could play soccer without feeling over tired or injuring myself.

Life continued and after a major breakup 3 years ago I put that weight back on to the point where I was 12 years ago. I never wanted to be there again. Last February I was fed up with where I was physically. I wanted that energy back that I once had. So I decided to invest in myself and do the 21 Day Fix. It did work for me. I wasn’t at my final destination, but I was starting to feel good again.

Since then I haven’t put all that weight back on again, but it’s pretty close. The thing is, that this is a lifestyle change that I need to make. Not a diet. Diet’s come and go. Weight comes and goes and most time comes back in excess. A lifestyle change lasts for the long haul.

That’s where I’m at today as I continue with the second round of the 21 Day Fix. The more I do it the more I realize that it is all about clean eating and incorporating fitness.

Today I had such a blah day of nothingness. I didn’t plan or think ahead of what I was going to eat. I haven’t exercised yet. I’ve procrastinating in the things that I need to get done. For what!? Nothing. So do I beat myself up about it. No. That is what I would have done yesterday. But today at 7:45pm as I write this instead of saying “I’ll start tomorrow” or in my case “I’ll start over again.” I choose to say, “I’ll start right now!”

It doesn’t matter what time of day it is. We don’t have to wait until tomorrow, because chances are it won’t happen. For me, the excuses need to stop. The negativity when I fail needs to stop. I will start again right now. I won’t wait for tomorrow.

You might not be at the place yet where you can say, “Yes, I’ll start right now.” You might still be at the place where you will wait until tomorrow. If you are, I encourage you to think about why you don’t start today. Do you really want to be healthier? Because when we say, “I’ll start tomorrow”, we are only making excuses. We are sabotaging any effort that we have made or haven’t made. We are not even letting ourselves try at healthy eating. So you ate two cupcakes. Big deal. Make the rest of the day count!

What about you? Are you going to start right now or wait until tomorrow? 

For more on clean eating visit this informative post by Melanie Mitro:

Clean Eating Tips that Worked for Me

To see other posts on the 21 Day Fix, go HERE.