Enjoy Each Moment Now While Achieving Your Fitness Goals

By Amy Birkner

So it's the New Year, and
nearly everyone has "lose weight" on their 2009 New Year's resolution
list. Some have variations, like "get healthier", "eat
healthier", "exercise more", etc. but we all tend to focus on our
health as we begin the new year.

I am no different, and I do have a plan, but I still think "diet" is a four letter word. I want to combine eating healthier, eating less of my personal trigger foods (can you say fudge?), and more frequent exercise to feel better, look better, and halt the eating frenzy that seems to take hold of me each December.

I do want to urge each of you, no matter what you weigh now, no matter how bad you think you look to TAKE
PICTURES of yourself. I avoided the camera for years, choosing to be behind the camera rather than in front, but I do have a few pictures from my heaviest days. I am SO grateful for these pictures, as it reminds me how far I have come! In fact, I was sharing my scrapbooks of my children with some friends at a church group, and they were admiring the scrapbooks, but several of my close friends asked who the mom was! They did not recognize me, even though they have known me and my children for a couple of years! I am still shocked that people can't recognize me from when I was 100 lbs.
heavier.

I use those pictures now, and pictures from when I achieved my goal weight as inspiration.
Inspiration that I *can* set goals and achieve them. The images also
remind me that no matter what I look like on the outside, I define who I am on
the inside - and that can change as I want it to change. I have been
successful in different ways at different weights and the pictures remind me of
those successes and help me mark different points in my life.

Enjoy the New Year, and make your resolutions. Take pictures, clear pictures so that you can look back and remember this time. Make the decision to do something for your
health, but enjoy each moment now, as this moment will never come again.
Someday, you will be thankful!

By the way, in case you're wondering, my Cellerciser mini-trampoline is found in my living room 365 days out of the year!