Perfectly Fit
"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
Ellen Degeneres
Have you ever:
- Resolved to walk 20 minutes daily and forgotten your resolution when other "to-do's" filled your schedule?
- Paid a fortune to join a gym and never gone?
- Wished an Exercise Genie would magically appear at your door and give you the body of your dreams?
You're in good company. And, while that alone does not help to create your "perfectly fit" body, it does bring us to the very important fact that you MUST feel good "all under" in order to present your very best all over.
Yes, we can work miracles by dressing appropriately for our bodies, styling our hair, and surrounding ourselves with colors that flatter. However, there is no replacement for the radiant glow that emanates from a healthy, well-energized body. Your health, strength, and vitality shape your image and directly impact how you see and feel about yourself.
Unfortunately, in the daily tug and pull of life, health is often taken for granted and not made a priority until it is too late. Stress and strain, physical or emotional, have a way of making our bad habits look good. Physical activity and good nutrition are most often the early victims of this battle.
It's not that we don't care. We do. Over and over again we try to change our evil ways. We set out to exercise, eat right, get enough sleep...and then...oh, no...the bag of Doritos...the box of Krispy Kremes...the textures, the flavors, the sharp packaging, the incessant advertising...all while you're watching the midnight rerun marathon of Desperate Housewives (by the way, five women who have most likely never eaten a Twinkie). Most of us need not be led to temptation. We manage to find the way quite easily by ourselves.
All too often, we believe that good health and nutrition require an all-or-nothing level of engagement. This is simply not true. In reality, the best health strategies don't feel like punishment at all. They fit neatly into your life and lifestyle. Taking a few minutes to determine what will truly work for you will make all the difference and, hopefully, set you up for great success.
About Exercise: Is there a particular form of physical activity that you already enjoy? Could you create more regular opportunities to include it in your daily schedule? Do you prefer:
- Team or shared sports or activities?
- Solitary sports or activities?
- Working out at a local gym, community center or at home?
- Working out with a personal trainer?
- Starting your day with exercise?
- Ending your day with exercise?
About Nutrition: Are there particular healthy foods that you already genuinely enjoy? Could you add them into your day with greater regularity? Do you:
- Eat a balanced diet of proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables?
- Enjoy numerous small meals throughout the day or fewer large meals?
- Eat mostly in stressful situations or at the end of the day?
- Eat mostly sugar-based foods to provide energy boosts throughout the day?
- Drink at least one gallon of water throughout the course of each day?
Spending a few minutes with yourself, answering these simple questions honestly, and identifying one or two things that you are willing to do differently could make a big difference on your journey toward becoming Perfectly Fit.
To your health!
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I'm Lauren Solomon, President of LS Image Associates, and 
