Before and After

I both love and hate those before and after photos that are in magazines. They are amazing to see that people can make such an amazing change. They are great to get people hot on the "resolution band-wagon" to actually start working out. But I hate them because they make it look so easy. They have these smiles on their faces and you see the fruition of achieving their goals. 

The problem with these amazing transformational photos are that they don't really speak to the everyday person. They don't do justice to remind everyone who works out for the whole month of January (after their resolutions) and see little change.  These people have really made LIFESTYLE changes that go well beyond one month of working out - or a few salads.

Changing your lifestyle means that you make movement a part of EVERY day. That you eat right and make healthy choices. It means strapping on those tennis shoes even when you don't really feel like it. It is creating a habit. It is employing those around you to help and encourage you to continue. It is making a decision (most stories talk about a trigger point where someone saw themselves in a photo, was told something mean by someone or something else like that) no matter what triggers you to make the decision to get healthy. 

What is great is that these kind of transformations really are possible (I've personally seen it). 

So the question for me is how I can be the "trigger" before one is really needed? As a mom, it is important to me that none of my kids need to have a transformation like that. That they are healthy now - and are learning through my modeling movement and good food choices are a way of life. But perhaps the biggest trigger is taking a good hard look at yourself and see what you might change to make the life of  you and your kids a little healthier this year.