Procrastinators Anonymous

I have a confession to make: I am a stellar procrastinator. Like, there is no time like tomorrow. Like, not only am I the president... I'm also a client. Like, there's got to be a support group for this.

But I am trying to reform. Really, I am. I started this healthy way of life -- FINALLY -- after making many, many procrastinator-like excuses, not the least of which were:
But I can't go to the grocery store today.
I've got to eat all of the bad stuff in the house before I can fill it with good stuff.
It's not Monday; I always have to start on a Monday.
I could always wait for Lent.
Or New Year's Day. New Year's Day sounds like a good day to start.

I know there are others out there, too. You know who you are; you snorted at a minimum of three of the five excuses I listed. And I want you to join me, because darned if I'm going to do it by myself.

So without further ado, here are five reasons why you should start getting healthy TODAY:

1. It can keep you from getting sick. I'm not just talking about heart disease. Research shows that a well balanced diet full of a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats will keep your immune system running at peak efficiency. I know I'm jinxing myself by saying this, but I have yet to be kicked in the arse by a major cold this season, and that is unusual for me. (Furiously knocking wood right now.) It could be a coincidence, but I prefer to chalk it up to my diet and exercise.

2. Exercise is a bonafide stress reducer. Not only does it get your endorphins going, it gives you something else to focus on. When I'm in the middle of a run, or a spinning class, or trying to keep up with some uber-complicated Pilates routine, I have a pretty hard time obsessing over whatever is stressing me out that day.

3. It will make you feel good. For better or for worse, what you eat can affect your mood. Except for some -- ahem -- periodic raging hormones and, well, some much-alluded-to job stress (dealing with that -- see #2), I have not felt better than I have since beginning this healthy lifestyle. Except for the last time I did it. And the time before that.

4. It only gets harder as you get older. I can honestly say that when I was on the South Beach Diet four years ago, I lost weight a lot faster than I am now. There has also been a lot of talk about this lately on my online support group, with a number of women in the over forty group reporting that they are having a harder time of it now than they ever did before.

5. There's no time like the present. Seriously, time flies. If you keep thinking that you will start tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow... before you know it, tomorrow will be yesterday. One of my favorite quotes by Mark Twain says it best:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.