What's Luck Got To Do With It?

The other day, someone asked me: "You look like you're in great shape. Are you just lucky?" Ironically that was after rushing home from a full day of work, helping the kids with homework, making dinner, quickly exercising and running off to a meeting. I didn't know whether to be irritated or flattered. This "lucky" question really caused me to self reflect.

Here's what I don't do...I don't calorie count. I don't do points. I don't do low carbohydrate. I don't do fat free. I don't do sugar free. I don't own a scale. I don't weigh my food and I don't obsess over nutrition labels. I don't take diet pills. I don't drink diet shakes either. I don't workout for hours a day. I don't run marathons. I don't even belong to a gym. I haven't had surgery and I am certainly not blessed with a fast metabolism.

What do I do? I stopped worrying about being on a diet. I do watch what I eat, but I don't go crazy anymore. I ditched the fad diets and try to eat in a way that supports my shape and my goals. Oh, and most importantly...I work my butt of - at home. I realized there is a vast difference from being thin and being fit. Don't get me wrong, it's been a struggle and I still struggle with staying motivated with exercise and conscious of what I eat. But since I adopted this mentality, I've found that I am in better shape then I was when I belonged to a gym. No more hefty fees or fighting over the last locker. I realized I don’t need fancy equipment to get a good workout. All I need is an exercise DVDs, hand weights, and a place to run. In my case, either outside or on a treadmill.

It seems as though being lucky is something people assume. Why don't they assume people work for things? It won't come for free, but it starts at home; literally and figuratively. So ditch the excuses and the words “thin” and “diet” from your vocabulary and start moving; your body (and mind) will thank you for it.