A Commitment to Yourself

Committing to this cleanse will mean facing some challenges in everyday life. Like time crunches – often our nutrition suffers at the hands of scheduling pileups, but this time you’re going to have to drive past McDonald’s or walk past the vending machine. What will you do instead?

And there will be social challenges – explaining your new eating habits to friends or family members who don’t get it, and navigating through tricky menus are the two biggies that come to mind. Will you crumble or stand your ground?

On top of it all, you’ll face some personal challenges – you can be fairly certain that there will be times when you’d kill for a cup of coffee, a chocolate bar, or a double cheeseburger. How will you work through that?

I'll post tips to help you deal with all sorts of issues that might arise and you can vent your frustrations right here, where people who are going through the same thing can offer an empathetic ear and share ideas about how to get through whatever it is you’re facing.

But all the support in the world won’t help unless you’re willing to commit to yourself with the understanding that it will be difficult at times, but that the rewards will make it worthwhile. Here’s a commitment statement to help you gear up for the adventure…

I commit to putting myself first for 21 days. I can devote 5% of the year to me. I spend the other 95% worrying about someone or something else, skipping workouts to work late or drive the kids to soccer practice or music lessons, eating poorly when I’m crunched for time, and sacrificing my time for family or work time. But for the next 21 days I’m going to prove to myself that it doesn’t always have to be that way. For 21 days I’m not going to be pulled by my life – I’m going to set its course. And during that time I will allow myself to believe I deserve to come first, that I deserve to be healthy, that I deserve to feel great, that I deserve to look good, that I deserve the time it takes to care for me.

We're shifting our perspective – on food, and on ourselves - so it's a good time to look at self care differently. It’s not selfish to take care of ourselves; to the contrary, when we take care of ourselves, we’re better able to take care of the people and issues that need our attention. So for just 21 days, give yourself permission to see yourself differently – as the top priority in your life. You really do deserve it!