YUM! So I have just cooked up a ton for the week....baked Cod, veggies (eggplant, leek, onion, peppers, zucchini, garlic, parsley, basil, mushrooms, green beans), marinated chicken breast is ready for the grill in a couple hours, honey wheat bread is in the bread machine, and later I'll whip up a phenomenal batch of healthy trail mix (updated version of Chex mix.)

I discovered a long time ago that our choices in life are just that, OUR choices. I chose to eat whatever I wanted, therefore I was FAT. A couple of times I tried the “low-carb” diet with minimal exercise....again I was still FAT! Giving birth to 2 beautiful children...yup, I was still FAT. (I hung onto the idea of “post pregnancy weight” for 14 years....yeah RIGHT!)

One of my favorite spiritual and inspirational speakers is Matthew Kelly. One of his many phrases is “Our lives change when our habits change.” His smooth and buttery Australian voice is what I listen to when I run on the treadmill at home. He is motivated from within by his faith in Christianity and comes at you with mega-doses of reality.

Depending on what I need to hear, I turn to the appropriate on the chapter on the audio book I have on my iPod. His books have inspired me to become “a better version of myself”, another of his phrases.

So what am I getting at?

CHOICES.

We have choices.

Each and every day we are given the same 24 hours. What we choose to do with those 24 hours is up to us. When we are dealt a rotten hand, we have to choose how we will play those cards. Ultimately it builds our moral integrity and character or it smashes it down.

It all depends on the choices.

I have managed to pull my family out of possible financial ruin by engaging in disciplinary habits that go in reverse of what our spending habits were. I have “sucked it up and dealt with it.” NO whining here!

Our lives change when our habits change.

Identifying those habits that make us a lesser version of ourselves and then DOING SOMETHING to change those habits and staying committed through the difficult moments, builds courage. And having courage is incredibly empowering.

Being a high school teacher, I lead by example. I have 100 or so precious lives in my hands every day. I can choose to raise them up or degrade them. I can empower them to see the potential each and every one of them possesses or I can eat them into the ground with negativity.

Many of these kids live a truly sad reality at home. My classroom is sometimes the only beacon of hope in their daily lives. I choose to be the proverbial warm embrace they need to just survive their own 24 hours.

So maybe it’s a smile. Maybe it’s just a pat on the back. Or it’s simply helping a kid clean up because she was so engrossed in her painting that she lost track of time and will be late for her next class if I don’t help.

Slowly my ability to lead by example has spilled over into my fitness life. When I turned 40 in April 2008, I was a rather overweight (175#) woman. I thought I was in “OK” shape. One of my students showed me a picture she had taken last June....oh my....NO I was no way near “in shape”! I was always tired, always grouchy, sluggish, unmotivated.

So what motivated me? First and foremost was my faith. Slowing down and listening to what God has in store for me each day has been life-changing. Each day I find 10 minutes and just ask God to put me where he needs me today. Then I shut up and listen. Silence clears all the fog and allows me to receive my “mission” for the day!

Second it was coming to the realization that I am a role model to my own children. How do I expect them to eat properly and exercise if I don’t practice what I preach! I am also a role model to those around me. When you are happy, positive, upbeat, others want to be around you which is the opposite of what happens when you are a grouchy curmudgeon!

Third it was seeing the effects of poor nutrition and health choices. I witnessed loved ones being diagnosed with illnesses being brought on by poor choices. I watched what happened to loved ones who chose a sedentary lifestyle. I felt the effects in my body of my own poor choices.

Since turning 40 I adopted a whole new way of living. I follow a clean eating regimen every day. I workout at the gym 6 days a week. The effects of my working out and clean eating are visually evident. I decided that in January 2009, after dropping 30 pounds, I would take my healthy journey up a slightly higher mountain. I joined a fitness team, Cathy Savage Fitness (www.cathysavagefitness.com) and began to train for fitness and figure competitions. For my first show in May 2009 I placed 4th in the 40+ division! I am currently training for my next show which will be in October 2009 and at 5 feet 6 inches, weigh a very healthy, muscular 132 pounds.

I practice the philosophy of “doing unto others as you would have done unto you.” Giving of my time, talent and treasure. This has had a profound effect on my inner being. I have discovered an inner peace that allows me to be the best version of myself.

I have had many people from all areas of my life ask me to help them. We live in a society which preaches a self-centered philosophy of living with a rejection of what all of us really need in order to find that inner peace: spiritual guidance, motivation and discipline. This website is set-up to help you on the path you have chosen to become healthier and happier. The information contained within this site is how I did it. It has been developed through a lot of trial and error from my own choices. It is not meant to be an exact script as to how you should go about making changes in your life. It is my hope that you might find one small portion that might help you. If it is more than a small portion that is also OK!

You can do this!

You have the power to make changes in your life!

So slow down and take one step at a time. Find one thing you want to change in your life and focus on that for 21 days. Yup, 21 days. The first few days are tough. But once you get in the groove, you’ll find it easier to stay on track.