"I'll have what she's having"

Does anyone remember the TV advertisement which contained this slogan?

If my memory serves me correctly (which let's be honest after having Jim and Bob it probably doesn't) it was a Special K advert or similar. Well whatever the product was, I must admit that I find myself thinking and feeling this quite a bit lately.

I've found myself guilty of looking at weight loss gimmicks, advertisements, shakes, pills, potions and basically anything which I would ordinarily associate as a 'quick fix' and wishing I could indulge myself! Some days the actual work that is required to maintain my health and fitness just seems like a royal pain in the arse, and just once I wish a 'quick fix' could be the final answer!

Last week I found myself day-dreaming about a vast array of pills and potions all which promise to curb ones appetite, speed up your metabolism, melt kilos off your body; and if this wasn't good enough - increase your sex drive! Ding Ding Ding we have a winner!

Well despite the very appealing promises these magic pills claim to possess, I must admit when it comes down to it, they really aren't for me. Why? Well a few reasons really:

#1: To me they are like the easy way out. The shortcut in the road if you will. And yes, I could take a shortcut but then I know that I AM capable of working up a sweat myself (with the exception of the bedroom), I DO feel better after I exercise and make smarter choices regarding the food I put into my body, and I KNOW that at the very heart of the issue, it's not about weight loss but rather health, happiness and the example I am setting for my family; and,

#2: the second reason, and at times probably my saving grace, is that I am still breastfeeding Bob at least once a day. Heck, I'd be high as a kite off a codral these days let alone something called a hydroxy-something-or-other which states it contains 100 different sorts of ginseng, gurana and caffeine to boot!

I guess what I am getting at is that the choice to be healthy and change your lifestyle is constant. Somehow I had fooled myself into thinking that once I lost the desired weight I'd be able to settle back into my old ways again. Slothing it up on the couch, eating whatever I desired and only working up a sweat when slurping cocktails on tropical islands with the sun beaming down upon me (OK, that part is still a dream). What I hadn't seriously taken into consideration was the fact that for the rest of my life I would be working at this game called health. It's no longer about losing weight, now it's about keeping fit and living the fullest life I can. A healthy, active life.

To be completely honest some weeks the absolute last thing I feel like doing is exercise. Some days (like yesterday) I want to fall into a chocolate induced coma. Some times I want to be sloth like and lift nothing more than food to my mouth and the boys for a cuddle - But, those days are fleeting because the choice to live means the choice for health and the choice for health means moving more and eating less. What's your choice?