Are You a Good Caretaker for Yourself?

Lately I've been going through my book Stop Overeating Today! and editing it to make small improvements and changes for a second edition. It's nice to read it with new eyes. After working on it for about a year and a half, I needed to put it down for a few months and then reapproach it from a fresh perspective. As I've done so, my a-ha! moment has been this: Everyone is a caretaker for their own body. Now, here's the question that I will put out there in the second edition: Are you a good caretaker for yourself? If you're not sure how to answer that question, think of it a different way. If someone you loved dearly needed a caretaker, would you find yourself qualified to fulfill that role based on your success with taking care of yourself?

This is definitely a rhetorical question to think about. Do you spend too much time working and not enough time planning healthy meals and exercising? If you're too busy to exercise, think again. Are you too busy to get life insurance? Probably not, you probably consider that a necessity and a wise investment. Exercise and eating healthy are also a wise investment and the best life insurance you've got.

I'm not trying to bring on the guilt trip. For me at least, guilt isn't very motivating. People can talk about gloom and doom all day and it won't keep me eating healthy and exercising in the long term.

My purpose is to activate people to take one simple step in the direction of taking better care of themselves. What will it be for you? I want to buy more fresh and vitamin-rich foods. I've added these foods to my grocery list for this week: asparagus, figs, salmon, eggs, brown rice, turkey, and almonds. I usually shop at Trader Joe's (love that store!), but this week I am going to go to Henry's where I can get a better selection and a better price on produce.

So, what's your simple step in the direction of taking better care of yourself? Getting in at least eight ounces of water daily? Taking a 15 minute walk daily? Having a smaller portion of ice cream? Leave a comment and let me know!

For more information about the book Stop Overeating Today! and to read three sample chapters, please visit http://www.stopovereatingtips.com