LIFESTYLE CHANGES FOR GOOD 

Cutting up fresh veggies was something I thought I would never do. I liked vegetables and I believed what they said about eating raw, but in a sack lunch? That wasn’t my idea of tasty or something that would keep me going for the second half of any workday. I scoffed at veggie trays and fruit bowls and had always opted for packaged treats, quick sugar, and mouth-watering saltiness. 

It was my last visit to the doctor that changed my whole outlook. “It’s up to you,” he told me. He looked into my eyes and I sank back into myself. I thought about the lie I had told the nurse.

“I exercise,” I nodded as if the words were not strong enough to stand on their own.

“How often?”

My mind raced. I didn’t expect to be questioned. Three days, four days? “Seven days a week,” I blurted. “I’m a jogger. I love to jog. And,” I continued, “I go to the gym.” I regretted the words the minute they left my tongue and danced, wobbling in the air between us.

The truth of the matter wa...