Sometimes I am hit over the head with memories of my past lifestyle. I need these reminders to realize how far I’ve come and how it has all been a process that continually adds layers onto itself. There is no quick-fix or overnight change, just learning and practicing new habits until they become a way of life.

You know how stream-of-consciousness thoughts sometimes take over and before you know it you find yourself thinking about something totally unrelated and wonder how you got there? This happened to me last night as I was reading my son a bedtime story (ok, it was Busy, Busy Town by Richard Scarry, if you must know.) Anyway, in it there is the cutest picture of some mice driving a cheese car. As I pointed to the illustration and asked my 22 month old what that animal was, he said, “mooouse.” I love love love the way he says mouse- can’t do it justice in writing, but it is so cute. As I was pondering his pronunciation, and these cute cheese car driving creatures, I flashed back to the time I had a (not so cute) mouse infiltrate my first New York City apartment. I was traumatized.

There I was, laying on my bed and I saw this tiny shadow dart from my kitchen clear across the room until it reached the radiator. (Yes, I could see my kitchen from my bed- as well as the rest of the apartment- this is NYC, remember.) Anyway, I called my parents in sheer panic, and asked my dad, “Why do I have a mouse? There is no food in this apartment at all- in fact, all I have in my refrigerator is eyemasks and Evian!” My dad’s brilliant response? Well mice get thirsty- sometimes they come in for a sip of water.” He was totally serious.

At first I was laughing at the memories of my 20 year old self, and then I felt relieved that I have, over the years, learned the error of my ways. After all, there are at least 3 things wrong with my famous one-liner: “All I have in my refrigerator is eyemasks and Evian.”

1. I drank bottled water. Don’t we all know what Evian is spelled backwards? I lived in New York City where the tap water quality is the 2nd best in the country (second only to Hawaii, of course) and I hauled bottle after bottle of Naive water up my 5 flights of stairs. UUUgh! Oh well, this was ONE of my excuses for not needing to go to the gym. Weight training and stairmaster in one! Click here for more on bottled water.

2. Eyemasks for a 20 year old? Just how late was I staying out? How little sleep must a 20 year old get in order to need eye depuffing?

3. I didn’t cook for myself, at all, ever. Every meal I ate at home was delivered by the nearest Chinese, Italian, Mexican,,Japanese, etc. etc. restaurant, and I was proud of the fact that I used my oven for storage. But, let’s be honest- I rarely ate at home. Those mornings when I needed eyemasks were the direct result of a night on the town that started with dinner in a fabulous restaurant. And I usually ate nothing but 2 eggs on a roll with cheese and mayonnaise, or a cinnamon raisin bagel filled with cream cheese until those fab dinners. While these were both fine breakfast options if I had cooked them myself using pastured eggs and organic dairy, remember that I was ordering them from the nearest deli BEFORE trans fat-free NYC took effect.

Oh the follies of youth…
ANYONE who knew me during this stage of my life can tell you that if I can make lifestyle changes, anyone can. So in case you feel like healthy eating, losing weight, feeling better, learning to cook, raising happy healthy children are hopeless goals, you’re too far away from them and you have no idea where to start, i encourage you to take life one day at a time…and remember that it is all a work in progress. You can do it.