Guest Blog! Making the Right Choice

Hey everyone!  Sorry again for the absence from the virtual world, but this moving across the globe thing is insane!  I'm finally here though so I should be able to start getting more stuff posted on here again pretty soon.  But in the mean time, my sister asked if she could share her story with you as well, along with some advice about how she makes the right choices in one of the most difficult environments ever: college.  So here she is!

****************************************************************

Hello there! This is not Becky, but rather her radiant, gorgeous, and charming youngest sister Julie! I’m honored to make such a guest appearance on Becky’s blog while she is busy moving her soul overseas. I thank you ever so graciously in advance for taking the time to read my jabber.
My story is very similar to Becky’s, yet different in that I am seven years younger than her. I started putting on the pounds near the end of my grade school years and into high school. Probably because I wasn’t active enough and didn’t eat very healthy, especially during the time when my body was going through those evil changes that it likes to do. Mind you, I wasn’t really overweight, but my weight didn’t fit my figure. I was constantly uncomfortable and self-conscious. It got to a point where I hated shopping (I know right??).
Weeeeeellll, I’ll spare you the details because they’re not that exciting, but it was probably the sibling rivalry that got me motivated to start running. That, and weight loss. Our sister Emily was the crazy runner in the family, and Becky had started too, and I wanted to be like them (you two should be flattered that I’m actually saying that). So, in time, I grew to like running. Hooray! That was about a year and a half, maybe twoish years ago. I have since completed two half-marathons, joined the track team during my first year of college, and have motivated one of my coworkers to lose weight to join the National Guard!
So here’s what I’m gonna talk about today: Making The Right Choice! It’s so easy yet such a pain in the rear end. As a college student, healthy choices are tough; one of the main reasons its tough is because you’re the one making the decision, not mom. If I wanted to, I could have a double cheeseburger, fries, and a soda for every meal of the day. I could have a pudding cup and smoothie as a snack. I could get pretzels from the vending machines for late night study fuel. But just because those options are available, that doesn’t mean you have to take them! That’s the magical part about being independent: you have the opportunity to make unhealthy choices, BUT YOU CAN ALSO MAKE THE RIGHT ONE! Yay! I had a lot of wraps and salads at school. My roommate and I bought Naked juices a couple times a week, and I used my card money to stock up on Clif bars that were available (my ideal pre-race food). Yum! And it’s like Becky says: It’s okay to have the cheeseburger once in a while, or a smoothie or whatnot. I just has to be done in moderation!
Now, I don’t know what kind of audience Becky has reading this thing, but chances are, you’re not all college students and you don’t think this relates to you. Guess what folks! IT DOES! Even if you’re old like Becky, you’re still faced with tons of choices every day. At the company picnic, at a restaurant on a date or with the fam, even just grocery shopping! Just because certain choices are available (like that bag of potato chips) doesn’t mean you have to take them (it’s SO much easier saying ‘no’ to chips in the aisle than in your kitchen). Instead of using the money you would have used to buy icky fried, sugary, or salty whatnots, spend it on more natural and organic foods (they taste good, too!) Look at a restaurant’s menu online before you go – a lot of them have the nutrition facts on the website.
So what I’m trying to say is, just make the right choice. Please. Thanks for reading. Now I’m going to make a sandwich because I’ve been depriving myself of lunch until I got this thing written. K bye!