Chad Mitchell from Florida

Being married with one child and one on the way, I tended to make a lot of food decisions based on convience. Just recently, I decided to make a decision not only for myself, but for my family. First, I made an appointment with my family physician to get a physical. Unfortunately, I was greeted with bad news. My weight to height ratio was borderline and worst of all my cholesterol levels were high. I never had a real eye on what was going into my mouth until that day. When my wife found out, she was nervous about my results too. Then we began to work together not only change my eating habits but to change our family's eating habits. The first thing that changed was my breakfast. Oatmeal, more oatmeal and even more oatmeal. I start every morning with a bowl of oatmeal. To add a little sweetness, my wife subtituted pure sugar with raisins, bluberries or bananas. Another change was my nighttime snacking. We rid the house of a lot of the junk food and replaced it with extra fruits and veggies. That way I could still snack occasionally, but I could more easily make healthier decisions. As far as my fitness goes, my wife makes sure to remind me that my gym bag is in my car before I leave for work. 90% of my problem was just getting to the gym. Now I have a consistent workout schedule which allows me to go 3 times a week.  In all I have learned a very valuable lesson. Sometimes in life you need to wake up and realize how your life impacts those around you too. When you do that, it makes every decision in your life that much more important. My decision to live a healthier life has been a great one. It has not only allowed me to bring my cholesterol level down and lose a few pounds, but it has given me more energy, a better attitude and more importantly a healthier family!