I don’t know about you, but I have to be completely committed to something or there is really no point in even taking the first steps.

I’ve tried bribing myself into exercising regularly, eating right and even blogging on a schedule. It just doesn’t work for me.

Only when I’m truly ready will I do what it takes to make things happen.

Yesterday, after chewing on the idea of eating healthier and getting back to exercising for a few months, it happened.

One minute I was teasing the idea around in my head for the umteenth time, and the next minute I was saying to myself “Just get serious and do it already.”

Not tomorrow.

Not after I eat up all of the unhealthy food in the house.

Not after my birthday dinner (which is tonight).

But right now.

And so I did.

I stopped what I was doing and checked out what was in my cabinets.  I had already gobbled up most of the remnants of the New Year’s eve party, so there really wasn’t much that needed to find a new home. I pulled out some cranberry goat cheese that I didn’t like enough to justify the calories and some crackers, and bagged them up to go to the office.

Then I opened up the fridge and put together a delicious meal of cottage cheese and fruit. I actually love cottage cheese, and probably could eat it almost every day. I guess it’s time to stock up.

Today I eased back into the exercising world. When I heard on twitter that it was 51 degrees…in January… I finished up what I was doing, put on the tennis shoes and headed out for a mid-day walk. Forty five minutes later, I was back at home, a bit sweaty and ready to get back to work.

The food part of getting healthy is going to be a lot easier for me than the exercise. I’m not a member of a gym right now and I really hate going to them, so I haven’t decided yet what I’ll do about that.

Share your tips on what has worked for you?

How do you get exercise without going to the gym?