"It's Not Easy Not Easy Being Green" - Kermit the Frog

It's time to get serious about my health. I'm giving myself 9 weeks to lose 30 pounds. That's 3 pounds per week.   The experts say that 1-2 pounds per week is more realistic, but I'm figuring that if I work extra workouts in, I can at least come close.  Experts also say that the key to weight loss is 10% genetics, 10% exercise, and 80% diet. I have the motivation to do this. I'm not getting any younger or thinner.

As I'm writing out my grocery list, I'm keeping in mind of which things I need to buy organic, what is local and in season, which animals have been treated humanely and what is chemical free. Then I start to obsess.

I've always considered myself "environmentally conscientious." My family has always recycled and conserved water. I've been using canvas bags since 1984. But being "green" is about so much more these days. It's buying organic and local, eating clean, calculating your carbon footprint, supporting the local merchants and using sustainable materials. We are encouraged to boycott greedy corporations with unfair labor practices, protest against bad political policies, support our troops, and support our local girl scouts (part of the reason I need to drop 30 pounds). Save the dolphins, worry about global warming, leave as little impact on the Earth as possible.

There is a lot that goes into being "environmentally conscientious" these days. Can I really do it all?  If you've seen the documentary "No Impact Man," you know that yes, you can, but it's not always easy or comfortable and definitely not convenient.

We'd like to say that we can do it all, but can we really? And, do we really want to?  It's got to be about balance. About doing what is realistic in our lives at the time. I was taught that if 100 people recycle one can per day every day of the year, that's 36,500 cans recycled per year. That  I can make a difference even with the smallest change.

So, I need to practice making small changes over time, and to know that with each change, I reduce my impact on the earth. 

I need to apply this to my personal life and  stop being obsessed with wanting it all to happen immediately. To know that with every small change, I grow just a little stronger in body, mind and spirit.