The inmate on Death Row is always offered anything he wants for his last meal. He never orders diet food. He never worries about cholesterol, fat, sugar or portion size. He eats whatever his fantasy will allow. He has one day to live. What does he care about health?

How often do you eat like the convict on Death Row? How often do you throw caution to the wind and stuff in whatever sits before you? How often do you forget the fact that 10 or 20 or 30 years from now, you will still be alive? 

Your life is going to continue, so it makes sense to stop Death Row dining. But how?

You must be willing to face your future and commit to caring for yourself. You must take your life seriously and realize that your future is based on what you choose now. You must realize that the time you have left is a gift–and an obligation.

Most important, you must decide to get off Death Row and begin to really care for your body and your future.

Here’s how to get off Death Row. I did it myself 12 years ago, and you can too. Decide for yourself that:

• I want to live as fully as possible in every moment I have left.
• I want to make a difference in the world. 
• I want to take myself and my gifts seriously. 
• I want to learn to care for myself in a new and mature way. 
• I want to look in the mirror and have real compassion for the person I am. 
• I want to develop habits and attitudes that are good for me, the quality of my life and all those I relate to.

Once you decide these things, you will naturally learn, as I did, to drop self-destructive habits and replace them with the life-supporting attitudes above. As you do, you’ll find that life is better and more fulfilling.  You will like yourself better.

And, as you might expect, you’ll eat better, with more consciousness, with more care. 

There is much to do in this amazing and mysterious world and you have time to explore it. Decide to get on with it. Your life is worth it!

[Ed. note: Dr Matthew Anderson is an author (The Prayer Diet), counselor (35 years) and national columnist/expert on weight loss, motivation, self-management and relationships. Find tough-minded, outside-the-box guidance for taking charge of your life and/or your weight including Eating to Kill, Wake-Up 101 and Weight Loss as a Spiritual Journey by clicking here.]

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