“When you feel and see the benefits of doing something good or of engaging in a productive activity, you don’t want to go back to the old way.” These are the exact words that I said to my uncle when he was in town recently to visit me and commented on how healthy I looked.

I’d changed my diets quite a bit after the arrival of warm weather in Toronto. Gone are the meat and fry based meals, in are the fruit and vegetable based ones. I used to have such a hard time consuming vegetables and fruits. It is said that maintenance of a good health is relied on consumption of five different types of fruits and vegetables per day. Due to my pure laziness and deliberate insensitivity to what’s the right thing to do for my body in the past, I never put enough effort into preparing my meals. All I wanted was to be full. I didn’t care what’s jammed into my stomach. My bad choices always made me feel lazier and more deprived of energy after a greasy period of twenty minutes.

A few months ago, I became aware of the benefits of eating kale. Having an understanding of all the benefits, which could be derived from consumption of this vegetable, I have since incorporated it into my daily diets. With the rise of temperature, I went one step further by ditching stir-fry for salad. I mix, in salad bowl, all cut pieces of my favorite fruits and vegetables, such as apple, orange, mango, and spinach, kale, along with some dried cranberries, dried almonds and wasabi peas for taste, topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil based dressing, all of a sudden, eating five different types of fruits and vegetables per day doesn’t sound that daunting anymore. Besides, I feel lighter in my body, fuller but not stuffy, and more energized.

Taking the first step to improve your life is easy. You just have to do it. Once you do it, you don’t want to return to the old way.