Often, when a person makes the decision to change their diet, they get very excited and begin to plan when they are going to start.

More often than not this is a point in the near future. But not too near. They want to make sure the pantry's contents, refreshed by that last run to the grocery store, won't go to waste. There's a birthday party in a couple of weeks and, rather than cheat (or face the concept of not cheating), they'll just wait until after that to begin. They just ordered a cookbook and are waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Summer's just about over and the kids will be going back to school and then sanity will return so they can properly focus. They have a business dinner every Tuesday and don't want to skip the cocktail hour. It's almost New Years and this will be their resolution.

My advice to these people, and to everyone, is: Don't put off anything.

Don't wait for Monday.

Don't wait for the week after.

Don't wait until the holidays are over, or that next birthday party has passed, or for your kids to go back to school.

Don't wait until you've eaten up all the carbage that you just bought at the store.

Resolve to make the change and make the change now. Reclaim your health, on your own terms, and make yourself the priority.

There will always be an excuse to put off your first day of a new diet. If you wait for the perfect situation, you will be waiting forever. This journey won't always be easy, but the rewards are worth it.

Don't make excuses, make the change, and start feeling the benefits right away. Practice building up your resolve to stick with it. That won't come by waiting for life to cut you a break. It comes, as in strength training, from consistent effort over time.

This is the rest of your life.

Don't worry about 40 bucks worth of whole-grain cereal in your closet, or sugar-laden ice cream in your freezer. Don't worry about what friends or peers will think when you don't want fries at the restaurant.

When you realize how good you will feel eating this way and following this lifestyle, you'll wish you'd thrown it all out sooner.

P.S.: Don't forget to take some clear starting-point photos – family-friendly, mind you, wearing slim-fitting exercise clothes. You are going to want to show everyone your progress and, when you are searching through grainy or low-res Facebook photos for the 'before' shot, you'll wish you hadn't avoided the camera!