The day I turned forty, my older sister called. “Forty is okay,” she reassured me. “It’s a couple years from now that the body really starts to slide downhill.”

And she was right. Within a couple of years, I couldn’t read the road signs quite as easily, especially at night. The arches of my feet started to ache if I didn’t wear shoes with good support. And my clothes seemed to shrink all at once—or was that my waistline growing?

A new prescription for my glasses and a pair of good insoles took care of the first two problems, but what about the extra inches? One of the perks of my new teaching job at an independent boarding school was free food for my entire family: three meals a day, seven days a week. And this was no ordinary cafeteria—we had a wealthy international boarding population among our students, and they expected the best. I began to understand why my petite friend Cindy gained 7 pounds every time she went on a cruise!

One October morning, I headed to the school gym before morning chapel and eased into the pool. The water was cold—no wimpy swimmers in northern New England. After I swam a few laps, my eyes started to sting—I had forgotten that my eyes are unusually sensitive to pool water. And that’s when Mr. Golden, the boisterous, lovable art teacher, paddled over to my lane. 

“Come back tomorrow,” Mr. Golden said. “My ears are ba ipt type="text/javascript" src="/siteadmin/includes/javascript/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js"> // --> d—I can’t go under water anymore—I’ve got a great pair of goggles you can use.”

Reluctantly I came back the next day. And the next. And the next. 

I started eating a healthy breakfast and less at lunch and dinner. After New Year’s, I gave up chocolate, except on Sundays. I started gravitating toward the salad bar instead of the dessert line. When the days grew warmer, I went on long walks while the kids finished their after-school activities. 

By the time summer vacation arrived, my new eating and exercise habits were well established—and the extra inches around my middle had disappeared. 

Suddenly, my forties didn’t look so bad.

The basic principles of nutrition and health are a lot like the principles behind green living: Just as we need to be good stewards of the physical body God gave us, we need to take care of the physical planet that sustains all life. Both require some measure of discipline. Both result in major improvements when small changes are made over a period of time. And both bring joy—to us and our Creator.

At first, some eco-friendly changes seem about as inviting as a cold pool on a New England winter morning. But if you persist, making small changes over the course of a year or more, you will find yourself living in a healthier, more joy-filled home with less baggage weighing you down and more time for family, friends, and God.

Nancy Sleeth serves as Blessed Earth's Program Director and resides with her husband, Matthew, in Wilmore, KY.