Have You Figured It Out Yet?

Aargh! What's wrong with me? Why can't I be like the rabbit that keeps going 'til I reach MY happy place? Wait! What? You too? I do well for a week with exercising, and then BOOM! Plantar Fasciitis! No problem! Google floor exercises! But, this is not how I pictured it!

Trying again ... *thinking about piano practice* ... I'm exercising when I should be practicing scales! *leg raises* ... 1-2-3-4 ... I have to do laundry *plank* ... I lost weight before. I can do it again. *ab work* ... I got this!

Here comes Procrastination with a clipboard of reasons. "Today is your day off. Just relax. Exercise later." Then Later shows up sooner than expected and doesn't want to be exercised. Get it? Never mind. Bad joke.

Common knowledge: We know to exercise and to eat well works in our favor, but what is the combination to unlock the Olympian in us?

*silent scream*

I mean, how many times do we talk about our routines with co-workers, friends, family--even ear-hustle strangers while riding the train to work--and find we have the same mission in common?

Trying to figure out the combination to that padlock on our motivation!

Those who found their combination, won't tell you their secret. You know it's true. What did, "I just found a routine and stuck to it" do for you?

I'll wait…

… nothing, right? But, even knowing the fact that what works for someone else to lose weight might not work for us, doesn’t stop us from trying one diet after another. What is the strangest diet you’ve ever tried?

Too odd to share? For me, I tried drinking water before each meal. Strange, I know, but my intent was to feel full. Feel full, so I wouldn’t snack. This worked for a while. If I did snack, I ate an apple with a fistful of dry roasted peanuts and sipped water. Yes. Sipped water. Had to make snack time elegant.

I fought the urge to break out the caramel and chef a gourmet taffy-apple without the stick. All I had to do was cut the apple into pieces, place them in a bowl, with the peanuts and drench—okay, not drench—but pour caramel enough to cover. No. I wouldn’t chop the peanuts.

Spontaneity was already wasted dicing the apples.

See how easy that was to do? Not the apple dessert; that other dessert. The one that makes you leave the path leading to your happy place, only to begin again starting over to lose weight. I digress.

But that’s how it happens. What I should have done was ignore Procrastination telling me it was okay to treat myself; that I could do a comp-workout to make up for opting out on eating clean.

I had a month to lose at least 8 to 10 pounds before my next doctor’s visit. That was easy enough. Experts say aim to lose 1 or 2 pounds per week. I thought, Done! It was half-done. I only lost 4 pounds by the time I had to go back to the clinic.

• Sleep at least 6 to 8 hours(unless I work Insomnia 3rd shift)
• Set a schedule(switch up exercises to keep me interested)
• Eat fruits and vegetables(more than processed foods)
• Drink half my body weight in water(I do. I'm not telling how much.)
• Stress less(deep breathing to instrumental music is my favorite)

Anyway, excuse me. Gotta go work on the padlock combination until I hear that "click."