Ugh, do I have to?

No, you WANT to! Whether you know it or not. I promise.

I am, at this very moment, having one of those mornings where it seems like the energy to even run for 5 minutes on my elliptical is just not in me. I cleaned all day after a long work out yesterday, and then I worked crazy busy shift at the restaurant as a call in and didn't get out until 1am. Suffice it to say, I'm exhausted.

It's just one of those mornings. I don't want to get on the elliptical. I can barely sit up in bed enough to type this. I just want to lay here as long as I can before my day starts.

But I will get up, and I will start running. And you can too.

Why? Because I know that the second my body starts feeling the adrenaline rush of movement, I will stop feeling tired. I will stop feeling like I got my butt kicked, physically, at work last night and start feeling like today truly is a new day. Once you just get the strength to get up and start your exercise for the day, the energy comes to you and you're revived for the rest of what would have been a very sluggish Sunday. After a quick morning workout to burn the fatigue, you'll have plenty of energy to play with your kids, get some housework done, or be a happy, smiling employee at work.

Okay, not all of you are buying this. That's okay. It's also PERFECTLY FINE to have a lazy day, especially when you really need one. When I need these days, I focus on diet more than exercise to make up the difference.

Losing weight really is a math equation: The calories we take in must be less than the calories we burn in order to lose weight. Now, you don't have to tally up every calorie you eat and every calorie you burn (although for the meticulous dieter, this isn't a bad idea to keep good track of yourself). But on these wonderfully lazy days, where you give in to the urge to stay in bed and forgo the morning workout, or days where you enjoy the feel of the couch cushions underneath your back instead of the bicycle pedals beneath your feet, watching what you eat a little more carefully is imperative.

The number one rule of a lazy day: you're splurging with your body, so don't splurge with your mouth. You're not burning as many calories today as you normally would when you have a fitness routine, so you don't have as big of a buffer when it comes to what you're eating. Be good to your body by letting it rest, but don't put junk in it or it defeats the purpose. Avoid the junk food and keep portions reasonable and you should be fine. The worst thing you can do when you miss your daily fitness fix is to make it up with potato chips and soda. That essentially makes you miss today's workout and negates yesterdays.

(In my next blog, I'm going to post a few simple rules for dropping 500 calories a day without even thinking about it.) Going to write it now. Ready, set, go veg on the couch if you need to!