So I got up Sunday morning dug that sleepy crust from the inside corner of my eyes (don't say eww, you do it too) and began plotting out my healthy day. Yes on my days off work I plan my day in my head (on work days I prepare the day and sometimes the week before). 

I plan what I'm going to do, what I'm going to eat, what type of exercise I'm going to accomplish, when I will do laundry, clean the toilet, wash the dishes (Usually wash dishes before the toilet). And then I get up and start.

So the plan was get out of bed at 8 and eat breakfast. Answer my emails til 9. Hit the treadmill and swim a few laps by 12. Have lunch and shower by 1. head to Wal-Mart to stock up on lunch for the week and get a new body pillow (Oh please, you know you hug your pillow). Back to the apartment, put things away and start cleaning by 3. Done cleaning by 5. Go have dinner and a "light" beer with a friend. Home and chillin on the couch by 8. In bed by 9. Yes I know I need to find a church. Been here 5 months haven’t gone once. But I'm forgiven!

I stuck to every promise I made myself that morning and never deviated from the master plan. Yeah right! Wanna buy a bridge?

Now let's get real.

I got up and played on the computer while eating my oatmeal til 10, stumbled to the treadmill and did 30 minutes of HRZT, jumped in the pool to cool off, went back home and answered a couple emails, showered, went to Wal-Mart (stopped at backyard Burger for chicken sandwich that I ate in the car), went and picked up a friend (its now 2 by the way), we went to Booyas and had the most amazing disgusting nachos ever invented, washed those suckers down with 2 glasses of cold Dos Equis , went riding around with the top off the Jeep (let he who is without sin cast the first stone) (side note to self and other bald men, wear sunscreen when wearing a visor hat with the top down in the Jeep), walked through a partially built 250k dollar house and what must have been a half million dollar model home outside of C Ville, dropped friend off so she could get to her meeting, then proceeded home. Once home I had 2 more Heinekens, some pretzels and peanuts then made my way to the freezer where I found the Coup De Graz, ice cream and redi whip.

Why am I telling you this?

Because you should know that just like you, I'm only human..

We are not robots and the more we expect from ourselves the more disappointed we will be when we don't live up to our own standards.

If you love chocolate and you refuse yourself that treat, what do you think about all day? Umm chocolate!! Duh..

So do not set your standards so high or hold yourself more accountable than you would your best friend.

If your friend was craving pizza what would you tell them?

You'd say with great compassion, have some pizza today and get back to your routine tomorrow (Don’t even lie. You know you would).

You see the more we restrict what we crave the more we crave it. It's human nature.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to gorge yourself and give up working out. I'm simply giving you back the power you took away from yourself when you started this healthy way of life.

We can not take life so serious that we can't enjoy being alive. That defeats the purpose of being alive in such a magnificent world.

Yes despite the trouble "man" has created, this is a beautiful world we all live in together.

Give your friends great advice and be compassionate about their needs. Give a lot of hugs (I like to hug. Anyone notice?) and support them no matter what their decisions (provided they're legal and somewhat moral).

And NEVER hold yourself to a higher standard.

After all we're only human. Thank God...

Oh, P.S. Even when you eat perfectly you still need to add a few things to your nutritional plan. Get a good food source multi vitamin to add back in to your diet what has been stripped away by herbicides and pesticides and over planting under nutriated (I made that word up. Means less than optimal nutrients) soils. Go to www.LifeTimeFitness.com and give your precious body a healthy dose of what it really craves; Men Click Here! Women Click Here! Chose "Shop with a trainer" on the left and enter 84178 in the Team Member Code box. You will reveive a 10% discount just for reading my blog.

Thank you.

Yours in Health,

Lance Owens