I’ve made the promise before and even have taken a stab or two at keeping it, but this is going to be the year. I committed to lose that extra weight.  It’s not healthy to be overweight and if I keep going down this path I won’t be able to do many of the things that I want and need to do.

Friends have encouraged me and said they will do what they can to help. Family members said I needed to do more; not just lose weight, but exercise and get in shape, improve my strength and flexibility. That all sounds good, but I know it is going to be hard enough to just lose weight. I have to keep my eye on the prize.

I had a plan. People said I didn’t have a plan. But I had a plan. I Googled “songs for aerobics,” downloaded them to my iPod and played them really loud. I watched exercise videos. There’s nothing quite like an evening on the couch in front of the TV watching Power 90 workout videos with a bowl of hot buttered popcorn or a big dish of ice cream.

And now, here we are. The end of the year is coming up and it’s time to try another tack. My plan hasn’t worked.  Truth is, along about February I forgot I’d made a plan – except for the popcorn and ice cream part.

So first thing tomorrow morning I’m going to go into the spare room where we keep the elliptical machine thing and get serious. I’ll put on my sweatpants and a sweatshirt and turn up the thermostat as high as it will go. Sure that will jack up the gas bill, but desperate times call for desperate measures. As soon as I figure out how to turn it on, I’m going to get on the elliptical thing and go as fast as I can, non-stop, day and night until New Year’s Eve. No food, no water, no rest.

It’s a commitment I made and I’m going to keep it.

This is what I have to do. I’ve reached the physical cliff.

Then New Year’s Day, it’s back to the couch.  Let’s be real.