I couldn’t bring myself to post last week – I was too angry. I was following all of the rules and moving backwards, after only a few weeks, and I was too frustrated to talk about it. When this happened last time, as it always seems to, I gave up.

But I didn’t this time. Gaining weight while following the rules wasn’t going to break my stride, because I did something different this time. I didn’t play all of my cards at once.

Normally, I decide I’m going to give up everything that’s bad for me, start eating everything good, and work out every day – then I crash and burn. This time, I didn’t. This time I did one thing at a time. First: I could eat whatever I wanted as long as it fit in the points plan. That had me incorporating some small, healthier changes into my meals.

The setback was momentum to get me to the gym, adding one more thing. Which I hate, no question about it, but which I suffered through. And I’ll admit, seeing the numbers drop makes getting myself to keep going a little bit easier.

My big hangup, the thing I know I need to change (aside from my hatred of workout machines) is my overwhelming need for caffeine, which I get from lattes and Coke which are incredibly non-nutricious. I want to not need it. I have made it to that point before, but at the moment I’m am horribly dependent on it. And still permanently exhausted.

Yes, I would love 8 hours of sleep a night. But I’m already going to bed at 9:15pm. I just can’t go to sleep any earlier. I need more hours in my day than that!

I know before dawn on this Monday morning I can’t be the only person running on fumes. Where do you guys get your energy from? What have you found to get you through the day without setting back your day?