So for December, I set myself the simplest goal I could: to exercise EVERY DAY.

I haven't missed a day yet, and I don't think I will.

It's so achievable, and so satisfying to achieve - just one goal! - that it's easy to make it a priority.

On Tuesday, I didn't really have time. I walked to the shops, but it sort of felt like cheating to count that, so I added to it by throwing in stomach crunches and planks while watching TV in the late evening.

Yesterday, I had cramps, and it's a pretty bad idea for me to do cardio when that's the case (I've come close to passing out before). But because I was committed to exercising every day, I cast around for things I could do, and ended up spending time on the bike at the gym. I never use the bike! It was perfectly manageable, and maybe didn't burn as many calories as running would have, but it sure as heck burnt more calories than staying in bed with my hot water bottle.

I need to fix my eating (ugh, December! ...and also my current mentality, okay), but I'm not beating myself up about it, because I'm not breaking a promise to myself by eating poorly. Rather, I'm saying things to myself like, "Now that I'm exercising every day, my weight would fall into line SO QUICKLY if I just ate better. Wouldn't that be a bonus?"

It's so much better to have a positive goal rather than a negative one. If you have a negative goal - even one like "eat in my calorie range", which implies "don't eat too much" - you can fail and not be able to take it back. Whereas exercise is something you can ACHIEVE - you never have to feel like you screwed it up, because the option's always there to still do it. I need to find eating goals like that. Like "eat 5 serves of fruit and veggies".

It's tempting to add that into my routine, but I'll wait till I've at least achieved two weeks of this streak.

And today I get to devote an hour to the gym. Woo!