Everyone has his or her own super power. You may not know it, but it's there. It can change, of course. For example, I've always been a great "tanner". I just don't burn and turn a nice brown when I'm in the sun. Of course, this super power ultimately failed me because although I don't burn my skin still shows the wear and tear of decades of silly sun time. So that super power has now been tucked back in the closet with shoulder padded clothes from the '80's. OK, I dumped those clothes but you get the idea.

Today my super power would be "likes to exercise." What an advantage over so many of my friends! Many people don't like to exercise and that's the first thing to go when it's crunch-time and responsibilities pile up. But that's when my super power reveals itself. I have a colleague who used to say about me, "I can always tell when the day gets stressful. That's when Karen disappears and heads to the gym." She was right. 30 minutes of "something" makes all the difference when things are crazy. That investment of 30 minutes would help me come back ready to GO! A brisk 20 minute walk made me formidable!

I learned pretty early that exercise worked wonders for me. Say when I had a nasty breakup with a guy. Instead of going crazy when those heart-achy feelings were beginning to overwhelm me (or God forbid, when I was about to make a crazy phone call I'd immediately regret) I'd call on my super power and hop on my bike and ride for an hour. Or go for a short run. I always found that I felt better when my workout was over. And my super power had saved me again. I'd tell my friends about this wonder power I had uncovered but no one else jumped aboard.

Basically, I like to move. Oh sure. There are times when I get in a slump and don't call on my super power. But I always come back to it and know when it's time to use it for good, not evil! And I feel so much better, so much stronger, so much healthier after putting in 30-90 minutes doing something I enjoy. Right now that's walking (had to say goodbye to running a few years ago), riding my bike and yoga. I need to add a weight component but so far my super power trifecta is walk, bike, yoga.

So that's my super power. And it's helping. If I were relying on being hyper vigiliant on the food side of things here, I'd be in trouble. But my enjoyment of movement is just what I need to give me a fighting chance. It keeps my spirit up. I try to keep my daily calorie deficit at -500 (in Spark reports). If I do that I'm successful (losing about 1 pound weekly). This past week I averaged at 455 and sure enough - I lost about a half pound. Today I'm taking advantage of a slow Sunday with not much on my agenda and I've ridden my bike a little more than an hour and will just go out for my final walk of the day (I take my dog out twice most days). My food will be a little loose as I'm going to dinner with friends this evening. So I knew to call on my super power.

If it's not a power of yours, all I can say is try it. Super Man/Woman will have nothing on you!