Dear Body,

Hi there, it's me, your landlord.  It's a beautiful day, and in a few minutes I'm going to take you and Olive for a walk.  The temperature has finally cooled off some, so I say we take advantage of it before the intense heat of summer pummels us once again.

You have undoubtedly noticed (I definitely have), I've been neglecting you lately. There's nothing to say other than, I'm sorry. I really am. I was off to a great start at the turn of the New Year, and together we worked to shed an impressive 17 lbs. It appears that during the month of April things went a little haywire, and thus slacking ensued. I've written about this kind of laziness before, I've tortured myself about it in the past, but body - I'm refusing to do that anymore. I've acknowledged my slip-up, my relapse, and I'm moving on, getting back on track. What's going to be tough is in the coming weeks there are so many end-of-the-school-year type of functions that revolve around food. And let's be honest, the food isn't going to be super healthy.

This, body, I pledge to you: I am going to hold myself accountable for what I eat. There may be times when I eat less than healthy selections, but I will keep watch over my portion control. I refuse to throw away the hard work accomplished earlier in the year just because of a two-month relapse. And since we're being honest, let's just put it out there - I've gained back 7 lbs. While that's really hard to write, this is about full disclosure and there's no need to sugar coat anything at this point. Pun intended.

Body, you've been pretty damn good to me these last 32 - almost 33! - years. And in the coming year(s), I'm going to need you to do the most magnificent thing of all - create life. If I'm going to ask you to participate in life's biggest magic trick, then I surely need to step it up.

I'm still here, motivated as ever - I just got a little lost.
Anger and resentment are not healthy, so I'm going to forgive myself for my food indiscretions.
I hope you can do so too.

love,
me.