(This post is the first in a series of secrets to my sucess this week.)

My mom. I can, and do, call her at any time. Sometimes I’m calling to say how damn sick of eating healthy I am and all I want is a piece of pizza. Sometimes I’m calling her to say the last thing I want to do is do half an hour of cardio on a machine that’s going nowhere.

When I tell her I’m so sick of healthy eating, she reminds me “it’s just food.” Sounds obvious, but this has kept me on track more than once. I mean, really. How long will [insert fave treat here] really make you feel good for? When I tell her I don’t feel like doing cardio, she usually says (unironically) “well, then don’t. Do you really have to do it every day?” Which, strangely enough, usually makes me want to do it anyway. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s maybe a half hour out of my life. Sure, that half hour is a longer and harder half hour than the half hour I’m spending on my couch writing this, but it’s so much more worth it.

The best type of call with her though is the “Mom, I just lost another pound!” She gets even more excited than I do. It’s adorable. That she wants to take me shopping doesn’t hurt, either.