Running Withdrawal and The Power of 5

I'm having running withdrawal; a sure sign that I'm finally starting to feel better!  Therefore, I'm planning a run tomorrow, although I'm going to take it nice and slow since I'm still on the mend.  My poor running shoes are feeling neglected so it will be nice to pound the pavement for a bit on my lunch break.

Plus, a lunchtime run will give me the opportunity to try out the product I'd like to review, which means my first blog giveaway is just around the corner!

I've had a fairly good start to the week as far as tracking my food goes, although the results weren't pretty.  It's a huge step though that I've resumed using MyFitnessPal, so despite the fact that I went over on my calories both yesterday and today, I still count this as a victory.  Once I get back in the habit, I can worry more about caloric intake.

I was catching up on some e-mails last week and I came across an e-newsletter that spoke to me.  My mom attended a recent conference and when she got back, she introduced me to a motivational speaker named Dale Smith Thomas (http://www.winnersbychoice.com/).  Dale's message is to inspire others to chose success in all areas of their lives.  I came across one of her e-newsletters which had a blurb about the Power of 5:

"Here is a great idea for this week. Again, I read this in Jack Canfield’s book. Jack said he had a teacher that taught him the Power of 5. The teacher said this, “If you would go every day to a very large tree and take 5 swings at it with a very sharp ax, eventually NO MATTER how large the tree, it would have to come down.”  This principle is so very simple and so very true.  If you would do 5 things each day to improve your relationships, improve your business, improve your health or improve your attitude can you imagine how your life would change?"

What a great concept, which, of course, got me thinking about how to apply the Power of 5 to my weight loss goals.  Losing weight can be such a daunting experience and it feels unmanageable a fair share of the time.  If you think about it in the context of doing just 5 things each day, though, it seems so much more manageable! So, with that in mind, here are my five things for tomorrow. Nothing earth shattering, but rather 5 small things I can do to help me in the long run:

1. No soda! I've been woefully lax on this lately and I need to get through the day tomorrow sans Pepsi.
2. Go for a run.  It is time to get back on the saddle!
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of water, if not more.  
4. Go to bed early and be sure to get 8 hours of sleep.  
5. No candy! Normally, this is not a big deal for me, but the post-Halloween candy binges are a bit out of control.

What 5 things could you do tomorrow to help change your life?

I love the quote below and it speaks to the theme of the short story I submitted for the Miles of Motivation book.  

"When the body is strong and the mind is weak, the result is insubordination. Train your mind as well as your body."