Day 41:

Consistency is the buzzword in my life right now.

My mentors have always told me that consistency is key. Consistency in business, in personal relationships, in anything you want to do. Without consistency, you're just messing around.

I've been "messing around" with fitness since I was 13 and the racehorse metabolism of my childhood was shot by my sugar addiction. We all know people who are like I have been: on again, off again. Slim fast diet, apples diet, cabbage diet, "I'm so tired of dieting!" diet...we've run the gambit. Yet somehow, with all of that dieting, I still ended up carrying around an extra person in fat. Why? Because I wasn't consistent.

Have you ever put different types of gas in your car from one fill-up to the other? Maybe the pump for the one you normally get was broken so you got a different grade, or maybe you were low on gas and couldn't find your usual gas station in time.

My husband hasn't. Since the day he bought his car almost ten years ago, he's put in the exact same grade of gas from the exact same brand - every single time. He chose that grade and brand because he did his research and found out what was going to help that car function at optimal levels. That car runs like a dream! It's had only minimal repairs needed, like replacing the brakes and the o2 censor. I've never had a problem with the transmission, never heard it make weird noises, never had any of the "normal" car problems that you could expect from just about any other car. And that's given me an incredible sense of peace as I drive.

At least, until earlier this year.

You see, we had a roommate for a little while and she was borrowing our car while she lived here. Naturally, she didn't have the same commitment to brand and grade that my husband and I have. After all, we tend to forget the finer care details of the things we borrow from people. She put a different brand of gas, and probably a different grade, into the tank occasionally. When I started driving the car again after she moved out, it was strange. There was an odd sound in the engine, and the gas pedal wasn't nearly as responsive as it had been. The car wasn't driving like a dream anymore, it was driving like a 10-year-old car.

Our bodies are like cars in a few ways.

Just like my husband's Kia Spectra was designed to use regular grade gas and functions best when that gas comes from a certain brand, our bodies were designed to use specific types of fuel. We need that fuel consistently, and if we want optimal performance from our bodies we need to make sure we're not mucking up the fuel supply with things that just aren't good for us.

Just like a car, our bodies need to be put to work. What happens if you let a car sit for too long? It develops problems. The gas separates, the tires and brakes corrode, parts of the engine might even stop functioning. Let a car sit for too long and it's going to take a lot of money and a lot of time to fix the problems it will develop.

Let your body sit for too long and you'll find the same kinds of problems. Your heart weakens, your immune system weakens, your muscles atrophy. It's going to take some serious changes and maybe even some medical intervention to fix those things if you let your body sit around for too long.

Just like a car, there are things our bodies require on a regular basis to help keep us functioning optimally. At certain intervals, my car needs the oil changed, the various fluids replenished, and the tires replaced. My body needs me to make sure my workouts are always a challenge, to supplement my diet with vitamins and minerals that I wouldn't be able to get otherwise, and to make sure that I'm leaving enough time in my day to get the sleep it uses to recharge, repair, and reset for the next day.

It's all about consistency.

I had my husband drive the car to figure out if it needed to be brought to the shop, or if it just needed some personal TLC. He said that as long as we kept up with our habit of using the same gas from the same place, the car should fix itself in a month or so - once all of the old gas was out of the system and it had gotten used to the right gas again. He was right! Just three months after I heard that first disturbing noise, that car is already back to driving like a dream. You wouldn't even believe it was a decade old!

Once I applied consistency to my fitness habits, things started getting a lot better. My body is used to actually having all of the nutrition, sleep, and exercise it needs now, and it's starting to get back to working the way it's supposed to. I'm still not optimal - I've still got that extra person to get rid of - but my system is functioning better than it has in a long time. I'm feeling amazing, physically and emotionally.

And I know that as long as I stay consistent - keep working out every day, keep putting positive into my brain and good fuel into my body - I'm only going to get better and better. My body is already showing the signs of improvement - I can't seem to keep my yoga pants up on my waist, for example!

Where will consistency help in your life? I can guarantee it, if you add consistency to anything great that you're trying to do, you'll be amazed by the results. It may not be easy, but it's definitely worth it!