You're cold. It's gloomy and unwelcoming outside, and chips taste really fantastic while watching Oprah, but there is more to life than this. I know from personal

experience.

I know that enough evil magazines with anorexic models and obnoxious workout plans have disillusioned you to think that Oprah and chips are your only refuge, but they are not.

Motivation is hard to come by. We, as midwesterners, can think of a million excuses why not to be healthy and fit during the winter.

• The roads are bad during snow storms.

• Thick sweaters make everyone look thin.

• The Hollywood thin look is not "in" over in this nook of the United States.

• Beer and chips taste good together.

As many times as I tell myself why I don't have to be healthy, the more I realize that I am a good liar. Maybe I am just in a winter slump, or what if this is it for me and I'll never change for the better?

The problem is I haven't given up on myself. If I allow this to be a "winter slump," then the slippery slope might get too slippery. Therefore, my excuses stop today.

Today is the day I will no longer be a victim of my own excuses. No longer will I lie in bed after work, nor will I decide to skip the workout because I want a cheeseburger. I won't feel bad that I'm not rail thin and I won't allow that to discourage me.

Perhaps tomorrow I will be weak and not workout. Maybe I will end up in my bed again, being depressed about winter. If it happens, I will chalk it up as one bad day and work harder the next day.

If I set the goal to workout to feel healthy, then there is no reason to beat myself up about one bad day. Today, my goal will be a truly formidable one of being healthy, instead of wanting superficial thinness.

It takes a little motivation and a whole lot of dedication to your goals to do anything in life. Perhaps you have had a travesty with a bag of chips, with the bag clean after you licked it, but I'm here to say it happens to everyone.

When I am cold and unhappy — on the days that I actually get myself to the gym — I think of it as just one of my many successes in life. By feeling good about such a small feat, it motivates me to work that extra bit harder in other parts of my life. This is my motivation.

Make a schedule each day with the time you are going to work out. Even if you don't want to work out, go all the way to the gym anyway. If then, you still don't want to do it, then let yourself go home. Although, nine out of 10 times you'll end up finding your inspiration at the steps of a healthier and stronger future.