It’s 3:17 a.m. and I’m wide awake.  I wish I could say this was unusual, but for the last several years, I’ve had the worst trouble sleeping. Not going to sleep … I have no trouble falling asleep. But staying asleep is another matter. For some reason I’ve been waking up between 3 and 4 a.m., like clockwork, and I just can’t go back to sleep. It’s so frustrating and nothing seems to help.

I know I can’t be alone in this, and when I mentioned it to Mandy, she pointed me to her friend, Amber Landsman — a holistic lifestyle coach, wellness consultant and “body hacker” who has done a lot of work in the area of sleep. Amber shared with me some great tips … and as I usually do, I thought of PLANK. I figured if her suggestions were of interest to me, they’d probably be helpful to some of you too. 

I know you all must be tired of this topic … and I’m probably beating a really dead horse, but I just can’t seem to help myself. The health and weight loss battle has been a practically life-long struggle for me, and I’m sure many of you too. And maybe that’s why I keep coming back to it – it’s important to me and it also seems to resonate with so many of you. 

My goal in all of this isn’t to tell you what you should do, but rather inspire you to commit to doing SOMETHING. To finding your own path and whatever works best for you.

Many years ago, I was waiting to get my hair cut and looking through Good Housekeeping magazine when I came across an article on skin cancer. I didn’t really think at the time it would have anything to do with me, but I had time to kill waiting for my appointment, so I read it.

I grew up on the beaches of Southern California before sun block was a given, and looking at the pictures they showed in the article, I thought “hey, I think I might have one of these pre-skin caners they’re talking about.”

So I made an appointment with a recommended dermatologist. She put a magnifying glasses on my face and marked the spots on my forehead and lip that she thought were of concern. Then, she gave me a type of Chemotheropy cream and told me to use it for a month and then switch to Aquaphor healing ointment.  Magic!

Funny things have come from writing this blog … observations. Little things here or there that spark an idea and I think “I need to tuck that away” for future topics. Obviously writing them down would be helpful and probably more productive, but nevertheless, some things keep reappearing in my conscience, and I know it’s something I should talk about. This week, that’s balance … the physical kind. 

As those of you who read PLANK know, I, probably like most of you, wave in and out of my commitment to health and fitness. But, as I get older, I see all around me how important it is. Even though I lose my way sometimes, I always manage to find my way back. Now in my 50s (best decade so far!), I find that everything goes to crap pretty fast. But, if I commit to eating right and, more importantly, EXERCISING as many days a week as I can, I can pull it back from the edge.