PiYo Day 19: Rest (and a Mexican Chocolate Shake)

A few months ago, in the midst of the worst part of my back injury, I was searching for inspiration. I found quotes on Facebook and Pinterest, printed them out, and pinned them to my desk at work and my refrigerator at home.

The theme: Keep going. Don't quit. One of my favorites says, "It doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop."

I also came across a blog post on some business-centric blog: 19 hard things you have to do to be successful.

I loved this list so much that I printed out two copies at work; one for my desk and one for a communal area. The one for my desk ended up taped to the top; I literally do my work on top of this list every day. When I have a minute, I try to look it over, willing the words to absorb into my subconscious.

The second item - "You have to get up earlier than you want to get up" - is one that I've struggled with for years, long before I stumbled across this 19-point guide.

When I do discipline myself to get up early, I'm thoroughly unstoppable. I get so much more done. I feel organized, refreshed, and centered when I arrive for work. I'm more productive. I sleep better at night. I come home from a work day feeling like I've already accomplished enough; if I want to, I can just relax.

It's amazing.

And yet, day after day, I find myself hitting that snooze button. Getting up with barely enough time to fit in a workout, and sometimes without enough time, and the length of my workout is sacrificed.

What is this block? What in the world keeps me in bed when I know in my heart of hearts that I'll feel a million times better if I get up even just an hour earlier?

I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this; so I put it to you - those of you who do manage to get up early every morning:

HOW DO YOU DO IT??

This week's celebratory shake is one of my favorites; it's based on a Mexican hot chocolate - cinnamon and a touch of cayenne add a smokiness and little bit of heat that takes this shake to the next level. Plus, the spices are a great boost to your metabolism. Throw in a couple of wheatgrass cubes, and you've got yourself a veritable super-shake.

Mexican Chocolate Shake

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop chocolate Shakeology
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Scant ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper ("scant" means "barely")
½ tsp vanilla extract
Dash freshly ground nutmeg

1. Pour the almond milk into your blender cup. Add in the Shakeology powder, cinnamon, vanilla,
and cayenne.

2. Position the microplane (fancy spice grater) over the blender cup. Place the nutmeg seed over it, and as you make your first swipe against the grater, accidentally drop it into the cup.

3. Stand there for a second, mouth agape, because it's still early and you're still waking up so you have a hard time comprehending where the nutmeg went.

4. Dip your hand into the cup, extract the seed, rinse the cinnamon off of your hands, add in a little more cinnamon to the blender cup to make up for the cinnamon that was removed upon nutmeg seed extraction, and grate the nutmeg into the cup properly this time, you silly thing, you.

5. Blend everything together and enjoy.

Shake well.