We live on a road that is narrow and winding, with no guardrails, and not a lot of room for error when you are driving. There is little to no space to go around something if something gets in your way. We share the road with turkeys, deer, elk, moose and bobcats. One summer a young moose trotted along in the road in front of me for a mile or more in no hurry, unafraid of me in my car behind him. Of course, I couldn't believe that I was driving behind a moose and unable to go around him. Every time I thought I would, the road would curve in such a way that it was too dangerous; and he seemed to know I was trying to go past him and would swerve out more in front of me. After I got over the fun of watching him, I was ready for him to move out of my way. He didn't, and I had to wait patiently for him to finally move off into the forest.

Roadblocks, by definition, are a barricade or obstruction across the road to prevent escape or passage by someone traveling along that road. Roadblocks come up all the time in our life, and sometimes we have to wait patiently behind them till they move out of the way, and other times we have to go around them or decide to travel a different road. In my profession of physical therapy, our patients encounter many roadblocks in their desire for wellness and a pain-free life. Some of the roadblocks might be things they can change, and others are just the genetic hand they have been dealt. When these blocks appear they have choices to make: do you plow right through them, negotiate around them, or wait for the body to heal and the roadblock to disappear?

As I have mentioned before with our quest for wellness, we often know what "we should" be doing, but it is the roadblocks of our choices that often get in our way. In our Look Better Naked program, we are learning how to identify our roadblocks to success as we attempt to make healthy lifestyle choices. The first way to do this is to write things down or use the app myfitnesspal.com with your health choices each day. You may not think this is important, but how you think and feel about these choices is just as important as the choices themselves. In order to make good new choices, they have to become second nature.

An example of this is in our exercise regime. We have a daily chart, and then we track the things you did physically in your routine each day. We have a flow sheet that lists the days of the week, and you put in the box how many minutes you did cardio, balance, stretching and strength training. Then you have a quick visual of what the patterns and trends of your habits are like on a weekly basis.

I could easily see with one participant that the weekends were better with their exercise, and the days of the week they traveled for work were the worst. So we decided this was a roadblock for them, and we had to figure out what to do to help them be successful. We came up with some in-hotel room ideas that would be a solution for them.

An occupational therapist named Melissa Bender has over 400 Youtube exercise videos online that are free, and no matter how many minutes you have, you will now never have an excuse. Her videos are set up in increments of five minutes to 30 minutes, etc., so regardless how much time, you have you can always squeeze in a quick workout. She does yoga, weight training, and more.

I often get asked how much should I be eating when I am trying to have a well-balanced meal. This portion control idea can be tricky and another roadblock to our success. Your hand is all you need to help you keep a good idea of your portions.

Your meat sources like chicken and fish should be the size and depth of the palm of your hand. Your vegetables, salad and fruit should be the length of your hand. Your legumes, whole grains, nuts, and bread are the size of the amount that fits in the palm of your cupped hand.

Identify the roadblocks to your success. Write them down and come up with your plan to maneuver through for your healthy lifestyle choices. Will you plow right through them, or will you have to be agile and move around them? Will you need help or a little extra jumpstart? If you need help, come see us, we are cheering for you.

Sheree DiBiase, PT, is the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy, and she and her staff can be reached in Coeur d'Alene at (208) 667-1988, and in the Spokane Valley at (509) 891-2623. In the month of February, if you would like to do the weight management part of our Look Better Naked program, there is a lab special for a full month of Jumpstart, which usually you only have for 15 days, for the same amount of money. Please call and speak with Valerie in our Coeur d'Alene office about how to order if you are interested in the shakes and supplements from the lab, or if you want to get a punch card for our exercise training. You can use your HSA and medical savings account to pay for the Look Better Naked program.