How much effort is your favorite food worth?  How much would you pay? How far would you travel?

How much effort is too much to deter you from your lifestyle related goals?  Will traffic prevent you from going to the gym? What about hard to make class times?  Parking? Getting off of the couch to change your clothes?

How can we use what we know about effort cost to set up our environment for our ultimate success?

At the end of the day, lifelong fitness means that getting your workouts in is just a part of your daily life.  And life....is messy.  Expecting the unexpected can set us up for success - so that a bit of a mess doesn't steal our results.

How often do you make yourself uncomfortable on purpose?  How often do you take the opportunity to do something you don't want to do, but do it anyway - for the sole purpose of reminding yourself that you are capable of hard things?  Do you take opportunities in your fitness routine to improve your MENTAL toughness, so that real life challenges seem less daunting?

Being in control of your health, nutrition, and fitness is the most BOLD and audacious move you can make. It's time we stop chasing a "magic trick" to fix our health and fitness forever.  We are OVER being sold a bunch of crap that doesn't work, and we don't need.  But - QUITTING??  Giving the middle finger to the idea of making healthy choices....isn't it either.

Miranda Alcaraz is co-founder and CEO of Street Parking.  An at home fitness program and community for those who are serious about their fitness - but don't want to allow it to take over their life.  She has over 20 years in the fitness industry.  As an athlete, gym owner, CrossFit seminar trainer, and coach.

As we bring the 4th annual Street Parking Project April to a close, I took a moment to reflect on the massive importance of this yearly challenge - that might otherwise not seem like such a big deal.  It is up to YOU to find all of the reasons that you SHOULD want the best possible health and fitness for yourself.  My job, and the role of challenges like Project April, are to show you that you can.  No matter what your personal circumstances, setbacks, challenges, or history might be - what is necessary is actually SO simple.  The sooner you believe that - the sooner you will find your own version of fitness freedom - and completely change how you view fitness and nutrition for good.