DENVER -- It happened again, twice this week. My 10 p.m. bedtime rolled around and I still hadn't done my workout.

I promised myself I wouldn't eat and I wouldn't go to bed UNTIL I worked out. I'm proud to say I didn't just blow it off, I went upstairs and lifted the weights and did some cardio.

I'm also proud to say I have been really good about my workouts for the past three weeks. With the nice weather last weekend, I managed to hike one day and walk outside the next.

On my walking day I took my cell phone with me. I talked to my sister for 30 minutes, then my Dad for 10 minutes. It kept me walking and I got caught up with family at the same time. Try it sometime.

As I walked, I wondered, how do others find the time to workout? I asked several people on my blog e-mail list.

Karlyn said, "If I am at home, I tell myself that if I am going to be watching TV, I would be better off working out while doing so; so I put in a DVD or turn on Fit TV on Demand. I also have a work out partner who I meet at the gym. I know that if I am going to do this, I can't do it alone."

One writer works 12-hour shifts, so "I am up an hour early (at 4 a.m.) on the days I work so I can do my workouts. No, it isn’t easy -- but I don't want to look at my "before" pictures. I try to do cardio at night while I'm watching tv, but I don't always have the energy or the time."

Sandi said, "For me, it's not a matter of 'finding' time, it's a matter of making the choice to 'just do it.' I can get so distracted and procrastinate exercising. I usually walk with a friend one morning a week and we have coffee afterwards so that seems more like a social time rather than exercise."

Michelle said, "I have an addiction to Starbucks and will not allow myself to splurge on Wednesday or Friday’s unless I have worked out. I have made the commitment to not buy Starbucks if I haven't worked out. It may seem silly, but I LOVE my coffee.

Paula has found a way to workout and get time with family. "If my sister and her grandson are going swimming, I force myself to work it in so I can have quality time with both of them. So you could say it's a little of family/peer pressure."

Jan said, "I do my outside responsibilities and then go to the treadmill. I have been walking while I watch the news."

Nancy is another early riser, she said, "I get up at 5:30 am, wake up for about a 1/2 hour watching Channel 7 News of course. Usually exercise about 30-45 minutes. In the summer we sneak in a bike ride in the early morning and hike twice a week hitting the trailhead at 5:30-6:00 am. Back to our desks by 10 a.m." (Deb note: as a news person, I'm thrilled to hear people are watching the news and working out. Good combination!)

Ann Marie also works out in the morning. She said, "In the past, I felt like a gym work out in the evening took time away from my family...dinner needed to be made, the dogs wanted to play, homework had to be completed. Now, I work out first thing in the morning, when it's too dark to play with the dogs and the family is still asleep. There is no guilt, and the only cost is me having to wake up a little earlier. Also, the energy I have throughout the day makes the evenings more productive."

Add Krista to the morning work out list. She said, "I don't like getting up in the morning, but I find that once I get out of bed and drink some water I am a lot more willing to workout as opposed to trying to squeeze it in at night. I just get too tired after work. Making dinner, helping the kids with their homework and making sure that their baths are taking, I am exhausted at that point and am not as likely to do a work out as I am in the morning. "

Prashant said, "I have managed to convince myself, that in the list of my daily tasks, exercise for an hour is a constant element, everything else is variable."

Last week I mentioned my friend, Kip. She is a mother who managed to lose 65 pounds and become a professional football player at age 42. I am so proud of her commitment to losing weight. If you missed it last week, she had great advice for making the commitment on her blog. This week I asked Kip about finding time to work out.

Kip said, "Here is the deal, you find time for what is a priority, so if working out is a priority, then you'll do it when you can and let go of something else if you have too much on your plate. Sometimes that means getting up at 5 a.m. and doing it or staying up at night and doing it, although morning is better for fat burning and metabolism spark! Sometimes it means fitting in 10 minutes here, then 10 minutes later, with a final 10 minutes somewhere else.

Or you workout instead of sitting there watching your kid practice soccer or baseball. I've taken my bike trainer and bike and done a cardio spin work workout during the hour Joshua practices baseball. I've done the same thing in my living room while watching my favortie shows or movies. I've taken my cleats and a football and gone outside in the field and done drills and sprints while McKenna is inside the natatorium at swim practice or I've run the bleachers in the natatorium and do some basic strength moves like push ups, calf raises, utilizing what's around me.

Yes, I look funny and people stare, but I'm past that. My goals and health are more important than what people think.

Instead of eating at lunch, go workout and take your lunch to work with you and eat it when you get back.

Instead of doing the dishes, laundry, cleaning the house, get the workout in and then stay up and doing the laundry, etc.

Reality is you will do what you consider a priority, behavior reveals the inner motives!!"

I asked fitness trainer and exercise medicine specialist Jane Hastings how she finds time to workout. She said:

Working out for me is my absolute priority in life. When I go on vacation, I always find a hotel that has a gym even if I am going on a fitness vacation, like a cycling trip. My weight workout is very important to me.
Because I own and work in a gym, many of my workouts are teaching classes. So you can say that sometimes I get paid to workout.
But there are many days that I do not teach a class. Then I schedule my workouts first, before and around clients.
My workouts are as routine as brushing my teeth. I do them no matter what. There are days when it would be so much easier to NOT workout, but to me it is not an option (unless I am truly sick). Even when my energy is low, I do my workout and I always feel better.
I refuse to let my head get in the way on those days and talk me out of it. The weekends are when I get to truly do what I want: ski, bike, hike. But my weekday workouts are my backbone, they keep me strong to do the activities I love on the weekends and on vacation.
There is nothing better than feeling strong and empowered. Nothing will do that for you except exercise.
There are days when you do not feel like going to work, but you do. It is the same with exercise.

You can reach Jane at (303) 871-8661 or visit her Web site Mad About Fitness.