I lost my driver’s license this weekend.

It sounds like it has nothing to do with my fitness challenge, but stay with me.

While eating with my boyfriend at Jethro’s BBQ — a restaurant in Des Moines featured on Travel Channel’s Man v. Food — my ID must have fallen out of my coat pocket.

I turn 21 on the Feb. 21, and based on the rumors about Drake University’s bar scene, some freshman who doesn’t even look like me is going to have a great 21st birthday next Monday.

I was completely distraught to find it missing, but nothing is more devastating about this situation than my new ID photo.

Iowa adopted a new license policy in which individuals cannot smile with teeth for their picture. I didn’t know what to do — smile mouth-closed, smirk, half smile, no smile? I settled for a small smile in hopes I would still look human when I was IDed on my big day.

But it was to no avail.

My photo looks like the mug shot of an obese murderer that ate her victim.

I blame the crop job and lack of teeth, but my self esteem took a hit when I got my paper drivers license. After not working out much last week, I felt terrible about my body. It showed in my photo.

I didn’t want to hustle from my 8:30 a.m. meeting this morning to the gym before my 11 a.m. class, until I pulled out my temporary paper ID. I don’t want to look like that and will do what it takes to not look like that.

If you need a kick in the butt to hit the track, make a bad picture of you the background of your laptop or hang it on your ceiling as inspiration. You have no idea how motivating it can be.

Each time I complete a day on my couch to 5K ipod program, I know I am one more day to achieving my goal to run a 5k. I also know I’m one day farther from looking like my chubby, unflattering ID photo.

I can be confident knowing that.