Achieving Balance

I have never in my life paid so much attention to day to day activities. This journey has really forced me to stop and reflect on each day of my life and each time I do that I see something different. 

I've spent a lot of time making excuses, my number 1 - I work too much, my job is too unpredictable and way too stressful. That has for the most part kept would be commentators on my life at bay. The funny thing is that when I decided that this journey was worth being a priority, all the excuses, well, I would love to say they just disappeared, but I still work too much, I still get stressed out at work and I still struggle to balance me time and time with the kids after putting in a full week at work. The difference, there's a few:

1. I am willing to be more creative. Today because of an unexpected situation at work I didn't take lunch which caused stress because I had an event tonight with my daughter and I had planned to work out at lunch. The solution - I ended my day early and took the time owed to me for lunch, instead of going straight to daycare I went to the gym. My kids still got picked up at the same time and I was able to enjoy my daughter's activity tonight without being stressed about working out.

2. I am not letting myself make excuses. I am the queen of excuses and rationalization, but I don't allow them anymore. It's a holiday, we are out to dinner, I had a stressful week, I will work out tomorrow, I will eat better tomorrow were all statements that I would make on at least a weekly basis. Now its very simple. I eat the calories I am allowed to eat and I work out 6 days a week - no room for rationalization or negotiation and now that the edict has be laid down I don't look for those excuses anymore, probably because I have found that by sticking to those 2 simple rules, I am still able to live life and have fun.

3. I am a priority. Are there days when I look back and think that I could have spent more time today with the kids, yes, especially on work days, but then I think when the weekend comes and I am out playing with them because I actually have the energy does that make it ok, the answer is also yes. When I am active and playing with my grandkids because I am healthy, does that make it ok, yes. My kids know that when I leave in the evening that I am going to work out and going to get healthy. On Mother's day my daughter was talking to my sister and someone mentioned that Aunt Jacqui goes to the gym everyday and my daughter replied - Mommy goes to the gym everyday too. I can't believe that someone can actually say that about me, it feels great

4. I am seeing results. It's been easy in the past to fake diet (you know what I am talking about) You sign up for the program, you weigh in every week, but you don't actually follow the rules. What ends up happening is that you don't lose any significant amount of weight, you get discouraged and you quit. This time when that started to happen I got through because I knew that every day people were reading this blog waiting to hear what was happening. That gave me the strength to push on until I found something that works, thank you. Now I see results each week both on the scale and in the closet and that helps me to keep going each day.

5. Nothing is off limits. Last night I had pizza, tonight we were pressed for time so dinner was hot dogs. No food is off limits and that really helps get through tough days. I even stopped on the road today at DQ because quite frankly I had a rough morning and wanted ice cream. Now I ordered a small plain cone instead of a large sundae or blizzard and I came home and looked up the calories, but I was able to eat the ice cream.