Ramblings: surprises in your life

We all go through stages in life. Sometimes we are happy, sometimes we are depressed. Other times we just want to crawl under a rock and sleep through the bad stuff. Today was a bad day. I've been unable to work for a week. My stomack is giving me a hard time. And a blast from the past had a horrible effect on my day.
So what should I do? No matter what kind of day you are having, you should savor the good, ignore the bad and move on. Tomorrow will be a better day, a brand new day that you can do whatever you want with it. In the end, it is not what happens that shape your life. It is how you react to things that shapes your life. Don't let life get the best of you. Do your best and move on. And whatever you do, keep trying.

Motivation: or lack thereof

I have a confession to make. This week, as far as my health goes, has been a complete disaster. First of all, the weekend I spent in bed, feeling sick and eating worse. Then, on Monday, I had to take a forced vacation (office equipment failure and I work from home). I figured that I should not waste all my time, so I started cleaning house and taking care of some projects. Now I have no phone and no voice (dirt killed my throat).
My exercise routine has also taken a beating. I walked two miles yesterday. That is all the exercise, except for the housework, I've been able to do all week. I am exhausted and cranky. The only good thing is that I am still drinking two litters of water a day. On the flip side, I am eating terribly.
But even when you mess up there are important lessons you can discover.
1) If you are too restrictive in your eating patterns, your body is only going to crave it more.
2) Every once in a while, you have to give your body a break to recover, be it from extreme exercise, or in this case, from extreme heat (yesterday we broke heat record).
3) It is not whether or not you fall down. YOU WILL! It is how you get up, dust yourself off and keep going that matters. So you ate a DING DONG (or the whole box). The important thing is that the next day you eat healthy and exercise 10 minutes extra for the rest of the week. Some days are easier than others. You have to be ready for anything. Me, my krytonite is chocolate (not cakes or candies) and ice cream. But the important thing is that I also have fruits and vegetables in my fridge and I am eating them every day. And little by little there will be more fruit and less crap. Keep trying.

Exercise: Housework?

I have not been able to exercise for a few days, medical reasons. But I have been doing a lot of cleaning today. I have done some light lifting and some sweeping and cleaning. My arms are sore and my waist has moved more than in some exercise routines. I am wondering, why do some stay at home women overweight if they spend their whole week doing this? Probably because they are also emptying their kid's plates and snacking instead of eating. I know when my daughter was really young, I did the same thing.
Trust me, heavy house cleaning is exercise. If you clean all day long and you watch what you eat you will see a difference. Remember: every little bit helps.

Nutrition: the importance of breakfast

I am not big on diets. I don't believe on any of them. What works for me is to make smaller meals and have a little of everything. This weekend was not very restful for me. I was sick all weekend. And then this morning I woke up like nothing happened. I even had energy. As I was standing in the kitchen, it hit me. I did not have an official breakfast at all during the weekend.
To me right now, it is not as important to eat extremely healthy. It is more important to make sure that I have some protein, some carbs, my vitamins, fruits and vegetables in every meal. So my breakfast might not look healthy to some people. But I have spent the longest part of the last twenty years NOT having breakfast, so actually eating breakfast is a bigger accomplishment. What do you think? Keep trying.