Time for Ourselves

I realized it's been a month (OK, a month and a day) since I last posted. That's a long time! Why did it take me so long? Well, life seems to get in the way. It's a pathetic excuse, but one we all seem to return to time and time again. I work full-time, I work part-time, and I'm a graduate student. I also work with a local high school, signed up to work with a community garden and have a  house to manage by myself. It's a recipe for tight schedules, sleepy mornings, and evenings of falling asleep on the couch.

But I think I'm not alone in saying that when time is limited, one of the first things we (especially women) do is neglect the things that are good for us. How many times have you sacrificed your personal health and well-being for the sake of others or other commitments? The first things I scratch from my schedule are exercise, sleep and proper eating. I can't remember the last time I took a proper trip to the grocery store. Instead, I eat on the fly, or I rely on the food that magically appears in front of me - breakfast treats at work, candy in a colleagues desk. But I allow that to seep into everything I do. It becomes a slippery slope. This week I've had french fries twice and a bag of potato chips - two things I'm not even very fond of!

Today is the start of a long holiday weekend and now that I have a few days to myself I'm starting to regroup and hope I haven't done too much damage. The good thing to remember when it comes to weight loss is that anything you've put back on, you can take back off again. Any wrong can be undone. The trick is that once you get off track, you can make the very next choice the right one. I went to the gym today and I've only gained two pounds (despite the tacos I had for lunch). It's a gradual process, but I'm going to use the Memorial Day weekend to get back on track.