All or Nothing?

I haven't exercised since...ummm...I was going to say Friday, but, did I workout on Friday or was it Thursday? Hmm, anyway, Saturday I woke up late, then had to work. Sunday is the Sabbath so I never workout on that day. Then Monday was the surgery date for my two-year old grandson, Brady.  I babysat his younger and older brothers, Josiah, 7 months, and Camron, 4-1/2.  I spent Monday night and Tuesday in the hospital with Brady.
So here it was, Wednesday, half way through another week, and I hadn't done a single thing to get my body moving in the right direction.  I was exhausted and allowed myself to sleep in until 7am.  I knew I had to meet my other daughter, Sam, and her two girls at 9am.
By the time I ate breakfast and cleaned the kitchen it was 8am. I thought, should I just sit around until it is time to leave? Or should I get my workout clothes on and start moving? There was not enough time to go to the gym.
The question: Does it have to be all or nothing?
I used to say "Yes". If I did not have time to get to the gym and have a full hour workout I would just skip it and tell myself I would do better next time.
Well, next time may never come.  There is always an excuse, a reason, a distraction that may keep me from getting my butt out of bed early enough to start my day at the gym.
In the past I have gone weeks, months, without working out because I had the All or Nothing attitude.
Now is the time for changes.  The change I made today is in my attitude.
Even though I only had a half hour before I had to get ready to leave, I put on my workout clothes, including my shoes.  I went out to the living room and just started marching in place. Then I did some jumping jacks.  Then pretended I was jumping rope. (I think I will buy a jump rope!)  Then I pretended I was hula hooping. (I think I'll buy myself a Hula Hoop!)
Before I knew it, 20 minutes had passed and my heart rate was up! Then  I picked up my 5 lb dumbbells and did a workout for my arms and shoulders.
I was sweating, and I felt good.
So, from now on it's not gonna be a question as to whether or not I will work out when time is limited.
I WILL do SOMETHING to move my body, 6 days a week.  No more excuses.
Nike got it right when they said JUST DO IT.  I hope they don't mind if I use that as my motto.

Take a look in the mirror! or Take a picture. It lasts longer!

An interesting thing happens when a woman looks in the mirror.  Either she looks at herself, seeing only 

the best of her features..."Nice, I look good!".  Or, when she sees her reflection, all she sees is her flaws..

"Oh man, look at the size of my butt! Sheesh!".  

A picture can give you a better idea of what you truly look like.  Of course, there are people who are very photogenic and then there are people like me, who couldn't  take a good picture if my life depended on it. Usually I will avoid the camera at all costs. So I was not looking forward to having my BEFORE  pictures taken. But there was no way around it. It had to be done. I put on my tightest workout clothes and had my daughter take pictures.  Uhg! I took a deep breath and let it all hang out.  No sucking it in for these shots.  

I want the worse BEFORE pics I can get so that I can truly see what kind of progress I am making in the coming months.  I am actually looking forward to having pictures taken of my (future) buff arms and my awesomely tight abs. By the way, I'm the type who says "Nice, I look good!" and I overlook all my flaws.

Someday soon I will be able to look in the mirror and stop lying to my reflection.

Crazy bout sugar

When I was a kid my mom made me eat my vegetables (yeah, they were NOT called veggies in those days).  I hated vegetables, probably cause all she did was boil them. Yuck!
By the time I was a teenager she had given up on getting me to eat right. I had discovered fast food.  If I didn't like the dinner she was making she would put a vitamin pill on my plate and not worry about it and I would hit Jack in the Box.
Around that time my blood sugar started acting up, only I didn't know it.  I would get up in the morning and hop in the shower before breakfast.  The hot water would sap all the energy out of me. By the time I was done I would wrap a towel around me, drag myself to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, then literally lay down on the floor to eat it.  I felt like I was going to faint at any second.  Slowly I would feel better, then get up and get ready for school.  By break time I was starving so I would have a cinnamon roll.  My favorite lunch was a Hostess Berry Pie and Barbeque Chips.
I was in the marching band and we practiced marching every afternoon after school.  So often I would feel faint and have to sit on the curb with my head between my legs until I felt better.  This was 1977 to 1980.  No one suggested I see a doctor.
I got married a year after high school and my eating habits only got worse. I was still very skinny, at 110 lbs, living on protein and sugar and not much else. I was working as a receptionist. Around break time I would be starving so I would eat a candy bar.  Two hours later I would get a terrible headache....EVERY DAY!  The only thing that took away these headaches was 8 hours sleep.
And so the days, weeks, months went on, with me having a major headache every single day.  I went to 3 doctors who told me the headaches were from stress.  Finally, the 4th doctor asked me about my eating habits.  Then he suggested a blood test.
Finally, a diagnosis!
I have hypoglycemia.  Basically this means low blood sugar.  There are many symptoms that can wreak havoc on your daily life and even your health if it is not controlled.  Some of the symptoms, besides headaches, are shaking, weakness, confusion, sweating, nervousness, and feeling out of control if I go too long without eating or if I eat too much sugar.
After I was diagnosed I cut out sugar completely and started eating every two to three hours. My headaches disappeared completely.  After about a year I started experimenting to see if I could add sugar back into my diet.  I have a definite sweet tooth and I do not like living without my treats.  I found that, if I had a full meal, I could eat dessert without getting a headache.
So here I am, 30 years later and I still have trouble controlling my sweet tooth.  If someone brings cake, cookies or donuts into the breakroom at work I've sucked them down before I even have a chance to think about it.
This is my weakness.
I'm crazy bout sugar and sugar makes me crazy.  During my journey to fitness I will try to find substitutes that will satisfy my sweet tooth without wreaking havoc on my new and improved lifestyle.  Wish me luck!