Days Go By…

Wow the last 4 days have gone by so fast, literally like a whirlwind. Statistically speaking I worked hard to assist others, through my job as a case manager, I attended appointments and meetings for personal needs, and I took care of my family during my “off time” for the first couple days. The other two days were dedicated solely to caring for my family and having some time off from my "paid" work, but boy were they just a busy as the first two days. When all is said and done the last 96 hours now seem to have just zipped by.These days have been filled, actually over-filled, with things that just have to be done to keep our family life running smoothly. Add in some unnecessary and obviously unplanned stresses, thanks to some in our society who feel it is okay to take advantage of others, and there is the icing is on the cake. The urges to sneak or cheat, to re-direct the negative feelings that come with this stress are abundant and often times can be hard to resist.

I have had times in those hours where I have been really positive and gung-ho about this life change and I have had times where I have felt defeated and almost ready to tell myself there isn’t a point to continuing to strive towards my goals. So many times while I was out and about I could have cheated - in fact yesterday, in Wal-Mart, there was a can of Pringles chips in the cart. They were only $1- they would be gone by the end of the evening - no one would have been any wiser. Well, no one except for me and the regret that I know I would have felt by “sneaking” those potato chips. I was so proud of myself for putting them back. While in the checkout line I was again tempted by the snack size bags of trail mix, and cheetos - well that is until I actually turned the bags over and saw exactly how many calories and fat grams I would be consuming. In the end I walked out of the store with my groceries , all of them a lot healthier than anything I have eaten in the last 6 months prior to the start of the Trim 2 Win contest last week and a treat in the form of a diet dr. pepper to enjoy with my dinner. I also left there with the successful feeling that I could say “NO” to those tempting treats of the past - those treats that helped me to get to the point where I realized I was not doing myself or my children any favors by choosing behaviors that would keep me obese and unable to assist my children to live a healthy life style.

Just remember that even though no one else may know you “cheated” or “sneaked” in the beginning - they will know one day when you may not be able to be a successful as you would like to be or need to be to live your life to the healthiest and fullest extent. Here is looking forward to the week ahead and hoping that for all of us it will be a positive week - one where we will be successful in our endeavors to become a healthy part of our community. Best wishes to all, and if you have not previously been able to resist the urges - look forward to the next time and just try harder, eventually you too will be able to resist and believe me, you will feel better for having done so!!