DAY 15

Today was an emotionally draining day.  My little girl had her kindergarten orientation and it didn't go very well; she was supposed to go with her class to meet her teacher and see the classroom while I attended a parents meeting.  Yeah, that didn't really happen.  Instead she clung to me so fiercely I thought she was going to choke me with her grip around my neck.  I ended up bawling my eyes out in the back of the school where no one could see us and pleading with her to just go with her class (her teacher wouldn't even let me stand in the classroom with her--parents were definitely NOT permitted).  After the parents meeting was over, I finally was able to take her to the classroom to see everything and meet her teacher so it ended well thankfully.

What does this have to do with my journey back to fitness you ask?

Well, there are a couple of fitness-minded things I could have done to help with some of the stress I experienced today:

1.  I could have eaten before the orientation which started at 8:30 am.  I skipped breakfast because I was trying to get my daughter ready.  What was I thinking?!?!  Skipping breakfast is a very bad idea.  Perhaps if I had had the physical energy I would have had more emotional energy.  I will try to avoid skipping breakfast at all costs from now on--especially on such an important day like today.

2.  Exercise in the morning would have done me a world of good as well; vigorous exercise helps calm me down and slow my heart rate down (once I'm done of course).  I honestly think exercise can be one of the best ways to prepare for stressful events of any kind (be it work, home, or relationship stress).

OK, so that's enough of that.  Here's day 15's fitness report:

Exercise:

I ran some errands at the mall with my 2 kids who are both under 2.  This involved walking with the stroller and carting my 27 pound toddler around.  She insists on being held a lot which can be tiring, but it's great exercise.  I try to alternate sides so that my body doesn't look lopsided from holding her on just my left side which I tend to do most often.

Eating:

Turkey bacon
chicken salad
orange
apple slices
cheese
cheese
broccoli with cheese
more chicken salad (very delicious salad with celery and apples--so good)
almonds
handful of cheese-its
2 pieces of bread with my chicken salad

Today was a good reminder of the importance to PLAN AHEAD.  The kindergarten orientation threw off my schedule and I really neglected my eating.  As a result, I was hungry all day and felt some additional stress that I could have skipped if I had planned better.  I really need to sit down on Sunday afternoon and figure out exactly what's going on that week so I can plan my food accordingly.

Another thought about kids and healthy food:

Sometimes we end up running a lot of errands within a 3-4 hour period.  When this happens, my kids always beg me to go to McDonald's which I'm trying to avoid these days.  One idea I had to avoid McDonald's is to pack a fun picnic lunch and stop at a park or something.  I think my kids will be a lot more excited about that idea than McDonald's.  It's so easy to go through the drive through when in a hurry, but eating healthy is much more important in the long run than getting to that next errand, right?

Well, that wraps up this post today!