We all have them.  Days when we feel so far behind we could consider ourselves ahead.  Sometimes it is a week or a month or even a year like that.

Put It On the Calendar

At a time in my life when I had five children under ten and they had lots of activities I put everything on my calendar.  My oldest son had T-ball.  The girls had ballet.  We had one car so I was driving my ex to work and picking him up.  I also had a nursing baby, a preschooler and a puppy.  Then, of course, I was volunteering in my children’s classes, training the puppy, trying to get the house work done, running errands, doing the shopping and all those other “mommy” things.  I lived by my calendar and daily lists.

350+ Miles a Week

This was the number of miles I drove every week for over a year.  We would get up every morning around 6:30 a.m.  Those who could dress themselves did.  I nursed the baby and made my ex lunch.  Hair brushes and last-minute homework were grabbed.  Everyone piled into the car around 7:15.  While we drove the 25 miles to take my ex to work the girls were brushing their hair and finishing up their homework.  We would then drive the 25 miles home, I would feed everyone breakfast, do a clothing check for those going to school, do the girl’s hair and put everyone back into the car because the kids have now missed their bus.  I then drive the 5 miles to school, drop the kids off and go back home.  It is now 9:15 and I have driven 60 miles.  On Mondays I would drive into town, do the shopping and drive back home (about 60 miles).  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we had T-ball over a the park (about 10-20 miles)  On Wednesday we had ballet (50 miles).  Since my son was in kindergarten I picked him up (10 miles).  In the middle of making dinner I would have to pile all the children back into the car and go pick up my ex (50 miles).  Run, run, run as fast as you can you can’t catch me I’m Super Mom.

Nutrition on the Run

All this running around, house work, yard work and children took up A LOT of time.  I was determined to feed me children properly.  I made all our meals from scratch and included proteins, dairy, fruit, veggies and starches.  I learned many meals that I could make in 30 minutes or less that my children would happily eat and I felt good about feeding them.  On baseball nights we often took dinner with us and ate it at the game.  Looking back, I don’t know how I managed it all.

Mom’s Bad Eating Habits

It was during this extreme period in my life that I developed some bad eating habits.  Often I would feed the smaller children lunch and take a nap while they ate.  I was usually too tired to be hungry.  I started living on cold cereal, cookies and milk, apples and junk food during the day.  The only decent meal I would eat was dinner.  Needless to say the ups and downs of my blood sugars only made the mood swings and fatigue worse.

Slowing Down

This madness was over 15 years ago.  I have been forced by my bipolar, PTSD and anxiety to slow my life way down.  It has been a difficult transition because I often feel like I’m being lazy or not doing enough.  I have relapses where I will start to push myself in that direction again, but my mother pulls me up short and makes sure I am taking good care of myself.

Those bad eating habits had not changed over the years and my weight and physical condition are proof.  Over the last month I have been working very hard on eating regularly and it continues to pay off.  This last week I have started eating more balanced meals and am starting to really feel better.  The sweet fairies have come back to my closet and are slowly shrinking my clothes again.

Remembering to schedule meals into our day is an important part of being healthy.  By keeping blood sugar levels even throughout the day it tells our body that all is great.  When our bodies know that they will be fed regularly they do not need to store fat and will actually start to burn it.

Bye-bye gremlins and hello fairies!  Have a great Wednesday.