Striving for Balance

Balance is something which does not come naturally for me. I admit it -- I'm a freak. Either I'm all in or I'm all out. Finding a happy medium? Hmmm... not usually my style. In many areas of my life, this works well for me. Marriage... all in. Motherhood... all in. Being "all in" on these things creates success.

Dieting... all in. Oops. I lost a bunch of hair. (Pause for a moment of silence.) Became thin! Yea! Success... but -- lost a bunch of muscle, causing me to work harder to get it back. So... go protein!! Ugh. Too much protein causes constipation (TMI, anyone?). Seriously -- when it comes to food issues and exercise, "all in" only works to a point. One needs to have some sort of balance.

So I am, I guess, "all in" for balance. Ha! I'm going to get my personality working for me one way or another.

I love my exercise. I really, really do. But I do not need to run six miles every day. Not only do I not need to do this, it's actually not good for me. So -- I'm trying to run about three times a week. Other days I can ride my bike (which will save my feet), or I can actually have a day where I relax (as much as any mom gets to relax).

When it comes to food, I am eating what is good for me -- along with a few things that admittedly are not. White wine, while good for my soul, is probably not ideal for my body. I still have some. And chocolate... well, who am I kidding. Chocolate is very, very, very good for me. :)

I also realize that I do have certain weaknesses that go along with my "all in" personality. First of all, I know that I am always "all in" for ice cream. Most kinds of ice cream, anyway. So I avoid having it around. My freezer has sherbet in it for the kids (yuck), and had peach ice cream in it for my husband (again, yuck). Vanilla cannot live here. I simply do not have it in me to reject my very favorite-est thing in the world.

So -- a striving for balance. We'll see how it goes. And no more crazy dieting. While I can stand to see the muscle loss for a bit (can always gain it back, right?), I cannot stand to lose any more hair. I really don't want to be the first woman to try the comb over.