I seriously need to make a grocery list and meal plans for the week, but the house is quiet and I’m going to blog instead. I’ll make the list later. Who needs sleep, right?!

As you may or may not know, I have been participating in a “Lose Big” program at a local gym. This week was the last week and while I did not actually lose big (I did lose a few pounds though, just not “big”!), it has been a lot of fun. The program consisted of twice weekly meetings, one being a lecture of sorts and the other being a circuit workout. In general I found the workouts to be much more useful than the lectures, but both were good. At the final lecture yesterday the trainer was reviewing what we had learned (or were supposed to have learned!) over the course of the six week program. At one point we were discussing obstacles and I raised my hand and said I have trouble balancing priorities. I know it’s important to take care of myself, but when that happens at the expense of too many other things, well then I loose focus. Not uncommon, I’m sure. The trainer mentioned that she also has two small kids (smaller than mine actually!) and fully understands, but “they know that if I don’t get to exercise every day then I am a cranky mommy!” That got me thinking… I want to exercise and lose weight so I can feel better about my body, but I’m finding that often when I DO exercise every day I become a cranky mommy. Why? Because exercise takes a lot of time. Time that otherwise would be spent cleaning the house, or being with the kids, or completing projects, or cooking, or grocery shopping, or or or… (or blogging, of course!)

I find that I ebb and flow in the “take care of me” department. I do prefer to weigh less, I do like to exercise, but after doing that for awhile I get frustrated with the messy house, cranky kids, and everything else that seems to slip through the cracks when I devote time to daily exercise. There just isn’t enough time in the day! So her comment made me think that perhaps exercise really ISN’T a priority in my life. Is that horrible to say?!?! I do need to exercise regularly, but perhaps not for so long and not every day. More importantly, I realized that I when I have a better handle on life I feel much, MUCH better, regardless of exercise. I also believe that when I am more in control of my surroundings I am better able to manage my food intake and therefore feel better all around… which often leads to more time to exercise. :) When my surroundings feel out of control then my eating quickly follows, which is counter-intuitive because often I think my eating is the one thing I SHOULD be able to control, but alas it spirals out of control along with everything else. Control issues, maybe… but that’s for another post!

It’s interesting thinking about, and trying to truly own, your priorities in life.