How much is too much?

As working moms, we so often shave off OUR time in order to accomplish all of the needed feats of the day for those who are dependant on us. We postpone our Dr. appointments in order to have the kids seen first, we forego resting when we have the flu to care for our toddler who is also just as sick, we skip out on our scheduled workouts to help struggling kids finish homework before bed, we accept that our dinner will always be a little cold because our kids need their meats/veggies cut and messes cleaned, and countless other sacrifices.


But, how much is TOO much? At what point do we look at what we're sacrificing and realize that we're doing more harm than good? That by giving so much to those we love, we're hurting them and ourselves in the long run?

I had a chance conversation the other day with a complete stranger. I was standing in line at a store, and an elderly gentleman began a conversation with me. He noticed that one of my kids was in a uniform and offered his opinion that childhood sports are a direct cause of the breakdown in today's families. I, not wanting to get into an argument with this seemingly nice (yet lonely) man, nodded in agreement and smiled. He continued by explaining his throry, stating that parents are so preoccupied with pleasing their kids and "giving them more than they had" that they have become more machine-like than family-like. He said that his grandchildren, a boy and a girl, were in soccer, scouts, church activities, dance, and the school chorus, and that their parents were always rushing to get them from school directly into some other activity; that by the time they got home, there was no family meal, no conversation of their days, no communication...because they were all too tired. They were so busy giving their children more than what they had as children, that they had forgotten to give them the most important thing...quality family time and simplicity. Therefore, he believed, all of the unnecessary extra-cirricular stress put on not only the parents, but the children as well, was (in all situations) the cause of the middle-class broken families in America.

He had me thinking.

Although I didn't COMPLETELY agree with the man's logic, I could understand his perspective. We're all so "busy" these days, that we resort to anything and everything that will make our lives easier...faster. Namely, fast food or pre-processed foods already prepared, ready to heat & serve. We have so much on our plate (pun intended), that we're missing what we NEED...whole foods and quality time with our family.

I began to gain my weight right after my daughter was born in 1999. We lived paycheck to paycheck on a good month, so finding a daycare that we could afford was out of the question, and so was becoming a stay at home mom. I resorted to working the night shift while my husband worked days. I was, quite literally, up 20 hours a day until she was 1, and therefore ate more than my alloted 3 meals a day. I was such a drone, only going through the actions of living out of sheer sleep deprivation, and did anything and everything I could to make life easy. I stopped cooking meals and started heating canned/frozen garbage....I did not exercise because I was too tired. Bad food in + no calories out = 30 pound weight gain in 1 year and the adoption and implementation of some VERY bad eating habits.

Fast food is easy. It's cheap (or so we think), convenient, EVERYWHERE, and our kids eat it. Frozen dinners, our next "easy & quick" choice, aren't much better contrary to popular belief. But, when it comes to our kid's well being, shouldn't HEALTHY trump EASY? The old saying of "what you don't know won't hurt you" does not apply when it comes to what we ingest, because it CAN and it DOES hurt you. It is so important to MAKE THE TIME to make wholesome meals for ourselves and families, because without YOU making that decision and acting on it, we are harming those we love.

Until Tomorrow!
Keep healthy, keep safe and keep going!
Have an awesome day!

♥Fit~NOW~Girl♥