Willpower can be depleted, just like any other energy source our body uses. According to the interview I heard on NPR with the author of the book, "Willpower", the more willpower you exert in one area, the less you have available to resist another temptation. Willpower is cumulative -- use it all in one place and you've got zip left for something else. (Read the book review here.)
The reason you're less able to resist that morning's left-over, now completely-stale, not-even-a-flavor-you-like-very-much, donut in the break room if because your brain is simply out of willpower. Worse yet for dieters the way to restore your willpower is to give your brain some glucose. So you need food to help you from eating food. This is another evil universe/biology trick if ever I've heard one.
Now I know why I'm desperate to reach for the sweets after a long day working and parenting. Every time I don't turn into a screaming banshee when my kids drag their feet eats up another piece of my self control. By the time everybody is settled and sleeping is it any wonder I'm reaching for the chocolate and my friends are reaching for their wine bottles? With the way our mornings go it's a miracle I don't break out the Laffy Taffy by 9 a.m.
The good news is that willpower functions like a muscle. You can learn to get stronger. Or, you can say "what the heck, they're only (fill in the blank here...) old. This can only last another 25 years or so, right" as you reach for your secret stash of whatever and indulge, indulge, indulge. Gotta sign off now, I'm positive I hear some frosting calling my name.
P.S. - The second most interesting thing I learned today was how to put links in this blog.
P.S.S. - The third most interesting thing I learned today was that willpower is one word.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Tri, Tri, Tri Again
Why I Like Biking Better Than Running:
Speed, Speed, Speed!
You Create Your Own Breeze which is so, so, so much harder to do when you're running
Coasting - is there anything more wonderful than taking a break while you're still moving AND clocking miles?!
Forgiveness -- Nothing tells you you've overindulged like taking your body for a run. On such an occasion there's far more flapping in the breeze than sheets or sails and it ain't pretty. A bike is much more forgiving of parts that are "temporarily" less toned.
Why I Like Running Better Than Biking:
Unlikely to Be Hit By A Car -- although Reese Witherspoon recently got hit while she was jogging so maybe this isn't so true anymore...http://www.nbclosangeles.com/entertainment/celebrity/Reese-Witherspoon-Hurt-in-Santa-Monica-Car-Accident--129424683.html
Music! - although there are way too many people who wear head phones while biking -- what are they thinking?
Clips -- clips are evil little toys invented by the devil. Who else would create something that leaves you stranded like a turtle when you topple? First you suffer the indignity of falling while practically standing still and then it's physically impossible to right yourself because you can't get your darn feet disengaged from the pedals. Awful!
Flabby Calves- I never knew your calves could get flabby until I took a little break from biking. My calves NEVER felt flabby until then.
Stuff -- running shoes, check. Go run. (Socks optional...) Try that bike riders!
Why I like Swimming Better Than Biking and Running
Nada
Zip
Nothing
Speed, Speed, Speed!
You Create Your Own Breeze which is so, so, so much harder to do when you're running
Coasting - is there anything more wonderful than taking a break while you're still moving AND clocking miles?!
Forgiveness -- Nothing tells you you've overindulged like taking your body for a run. On such an occasion there's far more flapping in the breeze than sheets or sails and it ain't pretty. A bike is much more forgiving of parts that are "temporarily" less toned.
Why I Like Running Better Than Biking:
Unlikely to Be Hit By A Car -- although Reese Witherspoon recently got hit while she was jogging so maybe this isn't so true anymore...http://www.nbclosangeles.com/entertainment/celebrity/Reese-Witherspoon-Hurt-in-Santa-Monica-Car-Accident--129424683.html
Music! - although there are way too many people who wear head phones while biking -- what are they thinking?
Clips -- clips are evil little toys invented by the devil. Who else would create something that leaves you stranded like a turtle when you topple? First you suffer the indignity of falling while practically standing still and then it's physically impossible to right yourself because you can't get your darn feet disengaged from the pedals. Awful!
Flabby Calves- I never knew your calves could get flabby until I took a little break from biking. My calves NEVER felt flabby until then.
Stuff -- running shoes, check. Go run. (Socks optional...) Try that bike riders!
Why I like Swimming Better Than Biking and Running
Nada
Zip
Nothing
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Who Are You? Who Do I Need To Be?
Every once in awhile your kid throws you a curveball. A true, out-of-left field kind of moment that whallops you.
I had one of those moments today when my son started his latest round of baseball practice. I was running late from work and had the fabulous blessing of having my mom take him to practice. I showed up about 15 minutes after the scheduled beginning of said practice to find them all standing by the side of the parking lot. Grandma, would-be ballplayer, and 5-year-old didn't go to school today because she was sick, daughter. At first glance I assumed I had made a mistake - they were standing around in various stages of frustration because they were at the wrong field or they were there on the wrong day -- it was definitely something I'd done, right?
As I hopped out of the car intent on fixing things my mom informed me that my bouncy, peppy, not great ball player but known for his incredible team spirit and great attitude wouldn't go into the practice because he was "shy." My kid is many things and shy sometimes (rarely) fits the bill but it's only for about a minute.
I assumed this was one of those times, that he'd grab my hand, we'd head off to the field, and I'd send him on his merry way as I had oh so many times before. Oh no, this was no garden variety sort of shyness. This was unable to tear himself off the fence shy. I was flummoxed. I tried to get him to open up about why he was shy. (My son's a talker, opening up is usually the LAST thing I have to work hard to get him to do...) I talked about how he was late for practice and that wasn't fair to the coaches and his team mates. I talked about how he couldn't play his game on Saturday if he didn't show up for practice today. I asked if he was scared. I set a time limit for deciding if he was staying or going...Eventually I stopped talking because I was out of ideas about how to help him.
It was only when we were going over to the coach to tell him that we were leaving (a good 45 minutes after practice started) that things changed. I said "my son is being unusually shy", the coach walked over, had a quick chat, and lured him out onto the field with the option of whacking the stuffing out of the ball. As my son suited up in his batting gear the tide turned. In the blink of 3 or 4 eyes the kid I know best was out there making jokes with his new best friends, chasing after balls, rolling around on the ground, and asking me if we could stay for the extended practice, "please?"
Where did today come from and is it coming back? How will it manifest itself this time? While I didn't outright fail my son today I could feel that I wasn't giving him everything he needed. I'm so used to being able to solve his problems quickly (dirty face? Here's a wipe...hungry? Here's a snack...) that I didn't have the tools I needed for his complex conflicting emotions. Apparently I need a whole new playbook because the kid I know so well is evolving every day and I'm just running frantically around the bases trying to keep up. Time for mom to grow too.
I had one of those moments today when my son started his latest round of baseball practice. I was running late from work and had the fabulous blessing of having my mom take him to practice. I showed up about 15 minutes after the scheduled beginning of said practice to find them all standing by the side of the parking lot. Grandma, would-be ballplayer, and 5-year-old didn't go to school today because she was sick, daughter. At first glance I assumed I had made a mistake - they were standing around in various stages of frustration because they were at the wrong field or they were there on the wrong day -- it was definitely something I'd done, right?
As I hopped out of the car intent on fixing things my mom informed me that my bouncy, peppy, not great ball player but known for his incredible team spirit and great attitude wouldn't go into the practice because he was "shy." My kid is many things and shy sometimes (rarely) fits the bill but it's only for about a minute.
I assumed this was one of those times, that he'd grab my hand, we'd head off to the field, and I'd send him on his merry way as I had oh so many times before. Oh no, this was no garden variety sort of shyness. This was unable to tear himself off the fence shy. I was flummoxed. I tried to get him to open up about why he was shy. (My son's a talker, opening up is usually the LAST thing I have to work hard to get him to do...) I talked about how he was late for practice and that wasn't fair to the coaches and his team mates. I talked about how he couldn't play his game on Saturday if he didn't show up for practice today. I asked if he was scared. I set a time limit for deciding if he was staying or going...Eventually I stopped talking because I was out of ideas about how to help him.
It was only when we were going over to the coach to tell him that we were leaving (a good 45 minutes after practice started) that things changed. I said "my son is being unusually shy", the coach walked over, had a quick chat, and lured him out onto the field with the option of whacking the stuffing out of the ball. As my son suited up in his batting gear the tide turned. In the blink of 3 or 4 eyes the kid I know best was out there making jokes with his new best friends, chasing after balls, rolling around on the ground, and asking me if we could stay for the extended practice, "please?"
Where did today come from and is it coming back? How will it manifest itself this time? While I didn't outright fail my son today I could feel that I wasn't giving him everything he needed. I'm so used to being able to solve his problems quickly (dirty face? Here's a wipe...hungry? Here's a snack...) that I didn't have the tools I needed for his complex conflicting emotions. Apparently I need a whole new playbook because the kid I know so well is evolving every day and I'm just running frantically around the bases trying to keep up. Time for mom to grow too.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
It's Never Enough
Restless tonight. I'm completely bone weary and exhausted and yet I'm not quite ready to turn out the lights. The endless to do list is clattering around in the back of my mind but I've got nothing I want or really can tackle. I don't have the energy to dive into something new but I do have the guilt to feel incomplete for not making even the slightest dent in my ever growing list of things that must be done. My body knows that it has to rest but it seems my mind just can't stop churning. Is this the continual fate of the overworked mom? Forever doomed to never getting enough done and never being satisfied? Where is the pressure coming from and why is it so easy to fall into its claws?
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Ties That Bind and Loosen
"Been a long time since I rock and rolled" -- the real truth is that I've never rock and rolled, and neither have my kids...until now.
Such is the fate of a sister with a brother that likes classic rock, two HIGHLY influental children when it comes to their favorite uncle, and a long car trip. My musically naive kids moved from Led Zepwhat to Ledheads in the space of 40 minutes.
We listened to that particular track four times while my son played air guitar, my daughter used her head as a drum, my brother laughed gleefuly, and I put my head on the dashboard and kept smacking it over and over.
While I admit that my kids were pretty funny and I loved the family bonding with an uncle that lives over 3,000 miles away, that particular car ride signaled the end of something -- my control over the radio. Oh sure I let my kids have some say in the music and kid-appropriate CD's they listen to but even then those are CD's carefully selected and screened by me. This seemingly innocent bit of sharing by my brother was a full on attack of my musical dominance.
It's been two days since that fateful trip and the first thing my son said when we got in the car today was "Led Zeppelin mom!" I know this is the beginning of the end. My son is actively seeking out the classic rock station in our town and I've loathed classic rock ever since it came pouring down the stairs from my brother's room over 30 years ago. Pretty soon we'll have a battle over the radio, just like my brother and I did when we were growing up. Only this time my kids will be my kids instead of my stinky brother and I'll be forced to give in instead of whapping him on the arm, head, or other random body part.
I guess that's what happens when you share your kids with other people that love them as much as you do...I may have lost control of my radio, but a little piece of my life has come full circle. Thanks bro.
Such is the fate of a sister with a brother that likes classic rock, two HIGHLY influental children when it comes to their favorite uncle, and a long car trip. My musically naive kids moved from Led Zepwhat to Ledheads in the space of 40 minutes.
We listened to that particular track four times while my son played air guitar, my daughter used her head as a drum, my brother laughed gleefuly, and I put my head on the dashboard and kept smacking it over and over.
While I admit that my kids were pretty funny and I loved the family bonding with an uncle that lives over 3,000 miles away, that particular car ride signaled the end of something -- my control over the radio. Oh sure I let my kids have some say in the music and kid-appropriate CD's they listen to but even then those are CD's carefully selected and screened by me. This seemingly innocent bit of sharing by my brother was a full on attack of my musical dominance.
It's been two days since that fateful trip and the first thing my son said when we got in the car today was "Led Zeppelin mom!" I know this is the beginning of the end. My son is actively seeking out the classic rock station in our town and I've loathed classic rock ever since it came pouring down the stairs from my brother's room over 30 years ago. Pretty soon we'll have a battle over the radio, just like my brother and I did when we were growing up. Only this time my kids will be my kids instead of my stinky brother and I'll be forced to give in instead of whapping him on the arm, head, or other random body part.
I guess that's what happens when you share your kids with other people that love them as much as you do...I may have lost control of my radio, but a little piece of my life has come full circle. Thanks bro.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Back to Life, Back to Reality
I'm about to end the lazy (ha!) days of summer and head back to the insane whirlwind that is the beginning of the school year. Next week - aaah!!! I love that commercial that sings "It's the most wonderful time of the year" while pitching school supplies but for working single moms this time of year is nothing but getting back to the circus that defines day-to-day life. Unlike our stay-at-home mom friends who definitely need and deserve a kid break, working moms days haven't been filled with too much kid time, we've just dropped the kids off at a new location for fun-filled all-day activities.
While summer isn't the same for a working mom, it's still a break from regular school pressure and after-school activies and I'm not ready for that to end. I don't want to go back. I want to stomp my feet and make the clock stop! I think I might even trade my slushie drink filled vacation for another week of not having to juggle three schedules with the greatest of ease. (Okay, make that two weeks -- I make really good slushie drinks -- just ask my mom.)
My little ones are 7 and 5 and I kept hearing that things would get easier but I also heard that things would get harder. Both sets of guru-type friends/parents at whose feet I worshipped were right. My kids are easier to handle but their ever growing list or responsibilities and activies are not. How to balance, how to balance, especially when it's just you shuffling them from place to place and your boss does actually think you should come to work some days out of the week.
As always, I've got a whole new list of ideas on how to handle the upcoming pressure. We'll pick out clothes the night before! Make the kids more responsible for their own items! Menu plan! (I've tried all of this before...but this is the time it will work!!!!)
What's your best back-to-school resolution? Is it recycled from last year? Did you read it in a magazine, website, blog, or get it from a friend? I'll try anything to make this a smooth transition!
While summer isn't the same for a working mom, it's still a break from regular school pressure and after-school activies and I'm not ready for that to end. I don't want to go back. I want to stomp my feet and make the clock stop! I think I might even trade my slushie drink filled vacation for another week of not having to juggle three schedules with the greatest of ease. (Okay, make that two weeks -- I make really good slushie drinks -- just ask my mom.)
My little ones are 7 and 5 and I kept hearing that things would get easier but I also heard that things would get harder. Both sets of guru-type friends/parents at whose feet I worshipped were right. My kids are easier to handle but their ever growing list or responsibilities and activies are not. How to balance, how to balance, especially when it's just you shuffling them from place to place and your boss does actually think you should come to work some days out of the week.
As always, I've got a whole new list of ideas on how to handle the upcoming pressure. We'll pick out clothes the night before! Make the kids more responsible for their own items! Menu plan! (I've tried all of this before...but this is the time it will work!!!!)
What's your best back-to-school resolution? Is it recycled from last year? Did you read it in a magazine, website, blog, or get it from a friend? I'll try anything to make this a smooth transition!
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