Harnessing Your Power

I've gone a little mad this month and am participating in two challenges, a wellness challenge and the Slice of Life Story Challenge.  I can add the wellness challenge because I've made it through the SOLCS for two years.  I need to do this wellness challenge.  Two weeks ago I fasted the entire work day for blood work and discovered at the end of the day I didn't have my doctors' orders.  Talk about hating everyone and the world.  What it really came down to is the reality that one should NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, fast or deprive yourself of caffeine when you have chosen to work with teenagers as your profession. It's not healthy.  The next day I told my principal that what I hated most that day was the realization that while I was doing a good job of taking care of the work, I just wasn't able to take care of myself.  It is a problem I have. It is a problem with which I often wrestle.  I do better most times, but lately since my injury in July have not done such a good job.   My endo says celebrate the small victories, but when your A1C goes up an entire point and then drops a tenth of a point the victory is too small.  It is a signal that I have serious work to do and the wellness challenge is that work.

Saturday morning Gladiators!  Community Matters!

 It is relatively simple.  Eat appropriately and chart your food intake on My Fitness Pal, drink your water, get your sleep, post to our Facebook group, do Camp Gladiator 3xs per week and cardio at least 3xs per week. I have a checklist in which I monitor which steps I've actually accomplished.   I've actually survived week one and have four more weeks. It has been complicated and hard for me.  I am a type one diabetic and any changes to my diet or exercise have immediate scary consequences.  I had 4 lows in one day and I knew I had to readjust my basal aka the amount of insulin I receive hourly.  I don't normally do this. That is when I actually quit and go back to old habits. This time, I told myself,  I can do this.  I studied my data, made adjustments, and made it through the week.  Four more to go.

Both of the challenges that I am participating really work the same. You do the work as individual, but each individual is a member of a community that supports each other. We celebrate success and give each other feedback.  We write every day---either a log or a blog.  We do the hard work and find inspiration in each other.  Ultimately we rise to the challenge and harness the power of together.