Cupcakes and Health: A Day in the Life Sunday

There are many reasons to exercise regularly and eat healthy. I get that. What I don't get is why we continue to chase the next new "perfect" diet or fitness plan only to be  surprised and disenchanted when the too-good-to-be-true results are not realized.

Stop chasing. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to health and fitness. What works for one, won't work for another and what works for you today, may not work for you tomorrow.

The only perfect plan is the one you will follow.

Today, the plan I am following includes a paleo-ish way of eating (I completed an 8 week Paleo challenge last month) and CrossFit. I've had amazing results in strength and flexibility and am feeling better overall with less cravings, more energy, and stable  blood sugar levels. But the rigidity of the LuRong plan is too much of a long term commitment for me.

I stayed 100% true to the plan until I attended a wedding. I made good choices throughout the night: red wine and not white, shrimp and not eggrolls, sweet potatoes and not mashed. Then the desert came. Not eating the desert was less choice and more deprivation (see cupcake above).

I ate the cupcake.

And nothing bad happened.

I jumped back on the bandwagon and finished the challenge - strong. So, while I wait for my finisher's t-shirt, I'll continue to push my self and my strength, pay attention to the foods I eat and settle into the right balance of Paleo/clean/fun foods and exercise for me.

It's taken me a while to get to where I am, now. Will I be in the same place, doing the same next year at this time? I don't know. The one thing I do know is that whatever my perfect plan is, it will always include a cupcake.

A Message to Supervisors

​I am out of the office this week conducting training for 40+ new supervisors. Sometime during the 2-1/2 days, I am bound to share some tidbits I've pulled from the archives.​

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Supervision is not as hard as some make it out to be. If you are a supervisor, take a few minutes to read through the questions below. Think about them and answer honestly.

• Do you counsel employees over email?
• Do you have to "win" employee discussions?
• When asked why, do you respond, "because I can?"
• Do you view employee questions as challenges to you ego? 
• Do you expect your support people to "read your mind" in regards to work expectations?
• Do you look past behaviors because addressing them is a bit "uncomfortable" for you?
• Do you hold back information because members of your staff just "don’t need to know?"
• Are your performance reviews consistently late?
• Do you engage in shouting matches with you staff?
• Do you take this stuff personally?!

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, stop that right now. This is not about you. It is about helping others to succeed, to make the goal, to achieve the mission. It's about addressing problems head-on and making the tough decisions.

Does this make sense to you? Do you see the possibility? Do you see that there may be another way? If you do, then BRAVO to you. If you don't, reach into your wallet, your purse, or your top desk draw and pull out your supervisor card. Hold it out. I'm coming by to collect it. Now.