Don't Judge a Book By its Cover, the Myth of the Super Mom

We have all heard it, most of us have even said it... "I wish I had more energy," or "I wish I could just lose this last ten pounds," or "If I could just get my kids to eat one vegetable!". We all wish we could be super mom, but super mom doesn't exist. We can look at someone and say "She does it all" but no one can "do it all". Every one of us has limits.

Super mom syndrome is all around us, we all envy someone else's energy or enthusiasm or knowledge of a subject we know little about but wish we knew more of. There's the mom down the block who has 3 kids, a clean house and works as a doctor full time. You know what? She doesn't do it all either. There's Suzy Homemaker around the corner who always has fresh cut flowers from her perfect garden on her table with her made from scratch cookies. She doesn't do it all either. There is something in each of these women's lives that they have had to let go of, something they cannot get done and have chosen not to do.

There is some good news, though. While we can't do it all, we can chose to do certain things. The key is to prioritize. A little planning goes a long way, as does a little understanding. A little knowledge can go a long way in helping you to raise a happy, healthy family. Don't worry about looking perfect, even the so-called perfect housewives can't do everything they want to do or think they should do. I have heard it many times, being accused of being perfect of being super mom or a "high-energy" mom that no one can keep up with. Trust me, it's not true. Yes, I have a lot of energy, but it comes from the way I eat and the planning that I do. My house doesn't run itself, it takes a lot of hard work and forethought to do it...and there are times I fail miserably! I have my days where I don't want to get out of bed, I want to throw frozen waffles in the microwave and I want to sit in my bunny slippers and watch tv! We all have those days, and you know what? So do it! Moderation is the key, you don't have to do everything every time! Maybe you get out of bed, put on your bunny slippers, turn on the tv, but you make homemade whole grain waffles instead. Or better yet, when you do have energy, make those waffles and stick them in your freezer for just this occasion!

There are little ways to find the time to do the things that are most important to you. The first thing you have to do is decide on what these important things are and then list them in order of importance. Now, you see those things at the bottom of the list? Throw those out, they are low priority, you can do them on occasion, when you have extra energy (ha, ha). For me, the most important thing is teaching my kids healthy eating habits that they will have for the rest of their lives. That may not be your number one priority, and that's ok! We all have different things that are important to us. The idea is to make sure you streamline and don't try to do too much, because that is when you get overwhelmed and feel like you have failed. When we feel like we have failed, we tend to give up or to beat ourselves up and that is not helpful to anyone, least of all you.

If you find that you have a lot of changes that you want to make, try making them one at a time. Make one change and keep it up until it becomes a habit, then make another change. Nobody can overhaul her life all at one time, this is when we tend to just say forget it! We look at all the things we want to do (not necessarily NEED to do) and we think we just can't do it all, so we don't do any of it. If we really want to change our health and the health of our kids, we need to do it one step at a time. The first step is to decide just how healthy you want to be, you don't have to do it all! Change white flour to whole grain, make brown rice for dinner instead of white rice, choose whole grain pastas instead of white pasta and let your family get used to all the new tastes! You will find when you start eating healthier that you feel better and your energy will skyrocket! Take your kids shopping with you and have them choose a new fruit and a new vegetable to try each week. Cultivate their tastes and they will thank you for it later.

The key to the whole thing is moderation. Don't try to be super mom, she is a myth. Be the best you that you can be and do the best you can for your family. Decide what is top priority and make those changes first, don't try to make them all at once or you will quit before you have even started!