No to nata

Portuguese pastries are not my favorite. I suppose, though, after walking 3.6 miles in total to take my son to school, stop at the gym, cruise the grocery isles, and walk home, I might find room for a Pastel de Nata. I didn't, but as a dear client can attest to, it's because I have an on-again/off-again secret obsession with gummy worms which are my 'go-to'. Of course, I don't eat them all the time or even regularly, but we always lean towards balance, which includes the occasional handful of gummy worms or a pastry filled with egg custard. Every culture - including Portugal's - has its indulgences and most have found a way to balance them.

And balance has been a topic for me lately. As I am currently studying for the Corrective Exercise Specialist certification, it reminds me of the little habits we SHOULD undertake to keep our bodies healthy and for which we never seem to find the time. 'Should' is always in close proximity to 'Shame' in that we often don't have the energy for all the 'shoulds' out there. We lower our eyes while describing what we should be doing but not even coming close to starting or completing. This is why I love Kelly and Juliet Starrett's 'Built to Move' because unlike their first book 'Suptle Leopard' (It was amazing, nonetheless) there's an acknowledgement that you're probably not going to check off all the 'shoulds' - life get's lifey. They built in behavior change as described in this video and worked to find those windows in a day that you can accomplish your goals without adding to an already hectic 'morning routine'. A key example is the 'Old Man Balance Test' seen here. Little tricks like this are what make a difference over time!