You must become number one. You do not ever sacri- fice healthy eating, exercise, or your emotional health for the sake of anyone else…ever. If someone really needs you, they need you to be healthy and available. Put your own oxygen mask on first and then take care of the kids or anyone else who needs you. The ironic part of this process is that once you start taking care of yourself, you have so much more to give to others. It doesn’t take away from them; it adds value and joy to their lives. So grab that to-do list and make sure you are at the top of it every time! I am sure you have heard this advice before and understood it intellectually, but now it is time to start applying this practice. I am very extreme with this advice and I require my clients to at least try it out. What this means is that (sometimes) the kids have to give up on some of their activities so mom can have one of her own. This means that friends don’t always get the help they need and dinner is not quite ready at the exact time expected. This is very difficult for many women. I have had one client in tears when she told her family they would have to wait twenty minutes to leave for the amusement park because she wanted to get her exercise in. Her family was shocked by the request. They were used to her dropping everything so the family could be happy. She had taught them that QaXe MoD1sel+ \1oDC by PaXing Ca1e ! A46