Diet Alert and other news

For the first time in my life EVER, I have found a diet that I can stick to!! It hasn't been easy, but I have been pretty successful. It's called "Cracking the Fat-Loss Code" by Wendy Chant.

Fat loss is acheived by varying the diet so the body does not have a chance to adapt to the diet changes, causing a plateau.

AND, here's the best part, you don't give up any foods! Not that you are able to pig out on junk everyday, but you do get to have days where your favorite foods can be included. It is part of the cycle that helps the body think it is getting plenty of food.

That is a mistake I have made in the past with diets. But it is unrealistic to try and give up birthday cake, pizza, etc. for the rest of my life.

I can do this! I don't feel hungry, but I still want to pig out at night. But I don't give up because I know one of my free days is just around the corner.

And in other news...

in a constant uphill battle to have some sort of enjoyable-ness(for student and teacher) when it comes to school and differently-abled learners, we took the day off the other day to watch the inauguration. JD and I had a knock down, drag out stand off, when I foolishly tried to coach him into answering "Bush" when I asked the name of our last President. I knew he knew it, but was just blanking out. At some point he hollered out, "Why couldn't you just move on when I didn't know the answer?!!"

To which I answered that I should have.And that he should have pointed this out to me, minus the freak out. :)

Talking like this is totally improving our interactions. He honestly misses the cues that others are being upset by his behavior, he is so caught up in managing his own feelings.

And I am so not a saintly mothering type, and sometimes I just get so weary of managing emotions and behaviors that I argue back instead of taking charge the way a leader should. So after addressing the issues I had w/ his behavior, I explained that I didn't choose the best way either and would do it differently next time too.

Still on the hunt for some school time that isn't completely painful to one or more parties involved, I took out my Five in a Row(fiar) stuff and found 1 lonely fiar book on my shelf. It is hard finding a good match for my 4 kids and their needs PLUS the neighbor whose needs are completely the opposite!

Fiar is aimed at ages 4-8,which would probably be a comfortable comprehension level for the neighbor and my 8 year old JJ. The neighbor is totally inexperienced in making connections so this would be good for him. My kids have done fiar before and are old pros at noticing details, predicting, etc. Would it be too easy for them at ages 10 and 11? Or would they enjoy it and still be able to take something away from it?

I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try out a few lessons. At first glance, I think the concepts are still valuable for older children, but at this age can be explored in more depth. It would be very easy to "beef up" the lessons, esp using something like enchanted learning to do extra activities w/ the concepts covered in the lessons.

The other night, I consolidated some scrapbooks so each child can have a scrap book to put their projects in.

Yesterday, I read Mirette on the High Wire to everyone. I pointed out France on the map, sang the Geography song, printed a map for them to color, and we talked about the artwork in the book, which was done w/ watercolors. We looked at the last illustration in the book and discussed the color choices of the illustrator.I talked about the color wheel and then they created their own paintings.

I was very satisfied; the neighbor did not seem overstressed and tuned out and my kids remembered the Eifel tower and Madeline, and recalled learning about the color wheel previously.I hope the neighbor will one day make such observations!

Connecting two ideas together, associating one thing w/ another...I am convinced that is what learning is, realizing that "OOOOh, this is just like ____________!!"

So where have I been?

It has easier for me to come here and type out my opinions on curriculum than it is to share actual feelings. Actually, it took me a long time to even know what I liked,so expressing what works and why took me a long time to learn.

Curriculum was a good first place to start as I seemed to have writer's block.

These last few months(years, even) I have toggled between feeling depressed and feeling good again. Recently I have become determined to tackle these issues. I am doing counseling, medication, regular dr. visits the whole 9 yards. Instead of just letting my health issues and emotional struggles simmer unattended only to explode later, I am making the most honest, self-aware attempt that I have ever made.

The overeating for one thing. It's not about what kind of diet I need to do. It's about using the entertaining aspect of eating for something it is not intended. For the first time, I am really disciplining myself and denying myself.

I am doing the Cracking the Fat Loss code book and I think it is working. I still struggle and want to snack at night on popcorn or cereal, but am doing good so far.

overeating

A wonderful resource is Shrink Yourself.

The question isn't "Why do you overeat?", but "Why do you overeat as a response to your problems?"

How goes the diet...

Well I have been feeling great, not feeling like I want to snack all the time. That said, I am dropping the gluten free effort. It is just undoable at this time. I thought it would be enough to do a few weeks( to see if there is an improvement), but it seems from what I have read on the internet that months is more accurate. I just can't hold everyone off for that long!!

Some of these options are so hard trying to do them on my own w/ no support, just an idea from a website or a book!

Since I feel so good diet-wise, I think I need to stay away from flour as much as possible. I have been eating fruit and brown rice w/ no problems. I always thought fruit gave me cravings, but maybe it is the flour!

Another time. Dairy free was hard and is hard to maintain. But gluten is a whole 'nother ball game. It is hard enough just to keep the family eating "healthy".

The kids are acting like real troopers, weathering an attack. I could just roll my eyes, as we aren't even eating alot of veggies yet. Just replaced the snacks w/ fruits and dont' eat out as much.

They are eating more now for sure! I made several meals this week as I usually have expecting them to last 2 meals(one supper, one lunch) and they were devoured w/ no leftovers!! so that is a nice consequence. I think they were filling up on snacks and picking at the meals. I don't allow them to spend their allowance on junk food anymore. I am sure I will again one day, but for now I am trying to retrain pallettes!

YOU on a diet

It's day 2 of YOU on a Diet. Sort of. I guess. Most of yesterday was spent shopping. YOAD isn't exactly a diet plan, although they do have menus for the first 2 weeks. Too bad it is weird food. So I made up my own menu. It doesn't feel very "diet-ish". I am already eating less and eating better food. So it's a good thing.

And since you have to have whole wheat products, and I figured we would all initially balk at them, I decided to go ahead and try gluten free.

I have read that if you child will only eat certain foods, then suspect a food allergy. Well, there was a time when my ds10 loved milk. When we took it away, his behavior improved so much. Guess what other thing he loves? You got it: bread! Sometimes all he eats at a meal is the bread or the tortilla...so we are going to give that a go.

Ok, that is it for now.