HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DAN AND LIZ! Hope you have a wonderful time together no matter what you do today!

where is everyone?

yeah...where is everyone??

i had my 6wk checkup today. nothing major to report.
it's rainy/cloudy here today. i hope t-ball doesn't get rained out tonight!

OMG We just had the wildest rain storm. I have never seen anything like it here before. I am going to have get my cute little feet wet to get to my car...
I guess barbequing is out tonight. Hmmm time for some creative healthy cooking.
Talk to you later

Joan

Good morning all Ok, now that I finally am getting around to posting this, it is dinner time, but what the heck

Kristin……a kick in the pants…... I love it. Congrats on your engagement. Enjoy this tie……I love my getting ready for the wedding memories

Amy M…….what an accomplishment…..halfway to goal is incredible. I have found, in my yo yo sizing, that it takes me to get under 200 b4 the sizes start dropping more dramatically. I think we secretly squeeze into our clothes when we are in the 200 club……oh, that and they are really roomy and forgiving. WTG!!!

Hi JerseyAmy and Katie, Liza and Dan……..congrats on 14 years

Jillian……..I am here….now. I was at my Mom’s for 10 days. We got home last night. I am buried in work here, but I haven’t gotten the umph to start it yet. Good for you for getting on that elliptical. It will make you feel so good. And how awesome that DH is going to join your challenge. I really like that guy

Hi Joan

Cecilia……..I think you are half crazy for signing up for early morning bootcamp…….but I am so happy for you.

Hey Barbara……how’s everything going?

Ok ladies……I have a very serious question. Can I put 11 yo DD on LAWL? We traveled home from Wisconsin yesterday, and it was just my 13 yo, 11 yo, and baby Maria in my car (we had to take two cars cuz DH didn’t know for sure if he would be able to stay the entire work cuz of some major projects he had going for work)….anyway…..11 yo DD is so down about being chunky. She is about 5 feet tall and weighs 160 lbs. She asked me if I would help her get rid of her belly. She said she is tired of people not liking her cuz she is fat. I about died. We talked for a very long time, and I think she kind of realizes that people don’t dislike her because o her size…….but if you think back…that is when it started for most of us………and life was so miserable. Now, I don’t want to be on of those mom’s who, “puts,” her kid on a diet…….and I explained the concept of eating healthy and getting exercise through play as a child, and how wonderful you feel when you make your health a priority…..and that the pants size and/or scale results follow……but you know all she is thinking about is getting skinny. It is hard for we as adults to wrap our minds around that concept….let alone an 11 yo. She is quite active in the summer…..she swims and rides bikes everywhere. I told her she coud probably gain a ton of energy and maybe lose 5 or 10 pounds over the course of the summer………but that she has a growing body, and she may not lose any pounds, just grow taller. She seemed soooooo relived and excited when I told her I would help her……and she wanted to know how many calories she should eat and all that c rap…..and I just told her I would help her figure out what a proper portion size is and help ensure that she gets all of her veggiess, fruits, and proteins in. I told her if she ate all of those things, then the rest would be a bit more flexible. I know little girls start this dieting crap around age 10……and that often times they try their own diets……and they are very neducated. So……tell me it is ok to have her do this and log her foods…..and to let her think she is on a diet. When I left for the grocery store this a.m., she said, “make sure you get stuff for my diet, ok mom!” Anyway……..since she is so excited about doing this, I am going to be forced to also. Pretty sad that it takes my son asking me to only smoke on Saturdays to get me to quit, and my 11 yo DD asking me if she can go on a diet to take a real look in the mirror. I feels o weak.

Ok, enough about that……..and I should probably run. I think Amylou is pretty busy getting ready for her wedding. I am sure once life slows down a bit, she will be back.

I miss Joni too

Ok, time to get back to work here. Oh, one more thing…….I was super naughty and made Kristy Kreme copycat doughnuts while on vacation………..SINFUL!!!!

Oh, and JerseyAmy……..the breadsticks were a HUGE hit at Emily’s grad party. I made 400 stinkin’ breadsticks, and came home with only 2 dozen. Thanks again for the recipe
XOXO

Nicole, i think it's really good to teach your daughter to be healthier now. I always wished my Mom did that for me, but instead I saw her yo-yo diet and give me whatever junk I asked for...she spoiled me, and I love her for that but it is tough changing those habits when you are older.
You're right about not focusing on the weight too much. I remember when I was 11 I was like 4'9 and 125 lbs...and fat...a year later I still thought I was fat, not realizing that I stayed the same weight but grew to 5'5 in a year LOL.....young girls have such messed up images of their own bodies.
I wouldn't focus too much on a "diet". Encourage the playtime and getting out exercising and maybe just don't have bad foods in the house often, etc.. I'm not sure really....I'm not a mother and little girls can be so fragile emotionally...you can only show them how much you love them and try to do the best, even when ur not sure what's best!

Nicole, I think the discussion you had with your daughter and the conscious effort you are putting into helping her is wonderful! I have worries too about my daughter who has always been underweight until now. While she's still at a healthy weight for her height and age, she's just on that verge of overweight. No more PE in school to keep her active and she's a homebody. That was what pushed me into getting a Wii so she could have something active to do indoors that is fun. It's working, she's been playing it A LOT and it forces her to move around. Maybe you could consult the pediatrician about serving sizes appropriate for an 11 year old. Also as Kristin recalled with her youth, most girls go through that pudgy stage at 11 and then hit a growth spurt so some of it should naturally come off as long as she remains active.

So Mini Me and I have decided to go vegetarian. I was ready to go back to that lifestyle a year ago but Mini Me just couldn't give up her burgers and carne asada. I'll admit I enjoyed them too. This time she made the decision that she was ready so this is our first meatless week. Technically I'm going "Pescatarian" since I am still eating fish.

I was vegetarian before Mini Me was born and didn't do the "meatless meat" products because it seemed silly to me and they had A LOT of fat and sodium in them. This time around I decided to try a few things from Trader Joes to wean us into the meat free lifestyle and I have to say they've really improved.

Now that said, anyone have an LAWL vegetarian plan for red?

Oh, Liza........Jillian will have a ton of ideas for you. She is a vegetarian And how funny you should mention Trader Joe's......I jsut saw an ad for them that advertises meatless corn dogs.........YUM!

I haven't seen the meatless dogs but we tried the meatless meatballs tonight with spaghetti. If you bake them instead of simmering them in sauce and then top with the sauce they're pretty good!

Nicole- My heart just aches for your daughter. I think that you are a wonderful mom, and that you are doing a great job with her. There is NOTHING wrong with teaching her how to be healthy now!

Kristinx – congratulations on your engagement! And I hope your ankle gets better real soon.
Amy – Happy Belated Birthday! And great job both on meeting your Birthday goal and reaching your half way point on your original goal!
Jeweljz – not sure what 5 hour energy stuff you’re talking about, but would urge caution with any of those types of products. Have you tried Vitamin B-12? When my energy really tanks I let one of those dissolve under my tongue and it seems to help. I use the Solaray brand 2000 mcg – got it at Whole Foods. It’s on sale right now at drugstore.com.
Jillian – good job getting your exercise program up and running! I’m getting mine back in gear this week too. Have done 30 minutes on the treadmill and 15 on the recumbent bike the past two days……hoping it’s the start of a habit I just can’t give up
Liza – I’m in total agreement with you that the weekends need to be longer!! Are you on a colored plan or a numbered one? If you are still struggling with the same 5 pounds since starting, the first thing I would try is reducing starches – in other words, if you’re on a numbered plan try switching to the more protein-centric colored plans. You also might want to see a naturopath – problems with candida (very common in people who eat a lot of processed foods and/or have taken a lot of antibiotics) can inhibit weight loss. Alternatively, you could try an anti-candida diet yourself to see if it helps – plenty of information about it on the web. The first 2 to 3 days feel kind of icky as you’re experiencing die-off, but after that it’s normal to feel an increase in energy. I think we already talked about thyroid testing. I’d also see a naturopath for this. I’d been having mine tested for years and my traditional doctor kept saying it was “within the normal range”. My naturopath took one look at my lab results and said according to all the studies she’d read, and in her personal experience, when it got as low as mine was a person would feel like crap and wouldn’t be able to lose weight. I’m now on a low dose of Armour to give it a boost. And I’ve lost 10.2 pounds so far – woo hoo! Finally heading in the right direction!

Dan – a belated Happy Anniversary to you and your wife! Congratulations!!

Amy – the occasional slip isn’t fatal to your weight loss plans. It’s what you do the majority of the time that really makes a difference. Get back on plan and you’ll find that 3 pounds you gained will quickly disappear along with a few more like it!
Joan – I could use some time away from the office too! I do have some time scheduled at the end of July/beginning of August. Hubby is taking me to Vegas for our anniversary….and we have tickets to see Rod Stewart while we’re there and really good seats so I’m a happy camper. Last night I was planning our meals and entertainment for the week…..my plan is to low-carb while I’m in Vegas, as that’s been a successful strategy in the past…..otherwise, I’d have a date with a huge honkin’ piece of cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage…..oh it’s good, insanely good…..and this will be the first trip in a long time where I’m just not going to have any of it. There will be other cheesecakes.
Cecilia – I have a coworker who went from my size to looking absolutely incredible by doing a boot camp program at her gym. She had more reasonable hours though….did it over her lunch hour. I’m not sure any amount of motivation or dynamite could blast me out of bed in time to be at a 5:30am exercise class, but I admire those of you who can do it!
Barbara - I haven’t quite gotten my head wrapped around arms being the new sexy feature for women….I mean really, it’s not normally the first thing that is noticed on a woman. Kind of made me wonder how many features had to be passed up before they got to her arms? (Ok,ok…. I’ll behave. She does have good muscle tone in her arms. And I don’t exactly have Michelle Obama arms either. More like Aunt Jemima arms, truth be told.)

Nicole – I think LAWL is a very sound program nutritionally, and I think now is the time to be teaching your daughter healthy eating habits. I would be careful about encouraging her to “diet”, though – it’s not uncommon for pre-teens and teens to develop eating disorders in their quest to feel more attractive or more in control of their bodies. So I guess I think it’d be fine for her to follow the plan, but maybe not so good to let her think she is on a “diet”. Being on a diet implies it is a temporary thing and she will return to eating as she did before. It may be helpful to frame it as learning healthy eating habits that will help her achieve and maintain her ideal weight? Developing a healthy relationship with food can be a real challenge. Also, is it possible to get her involved in sports or some type of physical activity? That could eliminate the need to “diet” altogether.

And WOW - I think I might be caught up with everyone and everything now. If I missed anyone, sorry and HELLO!!! Hope it's a great week for all

Good Wednesday Morning to you all!!

Nicole- I agree with everyone else. Lost of great advice. I to had that weight gain at about 11 that evened out well by 13 but when you are 11 and see all your skinny friends it is hard to understand. Swimming is great it works your entire body, get her in that pool and that will help a lot. It is easier to loose weight when you are younger so that is a plus for her. Now what I have figured out with LA is the portions are really just the actually serving size we are suppose to have. So if you concentrate on getting her fruits, veggies and protein in the other things focus on having her eat the actual serving size that is not dieting that is teaching great healthy habits. She can even read the labels herself and see hey a serving size of wheat thins is 12 crackers. If you open the box grab a few, grab a few more next thing you know you have probably eaten 3-4 serving sizes without even realizing it because they are crackers (at least that used to be me). If my mother would have taken the time to help me realize these things at 11 I pobably would not be in the situation I am in right now. It is so hard to be 11 right now, the pressure of fitting in, media attention on being thin and all those hormones.

Liza- good for you on the meat thing. I am slowly working towards that too. I have not had red meat in 14 weeks so that is a start and you are right about the new meatless products they have improved greatly. The wii can be a wonderful tool for children. I agree just keep her active that will help so much.

My oldest just turned 14 and he has put on so much weight this past year, he looks healthy but he is so close to getting chunky. he tried out for football and did not make it so this summer he has been lazy so far, I am just hoping he gains some height and it evens out. it has to be frustrating to have 4 other brothers who eat the same as you and they are all too skinny. I wish I was younger but certainly not that young!!

morning all. i have so much to do today, i hope that baby X will cooperate and let me get it all done..including running some errands. ha.

liza--good for you for going meat-free! i love the morningstar farms and quorn products. yes, the sodium is a bit high with some, but as long as you don't eat too much of it too often, it works out. i also eat a variety of stuff that has lots of protein and is meat-free. lentils (i make a killer spicy veggie lentil soup!) natual peanut butter with flaxseed, soymilk, cottage cheese or string cheese (even though i'm lactose intolerant, i can tolerate small amounts), slim fast, raw almonds, etc. hope that helps.