Stay At Home Mom's #18
Welcome all newcomers & friends! This is a thread full of laughter, friendship and encouragement, as we share our lives and the ups & downs of raising a family. Feel free to join us. We look forward to getting to know each other better.
Be sure to go back to SAHM's #17 to catch up with the latest on what has been going on in everyone's lives during the past week or so.
Ginny


Ok, I signed off too soon! Kerrie, Jackie , Paula and Hilary- hope that you made it over here! We also have a lot of MIA's, some friends from a month or so ago. Hope to see you here too!
Kerrie, I know all about the retirement money thing. It sort of becomes an obsession to some men at times. I try to contrast it with my BIL- who throws away money on all kinds of worthless stuff- he and my sister will probably have to work forever, and then be thankful for my DH. (But who was the nut who invented CNNFN and that other money cable channel. It will drive you nuts or I should say me nuts when he watches it all the time! The 21 day no soda thing sounds like a good thing for you. You have done well before with self discipline, so I am sure that this will work for you too. Soda is a tough one- at least (finally) the fast food places usually have bottled water now, which helps. Good luck!
Jackie- Sounds like this mini get away will be nice for you! I hope that it renews your spirit and gives you the time you need to regroup mentally. You are usually so full of energy (it jumps across the screen at me!) that it is hard to see you a bit down.
Enjoy the break, and not too much of that hard lemonade!

As for me, I will not bore you with my food from yesterday, but I finished ok. I really cannot say what got me started back OP this time- but it is amazing how good I can be one week, and how awful the next. Praise God that I got my desire to lose back- and have been pretty good.
Todays food is (started with a 35 minute walk at 5:20 am )
1/2 bagel (dry, none of that fatty stuff added)
tea (big surprise there!)
1 can V8.
4 or 5 glasses of water
So far I am at 4 points- and DD comes home from school soon, so I will be having lunch soon.
I must admit, this posting my food intake is really working for me (this week, pre PMS time )but who knows what next week will bring! Thanks for bearing with me, you are keeping me honest.

The school bus cometh..........gotta go!
Have a great day!
Ginny

Hiya!
Just a quick check in to finish my report on todays food intake(I figure I am at about 19-20 points).
I had some salad with ham in it for lunch.
A box of raisins
Another salad with chicken for dinner
Applesauce
coffee with whole milk (ugh, it was all they had at DS's basketball game!)
Diet Hot Chocolate
A lot more water
Some dry cereal ( I needed something sweet and crunchy!)
The odd thing is that I made some brownies for my family- and I have been able to walk away from them! Plus all the goodies that were floating around DS's game- chips, candy etc....

Ds's team played well- and although he is not on the starting lineup, he played really well, and got more playing time this game than the last one. The bonus was that they won too! Well, I am all hyped up on coffee (had to to be awake to do the 40 minute drive home on windy country roads). So, I think I will go read to unwind a bit. Have a good evening.
Take care,
Ginny

Hi
My name is Chrissy, and I am on a serious downhill slide here. I originally lost 60 lbs, and have gained back about 12 pounds. I am mad at myself and fully aware of what I am doing to myself. I seem to do well with losing what I have gained back, but am weary of the yoyo thing. I am a binger(an emotional one to, I get upset I eat), are any of you experiencing the same problems?
I am also new to the stay at home thing, and thoroughly enjoying it. Who am I kidding I LOVE it I told my dh that I would never go back if I didn't have to. I think I may have to go back part time for about a year til the vehicle is paid off, but hoping something will work out. It is wonderful to have time for myself, and have more time for my dh and kids.
I am 32(in 2 more days) and happily married (most of the time) and have 3 children. 1 ours, 1 mine, and 1 his. I only have his part time though. So it is definitely made a big difference in my life to be home. The funny thing is when the dh and I have talked about it in the past we always pretty much agreed that I would have to work for many more years, however when he actually got a taste of me being home he really likes it. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that financially we can work things out.(say a prayer please!)
Anyway, I am in true need of support here, and hoping to be able to make some new friends, and help others too. Talk to you soon.

Chrissy

Good Morning!!!!!!
Welcome Chrissy!! I understand that downhill slide thing- totally. (stinks doesn't it?) I lost about 15- 17 pounds 2 years ago, and most of them crept back on over the course of a year.
I was really only able to keep my lowest weight of that time (165#) for a few weeks before I got sloppy and up the weight went. And I have basically spent the past year kicking myself in the tail, trying to get my inspiration back. And you are talking to the original stress eater, I can keep up with the best of them,which is really not something to brag about, is it!
BTW, I have 3 children- DD 15, DS 12, and DD 5, and of course their dad (does he count as a kid?). I too am so weary of the yo-yo thing. BUT............you lost 60 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!! That in itself is a major accomplishment! Ok, some came back on- but there is still a huge net loss. So, I would not beat up myself for that- you lost it once, and will lose it again. Did you ever get down to your goal weight?
What are the ages of your children? What are you doing to lose weight? Are you getting any excercise? (ok ,I will shut up with the questions!) I am glad that you are here and look foward to getting to know you better.

As for me, I have gotten off to a good start (Chrissy, I have in the past week gone to posting every day that I can with my excercise and food intake. It keeps me honest- and I know that I have lost already).
Today, I have had some tea, Maypo (ok,I am still a kid!) and probably 4 glasses of water. My tummy is starting to grumble, so I think the next thing for me will be a banana. With the banana I am at a total of 6 points so far today. I also got my walk in this am, in this cool crisp air it was a joy.
I have blabbered enough for now. DD has a soccer game this afternoon, and I am a bit tired from DS's basketball game which got me home a bit late.
Wishing you all a great day! Drink that water and give your kids an extra hug!
Ginny

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I'm new to reaching out for help. I wanted to reply to Chrissy 30. When I read your entry Chrissy, I noticed we had some things in common. I can totally relate to the use of the phrase "downhill slide" in fact I've been "sliding" for a few years now. I also am LOVING staying home with my daughter. My husband and I were always talking about how we needed me to work, until he got a taste of me being home! I've been home taking care of him and our daughter for almost 2 months now and we all enjoy it. We're planning to start having children now (our daughter is mine from a previous marriage 10 yrs ago).
I'm here cause I'm seriously over weight and I need to get control of my weight and health before I get pregnant again. Like many women, no one knows how much I really weigh. Three years ago I lost 70lbs which made me feel great and look great. So great in fact that I managed to get a wonderful man to marry me. I'm not sure why, but as soon as I got married I started eating and gaining. I gained back the 70lbs PLUS 20 more. I need help. I would love to glean what I can from everyone here. I have never asked for help before and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Holly

Hi!
This is exciting, now we have two newcomers! Welcome Holly!
I guess I should add some background info about me and how I got to the miserable weight that I am at now. When I had our oldest dd, 15 years ago, I was still working full time. Dh was in college at night, finishing up his bs. I was making much more than he was- and only had 16 months until I became vested in pension rights and the 401K at work. So I grinned and beared it- telegraphing all over the place that I really was not totally into this work thing anymore. Fortunately for me, I was blessed with a very understanding boss - a true family man himself- who knew that he was still getting good work from me, although my loyalties had changed. When dd was 16 months old (plus a day or two) I quit. Roughly the same time DH finished school, and got a new position, so that his salary was where mine was before I quit. (BTW we were essentially living off of his salary b4 I quit, mine we put away to afford a house or for niceties). I gained about 10# when I quit and went up to 150#. Then DS's pregnancy (9 months of feeling pretty bad)- a rough delivery- and then our apparently healthy ds needed MAJOR surgery at the age of 3 weeks. So instead of losing weight post partem, I gained. About 10 pounds (but I had not lost any weight after the birth of DS). And DS was a tough baby- sweet kid during the day, but really awful at nite. Between chronic ear infections and being a terrible teether- and Dh having no tolerance for a crying baby- I was basically a single parent for many years. I had the support of his paycheck, but little else. So, it was then that I went up to and stayed between 175 and 185 pounds.

Well, all this is ancient history now, and I am fighting to get this blubber off for good. I am not going to bore you with my eating this weekend, which was less than perfect, but I still made some good choices and really avoided the major binging that got me this heavy. I am looking foward (well, maybe) to Wednesday, when I get on the scale. I can, seriously, see and feel some weight loss in this past week.

Holly, I do hope that you and Chrissy feel comfortable here. We have all had our ups and downs. I have always felt able to safely vent here, and get encouragement (and some laughs too!) from the friends here. Welcome. Fill us in with how you are going about losing. And that you once lost 70 # is a major accomplishment!!! It tells me that you can really do this again- just getting to the point of total motivation is what you need to do. (and believe me I know how tough that is).

Ok, enough blabbering tonite. I hope that everyone had a good weekend, and is gearing up to face another week of family life!
Take care.
Ginny

Okay, something very weird is going on this a.m., either with my 'puter or this site. Second time I've typed this . . . here goes again!:

Good morning ladies! Welcome to Holly~30 and Chrissy30, so good to have a couple more women here. I look forward to getting to know you. I didn't realize how many days since I last posted. I was working on my website, trying to get it ready to launch today. It's ready! You ladies can be among the first to view it: www.members.home.net/rloosle . Hope that link works. I have found a couple of mistakes but am still working on how to publish updates. Once I get that figured out those will be fixed.

To introduce myself (if you don't check out the site), I'm Kerrie. I'm 32, SAHM of 4 kids--Brad, 9; Emily, 7 (next week); Kathryn, 4; and Erin, 1 (next week). I lost close to 60 pounds between the last two babies and gained it all back plus 10. I'm finally working on getting off again.

Today is Day 1 of NO soda! I'm not looking forward to this challenge! But I AM looking forward to being free from this "addiction" (for me, that's almost what it is).

Ginny, I'm so glad you shared your story--I don't think I've read it before. I like knowing what's gone into people's struggles with weight. It's quite interesting and I think tells alot about the person.

Well, I've wasted SO much time on the computer this weekend, working on the website, that my house is falling down around my ears. (Actually, it was quite clean on Saturday night but you know what a day with 4 kids can do to a house!)

Have a good one!

Good morning!
Just a quick hello. My washer died Saturday and I am waiting for the repair service to call me. (they promised a call "within an hour" 2 hours ago!!!!!!!!!! So here I sit, no walk yet because I am waiting for the phone to ring.

Glad that you checked in today, Kerrie! Forgive me for being dense, but I guess I have to assume that the soda you are giving up is the sugared kind? I know that it is tough switching from something that has a taste to water,with none. Try drinking really cold ice water as a replacement. Good luck! You are going for 3 weeks, for a start, right? And think of all the excercise you will get digging out your house. I always figured that it burned tons of calories doing all that bending and picking up stuff. Thanks for your sweet comment about my how-I-got-this-fat story. Guess it tells the story of what a stress eater I used to be!

My eating today has been good. I think I am at 6 points and it is 11am. Lunch is planned for 3points. I like that, it leaves me alot of room for dinner options, when everyone is home.
Gotta go.
Have a great day!
Ginny

Good evening!
Well, I am just here to report the finish of my evening and how I managed with points. Total point count for the day is 18 (my range is 20-27?). Honestly, I am not hungry (getting a cold, that is why!), and along with my herbal tea tonite, I kind of forced myself to eat a granola bar, for 2 points. I think I am good for one more cup of tea tonite and that will do it for me.
I did get a walk in tonite with dd and dh. Not a real speed setter, I will tell you that much. I am just so happy that DH came out for a walk. He has seemed to be on a "let's see just how much cholesterol I can eat " mode. It is almost like he does not care!! Dd (the oldest one) complained (and of course added that Dh has the same complaint)- that whenever I go on a diet, that I try to make the rest of the family go on it too. Does anyone else have that problem? And actually when we did our food shopping, we bought plenty of junk. (one thing I do refuse to buy is packaged baked goods. First of all they are such a rip off- bad for you and I am quite capable of baking!) But, back on the subject. Usually, when on a diet I might try to make something leaving out the butter etc........but it is always available on the table for those who want it. Like tonite- we had acorn squash, baked- and I served it dry. I served butter and syrup on the side for those who wanted it. Me, I ate my squash with some cinnamon- and did not miss the sweet, fatty stuff a bit! But on a normal nite, someone will bellyache that I am "putting the whole family on a diet" and try to make me feel like a creep. (for some wonderful reason it did not happen tonite which I am so thankful for). So, I will after babbling on and on pose the question in a direct form. Does anyone else have a family who actually seem intent on ruining their diet plans????? I am just curious.
Well, I have spent a lot of time rambling. I had better go and get some work done. Wednesday am, is the official weigh in for me. I am getting a bit curious, myself. The only thing that could make this weigh in off is that TOM is due at the end of the week and I am retaining fluids.
Have a good evening! Take care and drink that water!
Ginny

Good Morning Ladies!'Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I am sorry it took so long for me to get back here but it was a busy weekend. It was my bday and the dh took me out on saturday and we went to the mall and got some ideas for christmas for each other, saw a movie, and had dinner out. Was not a good weekend eating wise but it was good every other way. Today is it though! I am getting back on track once again. I think I will try your idea Ginny of posting my food. I think it will also keep me honest.
Well here goes with a little more info about me. I am 32 w/3 kiddies. ds is 9(will be 10 in jan.), dd is 5, and stepson(lives w/ his mom and comes here on weekends) will be 11 this month. We have been blessed w/3 great kids. I started my weight loss journey(as I call it) May 7, 2000. I am on no particular plan just my own. I started out eating lite and doing away with all sodas, and sugar drinks. At first I only allowed myself water. Period, nothing else. Than when I got used to it it was really all I wanted most of the time. I also eliminated all the real bad stuff. No salad dressings, mayo, butter, whole milk, etc. Again it took some getting used to, but once I did I really didn't mind the fat free stuff. For me I could not go from the real thing right away to the fat free so I just stayed away from all of it for a couple of months. Than when I tried the fat free stuff, and diet drinks they did not taste bad to me. Well lately I have really struggled with binging. I am a a real binge eater. I do OK if I don't ever start, but once I do watch out. I am trying to get myself under control again. The difference this time is that I am aware of what I am doing. Before it was always a mindless eating thing. Now I think to myself that I know full well what I am doing and I am going to have to pay the consequences. So now it is payday. This morning all I have had is 2 large cups of coffee. It is only 8am though. I also really need to get back into eating regularly. That was also very important in my initial weight loss. 3 squares a day plus healthy snacks. So I am going to start that again to. I had thought about doing the slimfast thing for a few days but I know that it just does not work for me. I like how they taste and all, but by nite time I am starving and I blow it. So I am going to do this the right way.
Well girls I know I have been blabbing away, but I was so thrilled to see the responses from all of you Ginny, please don't think you are asking too many questions. I am enjoying getting to know all of you. Holly- I am glad you are able to be at home too It is a wonderful thing, I just hope I can keep doing this for a while. Kerrie- Good luck on the soda, I used to be a Mountain Dew addict so I know where you are coming from.
Well ladies I have to run for now, but I will talk to you soon!

Chrissy

Thanks for the welcome!

I too can identify with the "binge" cycle. I have been a binge-->purge eater all my life. Like I said I lost 70 lbs a few years ago(the only time I ever lost weight) but I did it in a really bad way. I cut ALL carbs and lived on: tuna (straight from the can), tomatoes, egg whites, mushrooms and copious amounts of black coffee and cigarettes. I had a huge problem with believing I was worth taking care of. I hated myself and liked the feeling of torturing myself. Once I began working (dental assistant), met my husband and began attending church again. I started to feel my self worth returning. I gave up the self destructive behaviors. I quit coffee and smoking and began EATING. I still struggle with the want of purging after eating and sometimes the panic after a binge is so overwhelming that I can only find comfort in an over dose of laxatives. I may need more than a support group to help me.

Kerrie----I have never been a pop drinker but I can identify with the addiction thing, Good Luck with it!

Chrissy---I hope you get to stay home as long as you want. And I know just what you mean about binging. "once I start, watch out!"

Ginny----My daughter is still young(10yrs) and doesn't seem to notice when I restrict goodies. So I don't suffer with the family complaints. You sound like you're doing just fine despite the butter and syrup on the table during dinner! Good for you! I'm not that strong yet.

Ginny . . . "Does anyone else have a family who actually seem intent on ruining their diet plans????" Only my husband!! This year on my birthday he brought me a 3 lb. bag of M&M's, if you recall! But, that said, I don't really get complaints, too much. My kids do frequently complain about what I cook for dinner but they do that anytime dinner's not pizza, spaghetti, or stroganoff! I don't buy a whole lot of goodies in any case, never have (except for occasional spurts), so they just have never been used to it.

Chrissy--happy birthday! I'm glad you had a good one. Your oldest is only a month (or so) older than mine! He'll be 10 in Feb., at the tail end. 4th grade. My 4 yr. old will be 5 in Jan., too.

Oh, I was going to add about the pop--I am talking about diet soda. I just don't think it's good to drink the quantities I do, and I still think I have to have a treat with it. I have never had a problem with drinking water, though--I just want both! Always have wanted it all, I guess.

Well, ladies, have a great day--I've got a screaming baby at my legs so gotta run.

WOW!

I leave for a few days & our thread starts booming! I'm glad to see you all here. Welcome Holly & Chrissy! Congratulations to the both of you on becoming SAHM's! I've been a SAHM for almost 3.5 years now & for the most part love it. You gals sound like you will fit in perfectly here. (You both sound like me & the rest of us that post here.) You both took the first step by asking for help & support. I believe the main reason on why we fail with the weight loss thingy is because we get depressed & just plain give up or binge eat. Our group sets small goals/challenges & our first challenge for fall ends tomorrow, (Halloween). We had a 5# challenge from the beginning of Sept. until l0/31. Our next challenge will begin on November 1st & it will continue 'til Thanksgiving & the following one will run sometime after Thanksgiving until the end of the year. Maybe we should start the final one for the year on a Monday so that we don't have to feel totally guilty during the Thanksgiving Holiday. I'm going to request that we have at the most: A 3# challenge from 11/1 up until Thanksgiving. I totally blew the 5# challenge that we just have completed. Matter of factly....I'm sure I've gained back everything that I've lost & then some! This darn Halloween candy has really done me in. Well, we have a new challenge & I have faith that we ALL can do it! I just picked up a book from the library which I haven't checked out in over a year. It's called Weight Loss Through Persistence. By: Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D. The last time I checked it out I lost over 20#, which is a success for me. Something really hit me this time while reading it. On thread #17 I posted that I had problems with my left breast & had a fear of breast cancer. Well, I had a Mammogram done yesterday & thank God, no cancer! I will call this my wake-up call & especially after this being breast cancer awareness month & I also read something in this book. He mentions that the best cancer prevention we can do for ourselves is to get plenty of exercise, drink our water & work on getting the weight off & keeping it off. He makes it sound so easy, doesn't he? I know it's not easy, but if we want to keep on living for our children & our family, we have to do something about it. It's hard to believe that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer. I am going to work hard at trying not to be the "one" in 8. He also had mentioned some statistics that were done over the years & found out that for the most part, farmers were the least likely to end up with cancer. I guess it's due to all the physical work that they do & the long hours that they put in for a day. If I have time; I will try & post other information that I have read in the book. Maybe it will be the incentive that we all so much need. Happy Birthday, Chrissy! I hope you have/had a special day. I said a prayer for you & the rest of us stay at home Mom's that we can financially be able to stay at home to nurture & care for our children & hubbies. I was brain storming for a short time last night & thinking that maybe I should go back to work so that we could finish off our basement. Thank goodness a light bulb went off in my head & I know that the dear Lord was giving me the answers that I needed to hear. Give up the coveting on material things, work harder on being frugal & stop wasting money & calories on Fast Food. It's expensive & it's no good for you! I'm also putting my house on another diet to shed it from clutter, for I know that "Less is More"! (This goes for us too!) Holly: I'm glad that you have reached out for our help. We are here for you, as well as you will be here for us! We can do it if we work together on this! I know that for the last couple of weeks that I've been on a "down hill slide", but I'm ready to climb up it again! Kerrie: I've been thinking of you this past week as M&M's are popping up everywhere in our house! I love them & they love me, but they have a bad influence on me!~ I'm going to go check out your website after I'm done posting here. Ginny:
It looks as though you are on a roll with the weight loss. You can be our inspiration, okay? As for my family ruining my diet plans.....several times a week they can do this to me!! Thanks for sharing your story with us. It looks like it won't be long & you will be telling a weight loss success story. Oh my goodness, I just looked at the clock & I'd better sign off for now! I will check in later & maybe will tell my weight gain story & talk about my family. Until later, TTFN **Jackie**

Hello again, well here is a quick one just to post my food. I will come back in the morning and talk to everyone again.
Breakfast-2lg cups coffee, w/fat free french vanilla creamer.
1sm pkg low fat famous amos cookies(not a nutritous breakfast, but something to fill the hole)

Lunch-Sandwich-fat free turkey breast on wheat bread w/lite miraclewhip, pretzels, and 2 fig newtons

snack-apple and 2 fig newtons

Dinner-2 lean pockets, and a few f/f tortilla chips

So all in all a good day. I did not get the walk in today but I will make it a priority tomorrow. Thanks for the birthday wishes, and I will talk to you ladies some more in the morning.

Chrissy

Good evening!!
Well, it looks as though everyone has checked in ('cept for you,Paula - we miss you ) to say hello. It is great to see all of your responses.
I have to check in with my eating for today, which came in at somewhere around 23 points.
Bowl of hot cereal and 1/2 banana for breakfast (oopps, I forgot the tea!)
1/2 squash (did the cinnamon thing again)
1 yogurt (diet)
coffee (with cremora- it was all they had at work)
salad (tiny bit of dressing)
meatloaf
granola bar
I got all of the water in and a nice walk this evening.
I am retaining all kinds ofwater (TOM is due in 3 days)- so I will have to see how the scale reads tomorrow am!
Welcome back Jackie! Hope that this weekend was restful.
Chrissy- Lets keep each other honest here with the food check in.
I can't do the cookie thing for breakfast- once I start the day with a sweet, I am in trouble! But you finished just fine. Congrats on day one! And a belated happy birthday!
Holly- I am glad that you feel comfortable here. We all tend to vent on each other, and it is my hope and prayer that we can help you in your weight loss journey, in whatever way.
Kerrie- how is it going without the soda? Funny how each of us has their "bad" food. (or if you are like me, it is most food!)
But really, I know that you can do this- keep in touch with your progress.

I am dog tired. (so please forgive me for being terse and not my usual blabbery self) Looks as though Dd (5) will be home from school-her throat looked awful this evening and she went to bed at 7. So, no running around for me-and I will have time to post.
Sooooooooo, I will see y'all tomorrow morning!
Have a great nite.
Ginny