Hi! Just me the ever obsessive one again!!!!!
Now just to finish up where I left off before-
Misti- sounds like you are on the right track there. You are so right about juice being high in calories. Good that you are looking- checking up on what you consume to see where you can cut. (I usually do not drink juice, because of its calories. I would rather have calories or points on something I really want instead! sort of like those M&M's............
) I still do the music thing with my kids. I will use classical for homework or when I need the gang to calm down a bit. Glad that Jackies tip worked for you. A crabby 2 year old is a tough customer! And as far as MIL goes, well how about we set up a central meeting location- send all of our MIL's there, and then we can leave them alone!!!! (and then maybe they will leave us alone). I know, dream on Ginny , dream on...........
Spryng- your MIL (now how did I get on her again!) sounds a lot like mine. It has taken her years to figure out that I am not such an awful mother. As a matter of fact, had we listened to her 12 years ago when she thought that all our Ds needed was to eat some "thickened formula" (I nursed all 3 of my babies) he would be dead!!!!!! (she tried to talk us out of surgery to correct a life threatening problem that would have killed him in a day or two).
I got/get credit for little from her- but I suppose now I probably get some credit for not poisoning Dh in almost 20 years of marriage with my cooking! (you see the only way to cook is her way). Aw, nuff of her!!!!! (an I can't leave my MIL alone in my house either- she loves to snoop). Well- I hope that you find a coping mechanism for while she visits. For a low cal cookbook, I have found JoAnna Lund's Healthy Exchanges cookbooks great.
She takes "normal" foods- like macaroni and cheese, desserts, you name it and takes out most of the fat and lowers the salt. Her ingredients are all normal stuff- nothing exotic or hard to find and food prep is always easy (never exceeds 15 minutes, I think).
Also her recipes are all evaluated by a dietician- so I can easily take one and convert it to my WW points, knowing the fat, fiber and calories. Her desserts are great too. Just an idea- and I am sure that there are many good low cal cookbooks out there.
It is tough with a child who is fighting to keep weight on (my oldest was that way). We found with her that she was going to eat only when she wanted to, and many small meals worked better. By 11 am each day, she would eat 3 meals, go for a nap and then eat 3 more meals before the end of the day. Today she is a healthy 15 year old.
Ok, so I have babbled enough! My day ended on a bit of a stressful note. Dd (6) was so tired and irritable. The 15 year old is hormonal
- and no joy to live with. Fortunately Ds was in a good mood!
Holymoly (being that I neglected you earlier, please forgive me!)-
try even a short amount of activity, say 10 minutes of walking (I think Jackie suggested that) and slowly build up. I started walking for 10 minutes (3 times a week for the first 2 weeks) and then built up as I thought I could stand it. Remember, if you do not feel good excercising, you will not excercise at all- so try to keep it pleasureable for yourself. Does your library rent excercise tapes that you could sample? Just an idea.
Gotta go. I am going to start thread # 26- hope that noone minds. Looking foward to seeing y'all there!!!!!!!!
Ginny
Hi!!!!!!
You go girl! Just promise one thing though, you'll add a few more calories to your plan after the wedding. I also was wondering on how the Kelloggs challenge worked. I may try it for a few days, or at least add more fiber to my diet. I was just reading in a magazine that if you just increase your fiber & do nothing else, you'll be able to lose weight. I know I'm guilty of not getting enough fiber, so I'll try & force it down my throat! Misti: Hope that you are coping with your "terrrible two" & that things are going more smoothly for you. If not...maybe try picking her up & dance with her to some great music. It worked just about everytime when my kids were that age. It doesn't work as well now anymore, they're too big or they don't care for my music! I do know for sure though, that music is good therapy. I remember when I used to work in a Nursing Home & the OT's would come once a week & have a music hour & boy did that lift their spirits! Everytime I hear "You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine" it brings back the memories & I get tears in my eyes! Well, Ginny: As you can see....I'm back to my chipper self again! DH & DS are not doing to great though. DS is home with me today & my poor DH is driving back home (5 hour drive), with the flu! I also wanted to thank you again for keeping the thread going during the holiday season & when I was under the weather. Without your constant postings, I do believe that our thread would have fallen apart. (Especially the days when you were posting & answering yourself, when no one else came on to post!) It really paid off, so thanks a million!! 
) I have to tell you. We don't get along that great and I'm tired of her suprise visits. She lives four hours away. But I guess I'll deal. I just really have a hard time sticking to a diet when she's around. Like I said before she's 300+ lbs and really in need of losing weight. She won't diet though. Doesn't have an inch of will power. So she was thinking about having stomach surgery but when I did some research on it I really think she should just try dieting. Their are so many complications from that. Plus in the end you must count your calories and fat intake and small portions. So you are still dieting for the rest of your life. Might as well just diet to begin with. 
