Big Girl Undies and Night Nights

I say, "Show me your new big girl undies, Zoe." ... and what do I get?  I get a little "butt wiggle"  and then a big laugh ... next, she's pulling her shirt way down over the underwear to hide them from me ... all to mess with mommy, of course!  :)

Zoe has started the (hopefully quick) road to diaper liberation.  Soon, she will be diaper free except for night time ... if all goes as I have planned, that is ... which, honestly, isn't very likely ... but a mommy can dream!  :)

She has also moved out of her baby crib.  This (unlike my experiences with potty training) is usually a very easy transition for all my kids.  She is sleeping in the bed at night and doesn't even want to go near her crib ... though she does miss her two angels (cloth pictures) right above her while she sleeps.  This weekend, we plan to take the crib down and rearrange her room so I'll probably move the angel pics then.

For those of you who have transitioned four kids, over a decade or more, out of diapers and out of their cribs, you'll understand what a milestone this is for us.  We've been spending $50 to $100 or more per month on diapers since 1997.  :)

I'm Back

After a few months of "less than good behavior" ... I'm back to my original "New Year's Resolution" promises to myself.  They include 1) attend a Weight Watcher's meeting every week and 2) log my food in the online Weight Watcher's food journal.  I have found that if I do these two things, my weight drops to the place where I'm most comfortable (i.e. my clothes fit).

So ... after a couple of weeks "on program", I have lost a couple of pounds but I'm still up by about six pounds from where I'm comfortable.  It's so funny to me how quickly the pounds can come back on and how unable I seem to be able to stop them ... once I'm "on a roll" with my eating, I have a tough time getting back on track.

Maybe by the end of June, I'll be getting close to the weight range that I want to stay in.  Stay tuned ... I'm trying not to go crazy with only eating Healthy Choice dinners and never backing cookies.  I want to find out how to incorporate my favorite eating pleasures into a lifestyle that maintains my weight ... the ever tough struggle!  :)

Emotional Eating - People LOVE to deny this problem!

This was a hard reality for me to swallow ... that I might "emotional eat."  It sounds so silly ... so weak ... so cliche.  I just figured that I ate because I wanted to not feel hungry.  

It is funny, though, once I opened my mind to really noticing when/why I was picking up certain foods, I also saw a pattern ... eating well past the hungry phase ... eating out and "pigging out" for the shear fun of it.  That, my friends, is emotional eating ... mindless or fun eating ... emotional eating.  That equates to using food as a mechanism to bring you pleasure when you know logically that the high calories and fat are ruining your health.

I think that any time you are eating for any reason other than being legitimately hungry, then you are emotional eating.  The reasons can range from ... "I deserve a treat after my tough day." ... to "Someone made this special treat at the office and I should at least try it." ... "My husband wants to eat out and I have to go along with him and there isn't anything healthy on the menu." ... "I just love the taste of food but I don't eat to satisfy any emotion." (yeah, right ... Pleasure seeking at the expense of your health IS an attempt to meet an emotional need!)

Other emotional eating comes from what I call "habit foods" or "treat foods."  These are the "treats" that suddenly become a standard part of our diet.  For example, you go to the donut store on Saturday and find a new donut that you really, really like.  Sunday, you're back at the store ... then swinging by there again on Monday morning.  Before you know it, you have started and maintained a bad habit of a donut every morning ... It's very hard to admit these harmful habits (because then you have to give them up ... or live in guilt).

I did this with Starbucks coffee.  I finally decided to break the habit and quit going.  Now, when I do stop for a coffee, it doesn't taste nearly as great as I remember when I was in the cycle.  It's still very good ... but it doesn't call my name the next day.  I'm okay with once or twice a month as a fun treat ...

I'm trying to keep variety in my diet and not let myself fall into too much "habit food" indulging.  I have picked up a new "drink of choice" at the Shell station ... so I'm thinking that my goal for March is to drop the drink down to only one morning per week ... maybe I'll make it a Saturday morning treat only.

Good luck to me!  :)

Fresh Start

This week will be my "fresh start" back into journaling my food.  I'm weighing in at 137 - even after being "off the wagon" for so long between me being sick, kids being sick and going out of town.  

I would like to take off another 3-5 pounds before the summer.  Sticking with small portions and healthy choices in snacks is key for me ... along with 40-60 minutes of exercise bike or Stairmaster per day.  I'm back to doing some weights, too ... I'd been out of that habit for these past few weeks.

A Fun Group of Divas

I wanted to log this blog that I found ... www.beentheredonethatdivas.blogspot.com.  They are a group that has lost weight together and that have been chatting through WW online for a while.  They meet every year for a diva weekend.  The blog has all the members before and after pictures ... oh, and they are part of the 40-year-olds section of the online community ... so they are all my age, too.  Fun to read about them .......

I appreciate the encouraging comments I got on my last "binge" commenting.  I know myself and once a "binge" time starts, I have a tough time breaking it.  I woke up today ... over my flu and ready to get back on the program of eating right, too.  So ... I hit the Stairmaster this morning and I'm logging on the WW site today.  Unfortunately, I still managed to blow it a little again by eating a Sonic chili dog when I stopped to buy my son a burger for lunch.  I am just bad, bad lately!  :)

So ... I logged the chili dog ... just 14 points ... ughhh.  And, the rest of the day, I'll be chewing on baby carrots.  Love those baby carrots.  :)

Okay ... A Downer!

Trying to lose/maintain weight is such a roller coaster.  I had a little binge moment last night when the Girl Scout cookies arrived.  We started making ice cream sandwiches (full blown, fat loaded ice cream) with the shortbread cookies.  Then, my husband and I opened the Tagalongs and started eating them like popcorn and commenting on how few were in the box these days ... especially after we had munched for a moment or two.

Sicky Sunday

I am sick with flu so unable to exercise ... plus stuck lying around wanting to snack!  :)  Here's hoping for a week that I don't end up gaining ... I've been pretty good all week until getting sick.

I'm using this down time to start thinking about menu ideas for the family.  I'm trying to start collecting a larger set of meal ideas so that I'm not just cooking the same thing all the time.

From the WW community, I got a suggestion for meatloaf muffins ... now that sounds really good.  I think we'll have that one night this next week ... individual servings of meatloaf (from ground turkey) with a light ketchup sauce on top.  I think I'll pair it up with baked potatoes ... mine with just a tad of light margarine ... the rest of the family can have theirs loaded.

Another suggestion that I liked ... a "breakfast" dinner ... French toast sandwiches of Nutella or smashed strawberries and chocolate chips ... dipped in egg/egg white and cooked in Pam.  Points would depend on the bread ... but could be fairly low - especially since strawberries are now zero points.  Served with a light dusting of powdered sugar and a couple of slices of bacon.  Bacon is just one point per slice if you buy the "reduced fat" version and cook it crisp.  Wonder how the kids would like this?  I would like it ... but we have very different ideas of good food ...

Off to check the community boards for more ideas .........

Happy Sunday!