Well, my last post was all about gratitude. And, I still realize that all in all I'm a really blessed person. But, despite that, I can't help but still get frustrated over some things that in the great scheme of things, probably don't matter much.
Frustration No. 1:
3 Weeks ago I decided to give my weight loss goal one more push. I've pretty much leveled out at 180 lbs in the last months, despite regular exercise, and better eating. My goals was 170 lbs by the end of the year. So, I figured, I'd up the exercise even more, and go back to my no sugar/no carbs diet again. And sure enough, just before Thanksgiving I got the scale to humor me with 176 lbs. Nice!!! After thanksgiving it went back up to 177 lbs. While I'm surprised at how quickly my body seems to put on fat (I was working out every day during the Thanksgiving holidays), I did eat quite a bit of cheese cake, and so I figured a 1lbs gain isn't so bad. Then I came back yesterday from our little weekend trip (during which I really didn't eat that bad at all!!! and kept exercising and moving stuff etc.) and whaddyaknow, I'm back to 180 lbs. Really???? I packed on 3lbs in 3 days? I know some of you now may say it's probably muscle or something. Trust me, it's not. I've been working out regularly basically for the last 6 months. Whatever muscle development has taken place, certainly didn't suddenly take place in the last week. It could be some water retention since we were in the car all day, but still 3 lbs? I drank quite a bit of water in the car (so much so that even though we were only 10 minutes away from our house we HAD to stop at a McDonalds because I just couldn't hold it anymore :).
So, now I'm really sad and frustrated. It seems that the only way I can lose weight and maintain a weight is by serious exercise AND absolutely serious dieting. It seems that even the slightest food transgressions (like me having a bowl of home-made muesli) will bite me in the back later on. And that just frustrates me so much, not to mention that I feel like I've worked soooo hard at reaching a goal, and it just doesn't seem to happen. :(
Frustration No. 2:
Sophia has gained 2 lbs in the last 2 months. I've been really thrilled about that. It seems that she's really started to eat more, and putting on some weight. Yipee. So, I thought for a moment that my 'food' woes are over. But, I've noticed that she's had a rash around her month for at least a few weeks now. At first I thought it may be from drool/sucking her thumb etc. but it keeps being there and not going away. I've tried some creams/lotions, but nothing seems to help. Now I'm starting to wonder if it's a food related thing, and I'm worried. I don't think I've introduced any really new foods in the last weeks/months...so, I doubt it's a specific food, but I wonder if it's milk. I started giving her more whole milk recently and thought she got constipated from it, so we went back to more formula and some other milk substitute. It doesn't look like it has affected her rash though. So, I really don't know what it is, and I'm not sure what to do or if I should do anything at all. I'm just frustrated to have another mystery to solve.
Frustration No. 3:
I don't think there is a third one...at least I can't recall one right now. So, I guess I'm done venting for now.
On a happy note, we have all our Christmas decoration up, and while I haven't gotten around to making an Adventskranz, I love seeing all our decoration and enjoying the Christmas season. I really, really, really love Christmas. While driving yesterday, Henry and I were singing Christmas songs in the car (since it was the second Advent, and we usually do Christmas singing for that) and I just loved it. Sophia really enjoyed it to and would occasionally chime in, or just listen to us. She's been such an amazingly good and easy kid - we feel really lucky. So, life is good. I just wish Sophia didn't have a rash and I would be able to lose those last few pounds.
Monday, December 7, 2009
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9 comments:
A Woman's weight fluctuates naturally between 2 kg, not pounds, but kilos! So, don't be too nitpicky about 3 pounds... some days, our bodies have more water, etc. And it also depends on the stage our "cycle" is in. I think it's amazing enough you're down to 176 lbs! That's WONDERFUL!!! And you've worked so hard, and lived so healthy! I mean, who can run a half-marathon! Seriously, Congrats girl!
I hope you figure out the rash. It might also just be weather-related.. dry air inside, cold, moist weather outside.. Anyway, in our home, milk is ALWAYS the culprit. Also, it takes about 2 weeks for a dietary change to take effect... so the rash might take 2 weeks to go away, if it is indeed the whole milk.
What's a good, healthy substitute if I want to cut out milk? Is soy milk enough? Does it have enough fat and do they add Vitamin D? Has anyone tried?
As for the weight fluctuation, I certainly do fluctuate 3 lbs easily. Like, last night when I stepped on the scale it was 183 lbs. This morning it was 180 lbs. So, I know that at least evening and morning times give me a totally different weight, but I'd really like to be able to step on the scale before the end of the year, after eating, and in the evening and not have a number of 180 lbs or higher. That'd be great.
I wouldn't go with soy milk...look up problems with soy and you'll find all kinds of info about the anti-nutrients in soy. Its typically only healthy if it is fermented. Homemade almond and/or coconut milks are really yummy and easy. You can do a combination of different seeds and nuts (sesame seeds are very high in calcium which might be good as a milk sub) for a varied nutritional profile. Just soak the seeds/nuts overnight, blend with water (and some dried dates/vanilla if desired for flavoring) in the morning, strain, and drink. You can get vitamin D drops fairly inexpensively which is probably a good idea in the winter anyway. I've read a ton of articles linking seasonal colds/flu to low levels of vitamin D in the winter.
I agree with Rachel... soy milk is even more allergizing than cow's milk. I recommend calcium and Vit D- fortified oat milk, as the nut milks can be allergizing, too. That's what we've been using for the last year, and it's worked wonderfully.
And do give Vit D drops in addition, at least during the darker months.
:)
Hope you get below those 180 lbs before 2010 since it's so important to you!
According to my Wii Fit (now is that an authority) it's normal for the body to fluctuate a few pounds so it recommends weighing yourself at the same time every day to get an accurate picture of whether you are actually gaining or losing weight. And according to Fug from the Sendung mit der Maus, you will also be shorter at the end of the day (not just heavier) because of the effects of gravity pushing down on you all day. So it seems to me that all measurements are best taken in the morning when we are tallest and skinniest.
So, I bought some almond milk since it has enough calcium and vit. D and may give that a try. Sophia has had nuts, and it seems like she hasn't reacted (although, maybe that's what started the rash??). I'll also look into Oat milk. That sounds like a great alternative as well. The only thing I wonder about now is fat. How do you make sure they get some healthy fats? Butter? Oil?
Gib ihr jeden morgen einen Löffel Butter :) ha ha.. ok, das war nicht besonders hilfreich. Ich bin kein Experte was Kinder und Essen angeht, aber ich glaube, dass Du alles gut machst. Du bietest ihr immer wieder verschiedene Nahrungsmittel an und sorgst ständig dafür, dass sie genug trinkt. Und sie sieht einfach zum Knuddeln süss aus :)
Und was Dein Gewicht angeht wollte ich noch sagen (auch wenn du niemandem glaubst) ich finde, Du wirklich sehr gut aussiehst und ich bewundere was für eine Selbstdisziplin Du hast. Du bist eine der wenigen Schulzes die es schaffen regelmässig Sport zu machen und sich gesund zu ernähren!
Mix in some healthy oil with the oat (or almond milk). That's what we do. The recommendation in Finland is anyway to buy skimmed milk for children and to add some healthy oil to it, rather than buy whole milk. Makes perfect sense to me.
That seems strange to me to buy skim milk and add fat to it when the whole milk already has it. I guess that makes sense if you buy into the idea that saturated fats are bad for you, but I don't believe that. The vegetable oils that most people use are so denatured and processed that they are like the white flour/white sugar of the oil world. In my mind, the key is unprocessed. So virgin olive oil, unprocessed raw coconut oil, butter, and natural fats from animals raised in healthy environments (for example, grass fed and pasture raised meats/eggs/dairy have a very healthy ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats whereas most commercially raised grain fed animals have a disproportionate amount of Omega-6 fat).
If you prefer the grain milks, rice milk is also fairly easy to make and rice is not very allergenic either. Most of the commercially made milk substitutes have a lot of questionable additives, so check them out carefully if you don't want to make your own.
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