Stay-At-Home Moms 3/23-3/29

3babybeans

it's me again! just wondering how y'all feel about aspartame--
do you limit it? not drink or eat anything with it? totally fine with it?

i'm not sure which way i want to go (still researching), so just curious what other moms do.

:flowerforyou:

Eeehhh...I have mixed emotions about it. I don't like it, but I love me some Yoplait Lite. I try to stay away from the aspertame ones & only have the splenda ones, but that's still fake stuff, kwim? I don't LIKE it, but in our culture, it is hard to stay away from unless you want a crap load of sugar...which I also have issues with. Can't we all just be happy eating apples? :laugh:

I thougth about your menu for the day & have one suggestion. Have you thought about getting rid of the graham crackers as a snack & having something like Triscuits instead? I love the Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits with a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese or hummus. LOTS of fiber, lower sugar & very filling!

loreeb18

I also have a screamer. He came into this world screaming! In the pictures of his birth, my babysitter commented that I looked, well...like OMGosh!:noway: :laugh: So not the newborn cry that's oh so cute!

He is 9 mo and is just starting to calm down, well, a little bit. But yes, please remember that constant screaming will gnaw away at any sane person. If the baby is inconsolable and there doesn't appear to be anything else wrong with him, the safest place for him is in the crib. Never, never, never shake a baby! It's sooo dangerous. It's much better for both of you if you lay him in the crib and walk away. Even a 20 min. break will do wonders for your sanity.:flowerforyou: Of course this is assuming there isn't anything else wrong. If a baby is inconsolable for 3 hours or more I would take him to the doctor.

Oh, don't worry. I loudly tell Harley to be quiet. But I'd never hurt her. She just screams for fun. I'd almost rather her cry because something is actually wrong. Then I could fix it. But she smiles as she screams. She just likes to. *sigh*

loreeb18

Sorry-- laughing-- since you go every month-- new mommies are so cute. :laugh:

I took Caleb for his 6 month picture back in May of '08-- the photo is still there waiting for me to pick it up. :noway:

We make sure that we don't go crazy and spend $100 every month because whatever we do for Harley we want to be able to do for our next baby/babies. We figure we'll be able to afford $10 a month even once we have 2 kids. We don't want to have pictures of Harley from every month, have only yearly pictures of our 2nd kid, and be lucky to have one or two digital pictures of our 3rd. LOL.

staceyw37

I thougth about your menu for the day & have one suggestion. Have you thought about getting rid of the graham crackers as a snack & having something like Triscuits instead? I love the Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits with a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese or hummus. LOTS of fiber, lower sugar & very filling!

thanks for the idea. i didn't think of the sugar-and therefore less sastisfying. i do like triscuits so that's a good trade. and i need to get me some hummus--what brand and flavor do you like?
thanks for the thought!

Marla64

Sorry-- laughing-- since you go every month-- new mommies are so cute. :laugh:

I took Caleb for his 6 month picture back in May of '08-- the photo is still there waiting for me to pick it up. :noway:

We make sure that we don't go crazy and spend $100 every month because whatever we do for Harley we want to be able to do for our next baby/babies. We figure we'll be able to afford $10 a month even once we have 2 kids. We don't want to have pictures of Harley from every month, have only yearly pictures of our 2nd kid, and be lucky to have one or two digital pictures of our 3rd. LOL.

Well, seriously-- now with digital cameras, the last two kids have FAR more home pictures of them taken than the middle ones have. No wonder middle kids are so screwed up!!

3babybeans

I thougth about your menu for the day & have one suggestion. Have you thought about getting rid of the graham crackers as a snack & having something like Triscuits instead? I love the Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits with a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese or hummus. LOTS of fiber, lower sugar & very filling!

thanks for the idea. i didn't think of the sugar-and therefore less sastisfying. i do like triscuits so that's a good trade. and i need to get me some hummus--what brand and flavor do you like?
thanks for the thought!

My favorite is my homemade hummus

http://caloriecount.about.com/classic-hummus-recipe-r165895

It's delicious & super easy to make

hiddensecant

Hi everyone, I'm new. I just saw "stay at home mom" so I thought I'd pop in to see what we're doing. My sons are 6 and 3 ... I've been at home since pregnant with my oldest son.

I've been exercising for about a month and dieting for one week tomorrow (revivaldiet). That hummus recipe is similar to mine, except instead of the water from chickpea can, I use soy yogurt.

Oh, for crying babies .. have any of you tried the 5 S's? We learned it at prenatal class the first time around and it's worked wonders with both our sons.

EDIT: sorry, that link wasn't very helpful .. this one looks good though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLQry6umLzY

wilted6orchid

it's me again! just wondering how y'all feel about aspartame--
do you limit it? not drink or eat anything with it? totally fine with it?

i'm not sure which way i want to go (still researching), so just curious what other moms do.

:flowerforyou:

We also stay away from sweetners in general. I hope that doesn't make me to extreme, but I like sugar. Particularly the raw kind that is unbleached (which I will probably never find in a comercially made product.) But yeah, I limit sugar and never use sweeteners. Do you know how hard it is to find gum without sweeteners??:laugh:

writer4him

I keep seeing lots of posts about people eating hummus. What is it and what does it taste like? Can you buy it in a store?

iftcheiaf

I keep seeing lots of posts about people eating hummus. What is it and what does it taste like? Can you buy it in a store?

Hummus is yummmmmmy. I read somewhere that the word "hummus" is Arabic for chick peas, which is what it is made from. It's a smooth thick mixture of mashed chickpeas, tahini, oil, lemon juice, and garlic, and can be used as a dip for breads, crackers, or eaten with vegetables. You can usually find it in any store in the refrigerator section. They have different added flavors like chili peppers, garlic, herbs. It's also pretty simple to make too. My husband and son love to make it together. I find it's a great substitute for high calorie dips or mayonnaise on sandwiches. And it's thick and very filling.

iftcheiaf

Quick post because I can't possibly keep up with all you lovely ladies. I picture a lot of you sitting a the computer with one child on one knee, and another pulling at your shirt tail.

Hello to all the newbies.

My world? My son went to school late Monday because he couldn't sleep the night before due to congestion and we let him sleep in. He came home Monday afternoon and had a fever of 101. Yesterday, his temperature went back to normal and so I was sending him to school today and getting back to my crazy schedule. He woke me at 3 this morning complaining of an excruciating earache. :sad: :sad: :sad: Gave him some ibuprofen and told him we'd see the doctor today, slight fever of 99.7. He's not a complainer, so I know his ear must have really been bothering him for him to wake me up. Oh well, i guess laundry and dishes and life will have to wait one more day. That's why we have paper plates right?

Have a great day ladies. Take 10 minutes to breath. You all deserve it!

mommachag

it's me again! just wondering how y'all feel about aspartame--
do you limit it? not drink or eat anything with it? totally fine with it?

i'm not sure which way i want to go (still researching), so just curious what other moms do.

:flowerforyou:

I am deathly allergic to aspartame and sacharine and really most artificials make me ill to some degree.
that aside
we dont use them in the house at all becasue we follow a specialized diet called the "feingold diet" it doesnt allow any artificial colors, flavors or atificial sugar. It also eliminates TBHQ,BHT, and BHA. I started it almost 2 years ago. within two weeks of having my fourth child. My four year old was out of control, my oldest had major ADHD and Aspergers, and my second child's OCD was so bad we almost had to hospitalize him. So i figured I had nothing to loose by trying it. The first 6 weeks were rough.limited choices and not knowing what was what on the shelves (though they send you a book with every item listed, they accidentally sent me the wrong book) plus the kids were detoxing hard core add to that a new baby and I was fried:sad: but I stuck it out and it has helped so much

my oldest and my second child (tyler and AJ) are both off their meds and doing so well. sammy... well he is still a mess. but it's better. we went further with sam and took away gluten and even dairy for a while. dairy in small amounts he is ok with but not gluten.

in this journey I also discovered I am extreemly sensative.(i cant spell sorry) I was in the process of being evaluated for IBS and I was always miserable. everything I ate I was back in the bathroom. Then it occured to me that after 2 months of this diet I had been eating fine with no issue. so i tried mcdonalds fries. OH LORD i was sick after 5 minutes. a few weeks later I tried something else with red dye in it and again I got sick.

so now we just stay away from anything that doesn't naturally occur in nature.everything has a substitute

sorry, got a little carried away here. :embarassed: so in short. no we dont use fake sugar here

mommachag

Melinda, here is today's food. This was a better day in that i was not snacking on pudding pie or graham cracker crusts or frosted flakes. this would be closer to my ideal but with 2 more fruit servings.
Thanks for taking a look!

Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
Breakfast
Sun-Maid - Natural California Raisins, 1/4 cup 130 31 0 1 10 29
Quaker Instant Oatmeal - High Fiber Cinnamon Swirl, 1 Packet 160 34 2 4 210 7
Quaker Oats - Oatmeal, 1/8 cup 38 7 1 1 0 1
BF=328 cals total

Lunch
Eggs - Grade Aa Large Egg, 2 egg 140 2 9 12 130 0
La Banderita - Burrito Grande - Large Flour Tortillas, 1 Tortilla 173 33 2 6 451 0
Kirkland - Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese, 1/6 cup 55 0 5 3 85 0
Lunch=368 cals total

Dinner
Wal-Mart Great Value - Rotini, 0.5 cup 140 27 1 5 0 1
Beef - Ground, 80% lean meat / 20% fat, raw (hamburger), 3 ounce 213 0 17 14 56 0
Bird's Eye - Normandy Blend Fresh Frozen Deluxe Vegetables, 1 cup 25 4 0 1 25 2
Homemade - Alfredo Sauce, 1/6 of a cup 155 3 6 10 370 3
D=533 cals total

Snacks
Nabisco - Barnum's Animal Crackers, 4 crackers 65 12 2 1 75 4
Skippy - Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 1 tablespoon 90 3 8 4 75 2
Nabisco - Honey Maid Grahams - Honey, 8 crackers(2 full cracker sheets) 130 24 3 2 190 8 remove
Great Value - Miniature Marshmallows, 1/2 cup 80 20 0 0 20 13 remove
Snacks= 365 cals Total

Total: 1,594 200 56 64 1,697 70
Your Daily Goal: 1,810 248 60 67 2,500 26
Remaining: 216 48 4 3 803 -44
*You've earned 520 extra calories from exercise today


Today's Water Consumption
6


Here is what i ate today. and i'm not starving. i could eat more, but i'm really fine and will turn in in 1 1/2 hours anyway. i could beef up my bf and lunch, but i am actually full with that much food. i get hungry later--2:30pm--it's like my body finally realizes it needs more food then, it's exercised and is starting to drag and thus wants more input. having the yummy veges tonight definitely helped with the bulk. and i opted for the protein of pnut butt instead of an apple just cuz. i wanted more dessert than fruit. most days i have 3 fruits and 1 vege.
i assumed that i was hungry b/c i was adjusting down from having soooo many calories per day (like 2000)--the reason i gained weight in the first place.
anyway, there's the info.

sara and melinda, i could do mini meals, and sorta do with the spacing of my smaller snacks, to keep my blood sugar more even. but if i really do it--i too will wind up grazing (like a cow) and eating way too much. i need to sit down w/a decent amt to get that mental sense of satisfaction.

vicky, you made a good point--about using maintenance cals and then exercise as my deficit. that may work.
need to get the last kid to bed. will check in tomorrow. but thank you, ladies, for responding and giving your opinions. definitely something more and better for me to consider.
good night :smooched: (blowing kisses)

it loks like your getting a decent balance of most things. Personally I would swap out the rasins (super high in sugar) and switch them with a higher volume food likes grapes,strawberries,banana. comparativly(spelling again) one serving looks biggger and therefor helps you feel less deprived.
also try switching out your white flour snacks which raise insulin levels quickly and then let them drop making you hungrier. try wheat thin crackers, whole wheat tortillas, high fiber breads, or even multigrain breads.

I am a grazer but I want to eat everything after 3:30. I had to forcce myself to readjust and eat 6x/day and start early. so I eat at
7:30/8 am-10:30am-1:30pm-4:00pm-6:30pm and 9:00pm bed at 11;30.
hope that hhelps

mommachag

well morning all!
This is the hhardest week for me. the week before AF shows up I am a mess. last month I went up 3.4 pounds in water. this time it is not so bad I'm still on the down slide by .4 pounds. a loss is a loss but damn it feels like this is taking forever. I am not a patient person with myself. I have been at this just under 3 months now and im not even to the half way point yet.I know I don't have a whole lot to go, but I am a tiny person and even 5 pounds is a lot on my frame never mind 15. I'm just frustrated and bummed that Im not there yet.
i use to be able to loose so fast becasue I was really unhealthy about it. this is the first time I have ever done this right and I am just frustrated that it is taking so long. ok sorry done venting

so today is moms at mass and the sun is shining! YAY! it is still cold but at least there is sun.I had a really bad day yesterday (lunch at TGI fridays and a five guys burger for dinner) but i am off to a better start today. almost done with my coffee, then laundry and church. i also promised the boys we would feed the birds down at the fort with our bag of stale bread ends that i didn't use for breadcrumbs

Marla64

good morning-- mommachag-- hang in there. I thought surely by now I'd be closer to my original goal of 50 pounds off-- I lost 33 from June to Thanksgiving then totally hit a brick wall. Went up over the holidays and am stuck like a fat lady going through a turnstile-- (sorry for the imagery-- :laugh: )

Trying to figure out what I'm doing different than what I was doing initially that got me this far. One thing I'm vowing to get back under control is the grazing that you mentioned. I had sworn off the nibbles and bites of this and that-- finishing the kids plates, et cetera. I don't do it to an extreme anymore, but those extra calories can't be helping. So, I'm heading back to anal retentively monitoring every morsel--

Heading to work all-- crazy day ahead--

OHHH-- good note. Hubs is at a temp agency right now for an interview. He's been applying everywhere in the mortgage world (not a happy world these days as you all know-- ) He's a 25 year veteran of this shi**y industry-- I hate, hate, hate it-- always have. But I digress-- ahem-- he's being interviewed for a temp for some mortgage jobs-- no benefits, but hopefully some steady work-- fingers crossed.

Later cats!

mossmommy

Good morning ladies! I hope none of us are ready to pull our hair out yet...

So I had my weekend at the lake house where I screwed up supremely and now that I'm back I've been doing fine, back down almost to where I was before this weekend. My only gripe is that the daily calories I'm allowed has gone down (due to my change in weight and change in goals) and I'm having trouble sticking to it.

I feel myself kinda slacking and wanting to binge snack where as before I was staying full. Any tips on things to do or things to eat to keep me from jumping off a dietary cliff?

Thanks,

Julia

loreeb18

Good morning ladies! I hope none of us are ready to pull our hair out yet...

Nope, because Harley is already taking a nap. :bigsmile:

musicmom04

my 2 year old is actually behaving today!!! no tantrum leaving the 5 year old at preschool, and no tantrum at walmart! he must be saving it up for a really big one later:laugh:

he'll be 3 in may, so maybe the super tantrum-y phase is almost over...oh please oh please oh please

kerimcdonald

mossmommy- I am having the same trouble since I have had to stop high impact exercise. I try to save about a hundred and fifty calories and at night I have a protein snack bar ( special k chocolate, yummy) and an apple sliced into 12 pieces. I eat for about 15 minutes even though it's not a lot of food, but the time factor makes me feel full and then I will be going to bed in 2 or 3 hours, so I post to all my folks here and get ready for bed. It took a little while to get into the habit, but the length of time eating really helped.

mossmommy

mossmommy- I am having the same trouble since I have had to stop high impact exercise. I try to save about a hundred and fifty calories and at night I have a protein snack bar ( special k chocolate, yummy) and an apple sliced into 12 pieces. I eat for about 15 minutes even though it's not a lot of food, but the time factor makes me feel full and then I will be going to bed in 2 or 3 hours, so I post to all my folks here and get ready for bed. It took a little while to get into the habit, but the length of time eating really helped.

yeah i dropped down my exercise because this whole week i won't have time (with taking care of abby and getting the lease signed and ready and moving and organizing and geting electricity and cable on and buying a washer and dryer...eek). so when i dropped down my exercise they put me down in cals too but mid afternoon i start to loose it and binge. thats usally around 3 or 4 o clock. maybe i should eat lunch later? this will be easier when i get moved into our new place and we're not sharing a house with a family of junk food eaters!

wilted6orchid

Hey Ladies,
I'm gonna set you up for a female question. I just started exercising here recently. I have mostly lost the weight just using the food journal and breastfeeding. And I usually have irregular cycles...sometimes like 17 days sometimes more like 37. Since I started exercising I have started, hmm, spotting. Like not as heavy as a normal flow. Has this occured with anyone else? Do you think it's a concern? I've always heard that heavier bleeding should go straight to the doctor, but is light a problem??

mossmommy

Hey Ladies,
I'm gonna set you up for a female question. I just started exercising here recently. I have mostly lost the weight just using the food journal and breastfeeding. And I usually have irregular cycles...sometimes like 17 days sometimes more like 37. Since I started exercising I have started, hmm, spotting. Like not as heavy as a normal flow. Has this occured with anyone else? Do you think it's a concern? I've always heard that heavier bleeding should go straight to the doctor, but is light a problem??

I don't know what to tell you. I'm just as irregular if not more. Since having Abby I have only had two periods and she's 10 months... I would say that your body is trying to get used to the new routine (and 25 pounds lost could do that). I would just keep an eye on it and if it goes on for a long time or if you stop and start and stop and start then I would call your gyno just to be sure.. Not that a call or visit to the gyno is pleasant :grumble:

writer4him

Hey Ladies,
I'm gonna set you up for a female question. I just started exercising here recently. I have mostly lost the weight just using the food journal and breastfeeding. And I usually have irregular cycles...sometimes like 17 days sometimes more like 37. Since I started exercising I have started, hmm, spotting. Like not as heavy as a normal flow. Has this occured with anyone else? Do you think it's a concern? I've always heard that heavier bleeding should go straight to the doctor, but is light a problem??

Not sure about this but I know when I am in really good shape and am exercising a lot, my TOM reduces dramatically and some months it is only like 2-3 days of really light flow. Maybe you are just adjusting but if you are concerned it is not a bad idea to call your doc!

wilted6orchid

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not sure what accounts for a lot of exercising. But since I haven't ever done any, I guess three times a week for 45 min. might be a lot for me. I am gonna keep plugging away. It isn't a huge problem. It did give me the thought to get a pregnancy test...which was negative.:blushing: I mean, can you imagine me calling Hubby in Iraq to say hey, you've been gone for months and I just found out I'm several months prego and didn't know it.:sad: :laugh: But seriously, I had heard of periods being light or even missed by like gymnasts but I thought this seemed way beyond what I am doing. I dunno.

staceyw37

well morning all!
This is the hhardest week for me. the week before AF shows up I am a mess. last month I went up 3.4 pounds in water. this time it is not so bad I'm still on the down slide by .4 pounds. a loss is a loss but damn it feels like this is taking forever. I am not a patient person with myself. I have been at this just under 3 months now and im not even to the half way point yet.I know I don't have a whole lot to go, but I am a tiny person and even 5 pounds is a lot on my frame never mind 15. I'm just frustrated and bummed that Im not there yet.
i use to be able to loose so fast becasue I was really unhealthy about it. this is the first time I have ever done this right and I am just frustrated that it is taking so long. ok sorry done venting

so today is moms at mass and the sun is shining! YAY! it is still cold but at least there is sun.I had a really bad day yesterday (lunch at TGI fridays and a five guys burger for dinner) but i am off to a better start today. almost done with my coffee, then laundry and church. i also promised the boys we would feed the birds down at the fort with our bag of stale bread ends that i didn't use for breadcrumbs

annemarie--thanks for the good tips. i do need to cut down on the white carbs. thanks for the input about dyes and other artificial stuff. i'm definitely not ready to give up so much of our basics. i know it'd be better for the kids to get them in the healthy habit, but it's easier to just give them something to eat. i guess i'm saying one thing at a time...
i can see how getting rid of aspartame and sucralose is gonna be hard. not that i can't do it, just i have to figure out around it. for ex, my high fiber oatmeal which i love and depend on, has sucralose in it and so does the wt control one. i rely on the wt control one b/c it's filling and has the protein. yes, i can make my own oatmeal blends...and one day i'm sure i will. but for now, i still rely on processed things. but i can get rid of my crystal light. i love it! but i really can live without. so, that's my first step. whew! that was long winded! anyway, thanks all for the suggestions. i had triscuits with my lunch today so that's a step up!

and i know you're feeling discouraged. i also have a small frame (5 4.5" with a size 4 ring finger), so i know how you feel. the extra weight has nowhere to hide on you. but you have seen progress and if you just keep going, you will see even more changes--whether it's the scale or measurements, or endurance or sleeping better, etc. doing this plan is better than not--so hang in there! we're here for your vents.

staceyw37

marla, i hope the interview goes well. also, how is your running going? that's a big challenge--and i imagine will also help you move the brick wall. :flowerforyou:

staceyw37

melinda--hmmm. i agree with the wait and see. i know spotting is inconvenient, but your body might just need a month to re-adjust to the new program. gymnasts and runners lose their periods b/c of so little body fat, their hormones don't work right and bye bye period--basically, the body says there is no way it can support a baby right now, so let's close shop. :laugh:
i don't think your change in exercise is that drastic, but our bodies are in a delicate balance. so even little things (like the fake sweeteners) can change things up a bunch.
sooooo if it continues for a month or gets heavier, see the dr. if you want assurance, call the nurse line and see if you can get some better guidance.
hth

mrsbuzz

Hi everyone!!!

I have some concerns and some to much info kind of question, but I am a little embarassed to ask. :embarassed:

3babybeans

Hi everyone!!!

I have some concerns and some to much info kind of question, but I am a little embarassed to ask. :embarassed:

You could always PM someone if you don't want to ask on the boards, Jules! :flowerforyou:

mrsbuzz

Well its not really weightloss related.