Sharon's Journal -150 here I come!

[Blueeyes101817]

have fun outside!! how much snow do you have so far?/ i havent been outside since 1 and we already had a lot of snow---i agree--when is SPRING?!

 

[vald1977]

Hi Sharon,
Lovely weather we're having isn't it? Your pot roast and strawberries sounds so yummy. I wish I had some strawberries in the house but we are also in for the duration here. Maybe tomorrow evening .

Take care and stay safe .

 

[sharoncity]

Well, the snow is mostly over here. We received about 18" !!! It is still VERY cold and VERY windy! Don't know if I will be going out to sled ride. I know Bobby would love to go, cold doesn't bother him at all. I am not sure I could last out there for more than about 30 min.

I did my 2 mile WATP dvd last night. Couldn't motivate myself for the 3 mile, but I figure 2 miles was better than none. I WILL do another one at some point today. Plans for today are laundry, ironing, supervise homework. Then it is over to my Mom's for dinner (she lives right behind me.) We are celebrating my grandmothers 89th Birthday!!

I am doing very well with my eating. Scale was 181.5 at WI this morning, but that was after coffee and breakfast. Normal WI is first thing in the morning. I will be very careful today with points and that WATP is extremely important to fit in!! :jumping4: Had 2 Special K Eggo waffles for breakfast and 1.5 pieces of bacon. Not too bad. I will have fresh fruit for lunch/snack. Dinner is fresh ham - not sure how many points that is. I will check when I am finished here. I still have very high hopes for a good WI tomorrow morning.

I just want to say how much you guys mean to me. I really appreciate all the support from my WISH friends! And I have to say that I REALLY appreciate all the support this week/weekend in helping me change my bad habits. Last year, everyone was all about "its okay to have a bad day. Don't worry about it." That was all very nice, but developing an action plan and coming up with ideas to prevent the bad habits is SOOOOO much better. I was able to recognize where the problem was. Develope a plan to "treat" myself with point friendly foods, and come here often to report my progress and support my friends. I have to admit, this is one of my most successful weekends in a long time and I am stuck in the house during a blizzard to boot! So thank you to everyone for your ideas and support. I am hoping that this will be a new beginning for me and my weekends!

The potroast last night came out very good. It was a low cal and fairly low carb. I will post the recipe later. Didn't cook my seafood yet. I found a great low cal recipe for that as well. Not sure yet when I will do that. I may have to freeze the seafood and do it during the week since we are going to Mom's for dinner.

That's all for right now. I'll check back later!

TTFN- Sharon

 

[plutosmyfav]

Sharon-- You are doing great!!!! I'm so glad to hear you plan of action is paying off. I so hope your WI is great-- Sending the WHOOSH Fairy your way

Can't wait to get that potroast recipe sounds yummy!

Sundie

 

[toystoryduo]

Sharon,

You are doing a great job this weekend, especially during a snowstorm!! I am so proud of you!

Have a great week and Happy Birthday to your grandmother!! !

 

[Blueeyes101817]

sharon--you are doing awesome!!!! stay warm in all that snow!!!

 

[sharoncity]

Well, we survived the Blizzard of '05! Gee, I bet there is gonna be a whole bunch of babies born 9 months from this weekend! hehehehehe! (But it definitely won't be me!! )

I did well, all things considered. I felt in control all weekend and there was no binging. I am proud of that and feel like I made some real progress. WI wasn't what I was hoping for, but I didn't exercise yesterday either. I have no one to blame but myself. The scale said 182 this morning, so while it wasn't a loss, it is the second weekend in a row with no gain. I am SLOWLY making progress and improving.

Last night was dinner at my mom's She made fresh ham, which is LOTS of points. I had a VERY small portion. But I also had 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, peas, a slice of rye bread and gravy. Dessert was BDay cake made with yellow cake, bananas, strawberries, pudding and cool whip. I had a small piece. Unfortunately, I also had 2 sugar cookies. All in all, I didn't do too bad.

Today I am off to a good start. I had strawberries and Special K Eggos for breakfast. I brought yogurt, celery with cream cheese and a Lean Cuisine for lunch and snacks today. I am not sure what I will have for dinner tonight. Maybe a big salad? We shall see.

I need to exercise tonight! It won't be Curves because I have no one to watch Bobby tonight while I go. It will be a WATP dvd. We will just have to see how ambitious I am , whether it is 2 miles or 3 miles.

I have a terrible headache today. I think I may be coming down with a cold or something, but I am going to take some Echinacea right now with a cup of tea.

Have a great day everyone!

TTFN- Sharon

 

[sharoncity]

Yesterday was a very successful one for me. I did the 3 mile WATP dvd last night. It is so much more of a workout than the 2 mile. I think that I will only use the 2 mile one if I am truly not feeling well or seriously short of time. Other than that, it has to be the 3 mile!!

My food was OP, I got lots of veggies/fruit in and some dairy. I was 1.5 pts below target and that did not include my APS. BTW, does anyone really know how to figure out activity pts for your exercise? Maybe I should post that question over on the main WISH board?

I feel better than I did yesterday. Still have a little bit of a headache, but not as bad as yesterday. DH has a very bad cold, so I am taking extra Vitamin C and Echinacea.

I am hoping today will be as successful as yesterday. If I can put 4 or 5 of those types of days together, combined with a no gain weekend, I will see great things on that scale! I will not get to exercise today. I have promised Michelle that I would take her to the mall tonight. But at least that will get me up and moving, so not so bad!

They are predicting more snow for tonight/tomorrow. Temps have not gotten out of the 20's for over a week now. They have been significantly below 20 quite a few times also. I don't mind the snow so much, but I could do without the bitter cold! Walking the kids up to school when the wind is blowing and it is only 6 degrees is just NO fun!!!!

Okay, I am off to my day! Hope you have a great one!

TTFN- Sharon

 

[swilphil]

Sharon--

Thanks for posting on my board. You had a lot of good info. for me. I posted a question over there. In case you don't see it, here it is:

What are Kudos bars? I'm trying to get away from the meal replacement bars for snacks because they are so many calories. I think I have seen Kudos with the granola bars.

I hope you survive the snow and cold weather okay. It sounds like you are doing a great job with WW.

 

[DoeWDW]

Sharon, you get three for the 3 miles of WATP you did yesterday! Good for you! Your food sounded great too!

You are on a roll and I'm predicting that you'll do great this whole week and weekend! Amanda has it boiled down to the basics and she's right - water, food, exercise. You can do it!

I hope the snow stays away for you. I've already seen enough to last me the whole winter. Here in PA, we celebrate Groundhog Day on Feb. 2nd in a big way. We have the most famous groundhog, Punxatawney Phil. Let's all cross our fingers that he predicts a quick end to winter!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Sharon!

You are doing a great job with your exercise and your food choices! That scale is gonna cooperate for you! I just know it will!

I'm with you... I am ready for spring! I hope Puxatawny Phil cooperates in the next couple of weeks and brings us a quick end to winter.

Until then....

Here are some to brighten your day! Have a great Tuesday!

Tracy

P.S. Thank you so much for your post(s) in my journal. It really helps a lot to know that people care. Thanks Sharon!

 

[plutosmyfav]

Hi Sharon,

Wow you are doing fantastic As far as calculating APs go, I found a formula once that was based on your weight, minutes, and intensity level. If I come across it again I'll get it to you. I calculate mine as 1 point for every 100 calories burned. I do most of my "burning" on machines that I can punch in my weight and then it gives me a calorie burn. You can also look up calorie burns on line.

Yes, we are going to be blessed with a little more snow...

Sundie

 

[sharoncity]

ARRRGGGHHHHH!!! Can I just vent here for a moment?

We have a teenage girl come over and babysit on Tues and Thursday after school. It is VERY hard to find anyone who will do this. Kat has been doing this for 3 years now. She couldn't come today because she has a job interview - I think that means I am going to be losing her soon. Which means I will be searching for someone again.....

Okay, so the part that has me pulling my hair out is this - I asked my MIL to watch the kids for me today. She said great, she'd love to. I should note that she has 15 grandchildren and has at least 1 at her house every week day. I try not to ask her too often because I think she does too much. But when I'm in a pinch like today, I will ask her. The kids didn't want to go there, but I had no one else. Michelle (12 yo) said Grandma won't let them watch TV. I told her maybe if they turn it down so that it wasn't so loud and annoying...... Michelle just IMed me that Grandma won't even let Bobby (7 yo)turn the TV on. She says he doesn't need to watch that. What is he supposed to do until 6 pm????? He can't go outside, it is way too cold and he only has his uniform for clothes. He is not a child to sit and color. Toys at her house are more for little girls ( 3 to 6 yo range). I feel so bad! I know he is going to start getting wild, then she will get mad and yell at him. If she just let him watch TV, he would be quiet, calm, not bother anyone. Instead I'll have to hear about what a bad boy he is....... Gosh, I wish I could come up with a better after school solution. It is only those two days a week. My mom watches them on Mondays, DH is home on Wednesdays and I am off on Fridays.

Sorry, I just had to get that out. I am so frustrated and feeling guilty for sending them there.

TTFN- Sharon

 

[wilderness01]

Do you have a Champions afterschool program at your school? I think here it is like $12 per day/per child for up to 4 hours. Sorry you are going through this. Hope your night goes ok.

 

[sharoncity]

Nope, no after school care available here. There is the Boys and Girls Club, but there is no way in h*** I would send my kids there. I would quit my job and sell my house before I'd make them do that. Yes, it really is that bad!

Just an hour left over there. They are so bored and I feel so bad.......

 

[Strings]

Sharon,

Child care issues can be so hard. My girlfriend is trying to figure out what to do this fall when Chloe starts kindergarten. I hope you find an alternative sitter soon. I remember hating going over to my grandparents without my parents. We have a Boys Club here too, it isn't an option for us either. Have you considered a YMCA? They have an organized afterschool program at my Y. I would actually put Katie in this, if needed.

Hope the kids weren't too upset when you picked them up.
Beth

 

[wilderness01]

I'm sorry you don't have any after school program. Do your kids have gameboys that they can play with while at grandma's house? At least they wouldn't have to ask to play them and they would be occupied. I'm sorry you are going through this. Child care issues are very tough. Hang in there.

 

[geetey]

Does Grandma have a vcr or dvd player? Maybe you could tuck a video into one of their backpacks on days like this, so they have something to watch. If it is semi-educational, Grandma might give the okay (versus a cartoon). Or maybe a 'classic' that you know Grandma likes and the kids might enjoy - that might be acceptable. My kids' grandma doesn't get the whole YuGiOh/Pokemon/Teen Titans tv stuff, but she is always willing to pop in a Disney movie. Just a thought - it might be more about the choices versus the viewing.

Gameboys are a great option as well. CD players. Books. Each of my kids have a book report due each month at school (3rd and 5th grader) so they would be able to do more than their minimum 15 mins of reading in such a situation.

Perhaps you could have some toys 'just for Grandma's house' to be used in situations like this. Legos or K'nexs are quiet and time consuming toys. Same with the Magnetix. I am wracking my brain to think of things to help pass the time when you need to call on DMIL. Oh! Last one! What about cards? My ds (9 now) has learned how to play cribbage and rummy from his grandpa. Maybe Grandma could teach/play some cards with the kids.

On to Sharon....
Sharon you are positively SHINING through with happiness! You are in the groove and working your system like you know you can! I am SO happy for you! And SO proud of your success!! Go, Sharon, GO!!

I have a slider to figure out AP points. Maybe this link would work? http://www.meganandjack.com/points_calculator.htm
I also found this on Dotti's web site...

Here's the formula for figuring APs. You should calculate it for your weight and perceived intensity.
Light Activity:
Weight X Minutes X .000232 = Activity Points

Moderate Activity:
Weight X Minutes X .000327 = Activity Points

High Activity:
Weight X Minutes X .0008077 = Activity Points

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Sharon--you are doing soo amazing!!im so happy for you !!!its great to get up to 3 miles on watp!

now, onto the kids at grandma thing---were your kids ever in day care? thats how i got my nanny job, the one little boy was in my class, so now i just watch him and his brother....they usually have high school or college students working that would love to make extra money..
another option would be contacting a local high school that has a child development class...the teachers (at least at my hs, worth a try!) would post a note with information on parents that needed babysitters and then they would contact the parent to meet them..
also, yesterday at my college, a friend and i went to the career center--they have a huge book in which they put flyers in with parent's informatino and phone number if htey need a babysitter---like yesterday my friend went through, called a few of them, and now has a babysitting job....
now this last one, i dont know how reliable it is, since it is a website, but i have heard a ton of good things from them, so i am just putting it out there for you...theres a www.sittercity.com....there were a bunch of flyers about it in the college book yesterday--another of my friends just emailed a lady she found there and has a new job---you put your zip c ode in and find out how many sitters or kids are in your area..

hope some of this helps!! good luck!

 

[DoeWDW]

Sharon, my kids hate to go to their grandparents' house too. It's all about sending a goodie bag with stuff to do. Kids can amuse themselves for quite a while with a deck of cards - doesn't have to be anything expensive.

Lots of other great ideas here about activities at Grandma's and about finding a new sitter. One other option - contact a local Girl Scout troop or even a local church's youth pastor for possible leads on sitters.

Besides, one boring afternoon won't damage your kids for life - it builds character! Well, at least that's what I tell my kids.

I hope today finds you feeling . You are a WISH , don't forget, so hold your head high and smile!