Losing Chocolate and Goldfish

Alright, enough is enough. Seriously. I am tired of this rut I am in. I am not counting my calories, I am not working out, I am not losing weight (but on the plus side I am not gaining it either). There always seems to be an excuse for not going to the gym, not counting my calories, not caring, and quite frankly it is getting old. I am tired all the time, I am disappointed in myself, I am disappointed in the scale, and I no longer feel good about how I look (even though I haven't gained weight I just feel more bloated).

I need to get back on track and I don't want to wait until after the holidays. So my plan of action is to give up chocolate and delicious Goldfish crackers for the month of November. Why these two completely unrelated items you ask? Good question.

Chocolate - I am not usually a chocolate person, in fact chocolate used to be safe in my house. Halloween candy could be found up until Easter. Lately though it hasn't had such luck! When I was pregnant with James I craved chocolate and so we bought it. I wasn't bad about it, a couple M&Ms here and there was really all I needed. However, in the past 4 months where I have NOT been pregnant I have learned a valuable lesson - sweet begets sweet. The more I ate, the more I wanted, it was, nay is, a vicious cycle. So with an overabundance of Halloween candy and a half gallon of chocolate ice cream in the freezer, I am saying enough is enough! I don't like chocolate, I would rather have something else, so something else will have to do. For the month of November I will NOT eat chocolate. Does this mean I will not eat sweets? No, just not chocolate. I will still be able to eat pie on Thanksgiving, I will still be able to satisfy my sweet tooth (Amelia got quite a few tiny bags of Skittles!), I will just be abstaining from chocolate this month.

Goldfish - This favorite toddler snack is my kryptonite. It is seriously a problem. Amelia loves them, so I feel like I should have them around. But if I have them around I eat them, and not like one or two. Oh no, not this girl. I devour them. It is terrible. So no more. I am giving them up. Again, not all snacks, just goldfish.

Losing My 20s

Well I turned 30 today. I don't feel it, but really are you supposed to feel any different? I mean, it is just another day. 30 for me is not looking too bad though. I have two beautiful children that I just can't get enough of, I have a fantastic husband who provides so well for us, I am in better shape now than I was in my 20s. So while it is true that I can't go out and drink like I used to (hangovers are the pits!) I honestly can't say that I really want to. I love my life, I love watching my kids grow and being there with them. I love hanging out with Chuck and a couple of baby monitors. I know it sounds lame but I just love my life. I get to go out when I am invited, we are still planning to travel (New Zealand next October anyone), and in a couple years the whole family will be skiing every weekend in the winters.

Now I am going to go curl up in bed in my flannel pants and wool socks, oh yeah!

Losing Herd Immunity

As a mother I am involved in the interests of my children, including the health interests. When Amelia was a baby I had to make the decision to vaccinate or not. This was not a light hearted decision for me. I did a lot of research and spoke to my pediatrician and then did more research on the matter. What I concluded was best for my family was to vaccinate my child on the AAP recommended schedule, and I am continuing that decision with James. I feel not only is this best for my child it is best for the herd immunity.

(From Wikipedia) Herd immunity (or community immunity) describes a type of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a portion of the population (or herd) provides protection to unprotected individuals.^[1] Herd immunity theory proposes that, in diseases passed from individual to individual, it is more difficult to maintain a chain of infection when large numbers of a population are immune. The higher the proportion of individuals who are immune, the lower the likelihood that a susceptible person will come into contact with an infectious individual.^[2]

Basically, to protect the weak or sick, the majority of the population must be vaccinated. This is seen in animals as well as humans. The best example of this that I have heard is a child with Leukemia enrolled in preschool. That child has a weakened immune system and at risk to contract possibly deadly diseases. The health of the child is dependent on the rest of the children in the daycare to be immunized, if they are not, the child with Leukemia will be forced to leave the daycare.

Another example can be found in this article http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-01-06-childhoodvaccines06_CV_N.htm which talks about the recent outbreak of Meningitis in Minnesota.

The debate over vaccines started with a paper published in a respectable British health magazine called the Lancet. The author was later found guilty of professional misconducted and was struck from the British Medical Register. His claims that there was a connection with the MMR vaccine and Autism were unfounded and based on manipulated data. (To read more about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy) Since the article was printed the debate to vaccinate has raged. And while it is true that the instances of Autism have increased since the 1980s, the data can't be entirely trusted because the ways of diagnosing have changed considerably.

Do the benefits outweigh the side effects? Well that is a question that each family must answer for themselves. I truly hope that if you are faced with the decision to vaccinate or not, you take the time to do the research and look at both sides of the issue. 

Losing Weight - Week 12 Day 2

Okay so I weighed myself today and I was exactly what i was last week, that mysterious pound and a half gain is gone - and I'm going to go ahead and listen to today's reading!

Losing Weight - Week 12

Ugh. I gained a pound and a half this week. I knew I would too. Apparently eating chips and salsa every night is not a good thing. Well back at it again tomorrow.

A Day in the Life Photo Spectacular!

A rough morning . . . 

 But not for this guy

 I've been up for hours mom!

Good Morning Lucy, Good Morning Dimetrodon!

 While breakfast cooks . . .

 Mom does chores

And a little catching up

Off to the gym!

 45 Minutes, 3.5 Miles

A little TV time

While mommy showers

Lunch time!

Followed by blissful naptime!

Mommy's mental nap

And a project.

The hellions awake! Time to play.

Auntie Eve to the rescue!

Dinner, or part of it at least!

What time is it? Bath Night!

Garbage day! We recycle a LOT!

And a little down time

 Laundry, there is always laundry

 Check on the kids

Brush my teeth

And rest up to do it all again!

And just a before and after!

Losing Weight - Week 11

Super late this week sorry but I am down .4 pounds. Not the best week either - after I ran my race i have been back to the gym once because my knee is hurting me. Also have been quite terrible in the eating department :( Slightly better this week which is good but really need to get back on track.

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