Moderation diet checkin #3

It's odd to me that this is only checkin #3, as it feels like I've been doing this for a long time now.

But I didn't start writing about it until I'd been doing it for a month and the next time I wrote about it I marked it as checkin #1. The idea of doing a monthly checking didn't really start until then.

And yes, this checkin is slightly late. The last 3 weeks have been zooming by, and it's been fairly stressful for a number of reasons.

Last month I wrote that I was having trouble controlling my appetite. That actually worsened somewhat throughout April, culminating at the end when we had Charlotte's party. The good news, though, is that despite feeling like I was undoing the stomach shrinking, trying to quantify how much I eat shows that my stomach has not, in fact, stretched back out. I've just had trouble dealing with wanting more food even though I'm full.

Last week, that shut itself back off, as though I'd crossed some kind of mark and *bam* I was able to easily stop eating when my stomach was full again. I don't think I did anything. Looking at the numbers, I was pretty clearly on another one of those 3 week plateaus -- and the numbers I've recorded don't even even describe the reality I was seeing on the scale for most of the month.

In mid-April, I crossed the -20 pounds mark. But almost as soon as I crossed that mark, I bounced back up above it...and stayed above it for 2 weeks, except that one day per week I'd dip below that and I was using that as my weigh-in. Still, for 3 weeks the numbers were maddeningly unmoving, sticking mostly to the -19 (though one day I weighed at -16). Plus, when I feel like I'm under stress, I'm more likely to eat randomly.

That actually led to the delay in posting. I like to post more when I'm seeing progress, and, yay, this week I've stayed solidly back on track and am hoping to continue this for a little longer. I know that nothing good is easy, and as far as dieting goes this still isn't hard but it certainly was a frustrating plateau. I hope this one's behind me and I won't see another this month.

One interesting side effect of reduced finances this last year, combined with the diet: I currently eat out roughly once a week, and that once is most often because we're in a hurry to do something/get something done. Of course, the downside to that is that there's a never ending pile of dishes, because we don't have a dishwasher. Or a kitchen big enough to add one. Oh for a fat wad of cash I could use to get the kitchen redone so that it's a good kitchen! Maybe I should start playing the lottery. :)

( And the numbers )

A non-weightloss non-recipe update?!

Yes, it seems like, ultimately, I only actually post about food.

May first was Sprout's 4th birthday. FOUR. FOUR YEARS OLD.

Am I old enough to have a 4 year old? Physically, sure. At least one person I know my age has a kid whose about done with high school.

But mentally? I dunno. Kids sure do make a person feel older.

esmerel has picked up a part time gig for a local Drupal shop, and will be working 2-3 days a week, more or less, so we're looking to pay someone to come in and nanny the kids while she gets some work done. It's kind of crazy, we'll ultimately pay about 75% of what Lynette makes for this, so when you subtract everything out she'll be working for a bit more than minimum wage. But this will make a difference in terms of catching up on finances and hopefully replenising the savings account. Taxes this year just killed it.

I look forward to this with both a little excitement and a little trepidation. On one hand, having someone to help out with the kids will be a great boon for Charlotte, who will, theoretically, get a lot more interaction. Right now I'm worried she doesn't get enough structured time, but I have to work and mommy has to take care of Reuben and she also has her class and some other work stuff she does. She's just as busy as I am, and that's only going to get worse.

Charlotte has also taken a bit of a mental and physical leap in the last month, too. Her speech, already very advanced for her age, seems to have improved again. She can put together pretty complex sentences. She has also reached that point of childhood where I think it's difficult for her to distinguish between reality and the things she imagines. Sometimes this makes basic activities difficult, as she assigns more personal importance to something that isn't real than something that is. All we can do is try to be patient and reinforce the reality where we can.

Reuben has reached the point where he is able to pick up and hold objects reliably and stuff them in his mouth with great alacrity. We seem to be drooling slightly less already, though we're not through the drool phase yet. He has also become very chatty, willing ot just make noise for an hour at a time, practicing with those lungs and vocal chords. That can be a bit of a challenge when I'm trying to focus.

Also, there's gaming today and I need to shower but esmerel needed sleep more than I need to shower, so I've got a very playful 4.5 month old while she catches some more zzz's. He woke her up pretty early this morning and has been very active today.