Tuesday, November 29, 2011

numbers games in the holidays?!

Oh my! It's that time of year, when the baked goods are flowing, the leftovers, teaming with creamy buttery goodness are calling and the chocolate......oh my! I forgot how challenging it is to maintain your weight during the holidays. But of course, I'm not working at maintaining. Ellie needs to continue to lose. Good grief Charlie Brown.

I should have written down the great two days we had last week when she dangled her toes so close to the waters of the 'overweight' category. She came within a 1/4 lb of leaving the 'obese' category behind. But then Thanksgiving and family visiting, and mom baking cookies. We took a step back from the 'overweight' waters. Today I measured her height and weight again and the good news is she grew a fraction of an inch. But the bad news is she gained 3/4's of a pound. Bad mommy! So we are back on the healthy food program. We did have lots of healthy activities over the holiday weekend: playing soccer and jumping in leaf piles outside and playing hide and seek inside. But now that we are on a break before the next holiday I must return us to our numbers game. We have found so many good foods that help keep the weight off, and it's time to make sure that they are the staples of Ellie's diet again. So no more hide and seek games with the chocolate chip cookies. Maybe instead we can celebrate Christmas with a gift of better healthier weight for Ellie.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Time to bring in an expert

Standing at the wall, measuring height this morning I was pleased to see that Ellie has grown into the height she was pretending to achieve on her tippy toes last month! She is now truly 3 ft 7 1/2 inches tall, but unfortunately her weight has gained by a pound and a half. Rats!!! I had been celebrating all those new vegetables that she had tried, and her reduction in carbohydrates. Apparently it's just not enough.

As a result, today we are taking a long car ride. We are braving Northern Virginia traffic to meet with a dietitian who has worked with children struggling with obesity, celiac, other food allergies and cholesterol issues. She has also worked with children who have Down Syndrome, and some of these issues. She seemed very nice and approachable on the phone. I'm hoping this goes well, and that I get some really positive feedback and ideas. I desperately want Ellie to develop a healthy weight and lifestyle.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

21 Again

No, not me!! I don't feel like I'm 21 again - all those aches and pains after a weekend of gardening....where's my motrin?

21 is the magic number I got my princess back to on the BMI scale. She grew a little more and dropped a pound which means the BMI is slowly going down. Yay! Her diet has been healthier with veggies, fish, yogurt, skim milk, veggies, chicken, some salsa and gluten-free chips, and a little air-popped popcorn. We did splurge a little over the holiday weekend with some TnT's pork barbeque and hotdogs, and ice cream and brownies a couple of nights. In the middle of last week her weight was a little lower than it is right now. But we'll get back on the wagon today since the holiday is over and our company is back to their own homes.

She has been so much more active this spring than at any other time in her life. Every morning before school she is playing soccer with me. Used to be "soccer" would last about a minute. She'd kick the ball to me, and I'd kick it back and we were done. Now, she is kicking and following the ball - dribbling across the yard and giggling the whole way. Of course, because I only get my turn when the ball gets stuck in a garden or under a car! It's the best though - I love to see her having fun, running around and not afraid to navigate the environment. Knowing that she is getting healthier and developing those great life long habits makes my day!