Messages By: danamikayl

I'm so positive today and I'm eating like I should be eating all the time. I eat when I'm hungry and actually stop when I'm full. I know it's only been 4 days, but my stomach looks so much better already. I can breathe a bit better in my clothes. I am imagining how I will feel on Aug. 31st. I don't know if I mentioned it but my neighbor is turning 54 on Aug. 31st and I'm having a party for her. She doesn't know it yet. It will be easy not to cheat because she is a health nut. I'm going to make cous cous salad, skinless chicken breast marinated in carb options barbecue sauce(hickory), a salad and I'm going to make some fancy drinks that I just found a recipe for, it uses only frozen banana and fresh pineapple and yes, there will be cake, but a very healthy one. I have some amazing healthy cake recipes. So there's nothing stopping me now, I'm doing this and I'm not stopping. If I have an overwhelming urge to cheat, I have a plan set. I will find a healthy alternative for what I want. There are so many products out there and a zillion recipes on this amazing Internet, that there is no reason to cheat, other than physcological.

Lilly, are you in this challenge with us. I didn't see your name in the stats. Come on board, just post your stats. It sounds like you've had a rough go of it lately, but you can all change that and we can help by supporting you. Do you remember that commercial with the baby and they were singing "We are strong, we are invinsible, we are woman". We are all strong women and we are about to kick some butt! Our Own!

Sherrilynn :)

I am not glad that you have I.B.S, but I'm exstatic that I have some people here who can relate. I've never met anyone, that's not in cyber space that has it. I feel really alone sometimes. I was fascinated by what you said about the meds you are on. I've never taken anything because I never heard anyone say it worked so well. I don't know how open you are to talk about this, but I would love to know more about your symptoms and if you have any side affects from the medication. I wanted to go on a trip this summer, but I let my I.B.S hold me back. Most people I've talked to on the boards have I.B.S w/constipation, but I have diarrhea most of the time and when it strikes, I need a bathroom fast. I told myself many times that I wouldn't let it stop me from doing things, but how can it not? I'm going on the net right now to research dicetel. Thanks for the info and if you want to talk more about this you can also email me at   sherritroy@hotmail.com 

Sherrilynn

I just had a delicious snack. I took one ripe mango and 1 frozen banana(take off skin and slice before freezing in a baggy. Then with a food processor or blender, blend until it's like a thick pudding. So good and bananas and mango's are supposed to be one of the safer foods for I.B.S. This recipe is great when an ice cream craving hits and You can't tell me that it's not quick and easy,lol

What kinds of things are you snacking on now? Can you eat veggies? Lots of snacking there. Can you eat fruit? That's a great snack.

What do you eat now?

Sherrilynn

There are a zillion and 1 snack ideas right here on the internet. Go to google and type in "foods with no milk, no dairy". This will give you lots of ideas.

Yes, they are the days that I'm talking about. Those are the days that I am working on right now, wondering what kind of plan I'll have in place the next time a day like that hits me. In the past I would cheat on a day like that and I don't want to do that anymore. I find when everything gets overwhelming, we lose focus and have an "I don't care attitude".

I have 2 girls, 11 and 4 and a dog. I'm a stay at home mom and I also homeschool my children. Some days are so hectic and overwhelming and I want a break from it to go hide and find myself, but I can't. My hubby is at work and I don't have a babysitter at my beckon call,lol. So since I can't get away I will comfort myself with food. I sit down and say," I just don't care right now", but then after I eat it, I feel worse. If I would stick it out I would feel more empowered.

The thing is, Life is hard and we need to find other ways to cope other than food. That's what I need to work on the most. I am on day 4 and have not cheated, but I also have not had a very stressful day yet and when I do(they always come) I want to have a plan of what I will do. I can so relate to what you said. We can both work on that one. Maybe we could throw each other a stress ball and squeeze that in lieu of eating the whole contents of the kitchen. If what you listed is all you ate, then you didn't do very bad compared to the damage I do on a stressful day. So how are we going to plan for the next time we both hit a tough day? I'll think about that as well.

Sherrilynn

I breast fed both my girls until they were 13 months and I can relate to what you are saying. I wanted to share my story with you to show you that you are not alone. My youngest is 4 and I gained 60lbs when I was pregnant. I was 200 lbs and after I had my daughter I was left at 195lbs. I was supposed to be so happy, but my weight was making me miserable and it's very hard to take the time for yourself when there is a baby who is on your breast, an older one to take care of, a husband looking for affection, a house needs cleaning, bills to be paid and aggraving people that are in our lives (my husbands family). Now with all that said, if we don't find away to look after our selves, who is going to do it? We are the caregivers looking after everyone.

So back to the 195 lbs. I decided to go on the Suzzanne Sommers diet because I had a lot of success with that a couple of years before. I went on it for a month and then got weighed. NOTHING! I bawled my eyes out whenever no one was looking, even going to the bathroom so I could get away and cry. It was spring then and all my friends were wearing their new summer outfits and talking to me about bathing suits they loved and wanted I smiled, but inside I was so jealous and so upset. Without doing anything, my weight went down to 175 in a few months and since then I've had to work for every stinkin lb I lost. At one point I was down to 139. I had to workout every single day. I did 2 hours, one hour weights, the other cardio. Was I happy? No because I couldn't (didn't want to) keep it up. We bought our first home and with all we had to do, I decided to take a break. That has brought me right back up to 166lbs. Here I am ready to start all over again, but this time I'm not doing 2 hour a day workouts because I know in the long run I can't keep it up. I have planned my own diet, INCLUDING SOME BREAD! Each time I would cut out bread, yes I would lose more, but as soon as I would incorporate it back into my life, I would gain. Tracy, why do you think it's called "The battle of the buldge". The wisest thing you did was to come here and vent. Now you know that you are not alone. Things will get easier when your baby gets older and you are not nursing. You are doing a wonderful thing for your baby by nursing her and just as you nurture your little one, you have to nurture yourself too. When my husband comes home from work, I'm not shy to say, "Baby I've had it today and I'm going out for some get it together ME time". I come home much happier.

I'm (We are) here for you, so keep venting and know that we are all struggling. Yes, we lose weight and we gain it back too. Let's all just do our best and stop beating up an ourselves. Love yourself and give yourself a break(now I sound like a card,lol).

How old is your baby?

Sherrilynn

I don't want to give you excuses, but you really need to give yourself a break. Your baby will just be turning 3 months and you have a 2 year old. When my second was 3months old, I would not work out until my husband was home. What I did at that time was, wait until he got home and then I left to go out and walk. I got exercise and alone time. Is your husband helping you out? Do you have a family member that can help out for an hour a couple days a week. Do you feel that you can't ask for help. A lot of woman feel that if they need help, they are failing. YOU ARE NOT. I know you are angry with your doctor right now and probably really angry about a lot of things, but don't shut everyone out. What do you think the doctor could do differently? Do you know any moms who you could take turns with babysitting each others kids.

I am the worst for asking for help. I have only had a babysitter for my 4 year old 3 times and not until she was 3. I have major trust issues. I am very fortunate to have an awesome husband though. When he walks through that door, it's no longer MY job. I am free to leave when I want and he shares all the housework, I would even say that he does more. He will clean the bathroom before leaving for work, do the dishes when he gets home ( I ccok the dinner) and so on. Why should I do all the work when he is home. If I allowed that, he would work 8 hrs. a day with 2 days off and I would work 24/7. No Thanks! I also make sure he takes the day off if I'm really sick because it's so hard to look after the kids when I am sick. I maybe get the flu once every 2 years. Take care of you and get the support you need from your husband.

Sherrilynn

Most of the moms I know have very different parenting teqniques and with some, I couldn't handle watching their children. Too bad we didn't live closer to one another,lol.

What are your hubbies hours like? Can he watch the kids more on his days off? It sounds like you need a break even more than the exercise. You said that he will mostly watch them for an hour. What is mostly?

I had so much to do today. Tons of papers and flyers to help my 11 year old with (great exercise) grocery and mall shopping, cleaning etc. I had a bad tummy day yesterday so I took an immodium and I woke up feeling so bloated. After doing the first batch of papers I felt much better (mental exercise) then I got into a heated argument with 3 men. On one of the streets we deliver to, my daughter does one side and I do the other. There was a huge dog basking at her and 3 men were sitting on the step watching, so I yelled over and asked them to hold the dog back until my daughter went by the sidewalk. He said, "there is an invisible fence". So I said my daughter is scared and I want him to hold the dog. The dogs teeth were out and he was very aggressive and how are we to know if there is an invisible fence. He was right by the sidewalk. So me having the temper I have, I said a few improper words and my daughter came over to my side of the street. I was furious! I still haven't decided what I am going to do about the situation, but I'm not one to just let it slide. If I do that the anger eats at me.

Now for the good news. I went to the grocery store right after that and I still didn't buy cheat food. I went to the mall and I was miserable and I was looking at all the skinny people and feeling jealous, but I told myself that if I caved I would always feel like this. I'm going to stop being jealous of the skinny people and become a fit, lean Sherri machine,lol. I'm on day 5 and nothing can stop me. We have to plow through the stress and all the people who try to make our life miserable. We can't let them do that anymore.

Sherrilynn

Please do not think I'm coming down on you because I'm not. That's the last thing you need. Do you remember a quote from the great,lol Dr. Phil that goes like this,"WE TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO TREAT US". THis is only my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. I think you have bigger issues than your weight and if things don't get better at home, than I really believe that you will gain it back even after you lose it. You really have to work on YOU and of course your marriage. When you are miserable in your own home, that is not good. Our homes are our sanctuary's, a getaway from the world. A place we feel comfortable and safe. With what you posted, I'm guessing that you must have a great deal of anger inside of you. I hope I'm not offending you, I would never want to do that. You have a lot of work ahead of you and we are here for you.

I just dodged a bullit. I was craving something(I won't mention it) and it took everything I had not to have it. My hubby just came home from the mechanics and told me we need a new engine ($2000.00) Oh, this is so hard. I'm so addicted to my comfort food. I have to this! I've been at this for so many years. This is not a good day. I must get through it. It's 4pm here and hubby is going to watch the kids while I go for a nap where I can dream of what I want to eat,lol. 0 calories.

I'll be thinking of you Tracy and I hope you will start to think of yourself a lot more as well.

Sherrilynn