Re: How do you...?

[Guest guest]

-

You are too funny! Thanks for the laugh - but really I think a

serious question. When Pippin was DX - I knew that I had to get in

shape get healthy and be a better eater for her, me and my family. I

hired a personal trainer and work out 2x to 3x per week. Dan & I

have lost total about 80 lbs since her DX in March of 2003. I also

noticed having the appt w/ my trainer gets me my much needed ME time

which we all know is very hard to get. :-) I've got a way to go

until I reach my goal, but I do know that I'm healthier today than I

was before I heard of RSS.

Team Lapish

Dan, Jenyfer, Tully, Pippin, & Ryker

[Guest guest]

Okay, , let's try this again. I typed a long reply to your post

and I guess the computer had a temporary meltdown. Your message was

just reposted without my reply!

Anyway, as I tried writing before, one thing I have found is that I

never served the same food for Max as I did for the rest of the

family. Actually, that is not correct. I made a healthy, lower

calorie meal for all of us, but took Max's servings and added olive

oil, margarine, etc. to his to boost the calories. (Cannot and

could not use milk products for him.) This worked because it

appeared that we were all eating the same thing, so Max did not feel

different, but our food was much lower in caloric content. (I no

longer make his food high calorie. His weight is just fine. He

just gets to eat more than we do and not gain weight - he's a

teenager!)

I never gained weight because of Max's food preparation. I gained

it from M & Ms, baking (which I LOVE to do) and too much pasta and

bread.

I have lost weight over the past few years, but still have more to

go. It's a slow process, but I'm having a good time doing it. I've

been going to Weight Watcher's on and off for over two years, but I

do it with three friends. We go every Saturday, except for times

like between Thanksgiving and New Year's when we take a break, and

then we go out to breakfast after the meetings. We get to sit and

talk, gossip, gripe, etc. and then usually wind up going shopping

afterwards. I love my Saturday mornings now. We have all come to

realize that we are not always following the program so we don't

always lose weight, but none of us gains more than a pound at any

given time and over time the scale does move down. We go for the

comraderie as well as the suport and it really works. You are a

very friendly person. Is there anyone you could do this with? It

does take discipline to keep it up, but after awhile, it becomes a

habit and fun.

Now, stop making the same food for all of you. You will see that it

does make a difference. Make that mac and cheese, but use low fat

cheese and add to Connor's portion only, for example. It will help

a lot. : )

Jodi Z

[Guest guest]

, two years ago I found that I had gained more than 12 pounds in

a single year. Just like Dr. Harbison warned me, it was from

finishing the last bite of 's grilled cheese sandwich, etc.

Here is what I did.

1) Exercise. I can't run at all, so I joined a gym that has a free

kids' club. If the kids are in school, I bring a good book, get on

the treadmill or stair thingy and read and walk. I walk uphill at

3.0 incline but slow enough that I can read. If I can't get to the

gym, I ask the kids if they want to go for a walk around the block.

A friend told me to walk 2,000 extra steps each day. So instead of

dealing with the horrendous drop-off line at school, we parked

easily but 2 blocks away and walked the 2 blocks at school. I only

go the gym usually twice a week, and I don't pick certain days.

Because something will always come up. Instead I just tell myself

that TWO times I have to go. It is much more achievable that way.

2) Cooking. I don't cook a separate dinner. I just add to

and Tyler's food. So if I make pasta, after it is all made, I add

extra butter and parmesan cheese to hers. I put a different salad

dressing on hers. If I make broccoli, I put butter on hers (or

petite corn, Steve and I eat with lemon juice, the kids get

butter). Breakfast: I make omelets for breakfast: egg white and

mozzarella cheese and vegies for us using Pam for the pan; for the

kids, it is the entire egg, with regular cheese, lots of it, and

margerine for the pan.

Lunch. The kids like tuna with mayonaisse. I divide the tuna in

the bowl and put mayonaise in theirs, and put Dijon mustard with

tiny cut up celery and onions in mine (really good, and

healthy!!!). I still make grilled cheese sandwiches but avoid

eating leftovers. QUICK, throw it in the garbage can....

3) I still eat chips, but have moved to Baked Lays and I love Sun

Chips. I believe that life is too short to not have chips and

dessert. So I eat all those, just in moderation. I no longer bring

the bag of chips to the table. Instead, I put a specific amount of

chips on my plate with my sandwich; when they are gone, they are

gone. Because for me, I would endlessly eat chips.

Hope this helps. But yes, it is VERY easy to gain weight feeding

our children.... But you can beat it. One note -- every

Thanksgiving/Christmas, about 5 pounds creep back on, and I spend

January getting them off. I figure that is life....

>

> Dear Primary Care Givers to our RSS kids,

>

> I have a question. It's a wieghty issue (heavy pun intended). It

> may open a can of worms. But, since none of you have beaten me up

> with wet noodles...yet...I thought I'd toss this one out.

>

> How many of you primary care givers to RSS kids have gained in

> excess of 15-25 lbs while caring for your child?

>

> I remember a couple of years ago when Dr. H. made the statement

that

> I would gain weight while caring for my RSS son if I continued

doing

> some " eating stratagies " that worked at the time, but are a moot

> point now. Except for the fact that I did in fact gain the weight.

>

> Sigh.

>

> Yet again, my New Year's resolution is to lose the 12 lbs I never

> lost after Connor's birth.

>

> The problem you see is calories. To many of them. I add calories

> whenever I can to our food. I am a lazy cook. I would rather

cook

> one meal that everybody can eat. Since, Connor is an " eater, " but

> still a child of RSS, we tend to use half n half in the mac n

> cheese; real bacon, butter and peanut butter on a sandwich, french

> fries, Mc's, etc, etc, etc. While concentrating so hard on

> getting Connor to gain weight, I have packed it on too.

>

> Double sigh.

>

> While it probably doesn't help that my FAVORITE DRINK in the whole

> wide world is an Icebox Mudslide, I'm surely not doing anything

> healthy for myself. On the one hand I bless the individual who

came

> up with chocolate alcohol (endorphins and warm fuzzy feelings -

> Yippee!), however, I know that the drink must contain at least a

> billion calories because if I have one 8 oz serving over ice, I'm

up

> two pounds in the morning.

>

> Triple Sigh.

>

> How do you keep the weight off of yourself while keeping your

> special needs child gaining? I mean think about. We totally

obsess

> over calories. Every day. How many of us primary care takers can

> rattle off the nutritional and caloric content of several kinds of

> foods? We are much more savvy than the average parent. The stress

> can be overwhelming. The impulse is to eat.

>

> So, have any of you out there successfully lost weight while

helping

> your child? Any tips you would like to pass on to us neurotic

> mothers who eat when their child won't?

>

> Many thanks!

>

> in Virginia

>

> P.S. Connor is at an all time high in wt. He's 21 lbs!

> I'm not confessing even to my priest what I weight right now!!!!!!!