Teacher post

I am trying out Padlet this year with my students.
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Ideal Protein Diet - A Weight Loss Journey

Hello. My name is Betsy. It has been __ years since my last post. So there is my confession. On with it...

I started posting about Ideal Protein on DAY 1 of the diet but I guess I did something wrong and my post did not save. So here is DAY 3. I will give you a brief synopsis of my dieting journey and an update of where I am now..

This past September is when I stopped dieting and started putting on some pounds. Summer was over and I took my free pass to start eating garbage again. No more swimsuits= sweets, bread and beer! After too many months of "S.B.B." I started back on weight watchers. That diet has always worked for me. I signed up online. Diet starts, diet ends. ONE DAY. This cycle went on for MONTHS. I only would make it one day. I didn't cheat because I was HUNGRY. I cheated because I would forget I was on a diet. Weight watchers is easy. You can eat what you want. You just have to keep track of your points. That was my failure. So I continued to pay for the online service and didn't diet.

Enter my friend Chan. Truly the dearest friend I have. She has moved away from my town so we don't get to talk or see each other often, but I love her :). I got to see her on a trip to Disney (more S.B.B) and she was shockingly thin. But not the kind of thin that you worry. She was lean and sculpted. Her body looks like something out of a magazine. After being around her two days I was completely motivated to diet.

I must go on the record to say that I do not like FAD diets. It seems like every time you turn around someone has a new diet out there where you have to eat beets and cottage cheese. Or all you can eat cheese and meat. Or starve yourself! I have tried those diets in my early twenties and they work. For as long as you are on them the diets work. Then the weight comes right back. I have always thought, "Diet and exercise is the only way to go". That is why I like weight watchers. But that wasn't working for me. I needed something that I could commit to and something that would change the way I thought about food so I would keep the weight off!

Enter Ideal Protein. Lots of water. Protein shakes, lots of veggies, vitamins, clean proteins (not fatty ones). The diet is specific. However, it has lots of choices.

DAY 1- I was so excited to start. Because I knew I was going on this diet, I ate all the S.B.B's I could (sweets, bread, beer) and then some. Pizza, nachos, wings, Baskin Robins.... So I take my measurements Thursday morning and weigh in. I was not shocked by my numbers because I am a scale-aholic. I email them to my coach- Chan (she now sells Ideal Protein). Day 1 begins.

Breakfast- shake

lunch- salad with approved veggies and ideal protein food

dinner- grilled chicken with salad and veggies.

night snack- ideal protein (IP) pudding

Day 1 went very well. I was not hungry at all. I was a little tired. But, I did not miss any of my favorite foods. NOT AT ALL.

DAY 2- Because I am a scale-aholic I got on the scale. Lost a pound! Woo-hoo. Hard to believe because I drank so much water, I thought for sure my bones were now liquid. Yes, I was on the potty (yes, I still use that word, my kids are little) a bunch but still, I thought my eyeballs were swimming. Eating on Day 2 was just like the first day. But I changed up the veggies and the protein. There are so many choices in the flavors of the shakes and the consistency as well. You can do shakes, drinks, yogurt or pudding. So far I like the consistency of the yogurt the best. The protein at lunch was so good. That is more of a food. Day 1- dill pickle chips (yes, chips!) Day 2- salt and vinegar chips. So end of Day 2, I did feel a little nauseated. I think I felt this way because of the vitamins you have to take.

DAY 3- I had a yummy Wild Berry yogurt and vitamins. I also had a cup of coffee with approved Truvia sweetener and an oz. of skim milk. From what Chan tells me, this is the day that a lot of her clients feel yucky. My body is going through a detox of sorts from sugar. We'll just see. But for now, I feel great and am excited to be moving in the right direction!

Summer is here!

I woke up this morning with a familiar itch. Well, that's pleasant. Thanks for sharing Betsy. The itch was on my 2nd toe, behind my knee, two places on my right ankle- mosquito bites!! Yep- summer is here.

Mosquito bites, slip-n-slides, sunscreen, long days at the pool and ice pops are what summer is all about. Yesterday we cooked out with friends while we watched the kids have a ball with the hose. They jumped in and out of the 3x4 foot plastic baby pool that is held together with duct tape, dined on chips and cupcakes (leaving no room for the main course- of course) and fell into our patio chairs in utter exhaustion. In bed by 9:45 p.m. What a perfect summer day!

Today when I turned on my computer the most delightful thing happened. Nothing. No pop up reminders of teacher conferences, room parent phone call reminders, soccer practice schedules. Another sure sign that summer has arrived. For the next 10 weeks we get to just be.

Summer is here and I am loving it!

Creepy, creepy...

So I have not blogged in two weeks. I started doing this to help me with my writing. I want to keep the creative juices flowing. I just haven't stumbled onto a topic lately that I wanted to write about.

This morning I told myself that I would just type. See what came out. Then I thought about what I watched on Oprah yesterday. The show was about sexual predators and how to help your children beware of the dangers on the internet. I am going to save this subject for a later post because something just happened that I want to share.

I just called 911 about 20 minutes ago. J and I were on the phone and the doorbell rings. While I am on the line I walk over to the door (far enough away so the person can not see me) and look through the window to see who it is. The man behind the door was over the age of 55 with a State Farm badge on his shirt (State Farm is our insurance carrier). I asked Jason if we were expecting anyone to come by. He said no. He did not ring the bell again. He just stood there. I went upstairs and got a good look at his car. It was a 4 door sedan with a white magnetic-type sign that said "Insurance Inspector" in bold black letters.

He was at my door for over 3 minutes, maybe 5. He only rang the doorbell once. I stayed on the phone with J. He finally drove away. He didn't leave a brochure like he was selling something. He didn't leave a note- like he was following up on some type of business.

J called our State Farm rep to see if they were sending anyone over. He left a message. I called 911 to report this suspicious character.

So maybe it was nothing. 20 minutes earlier I hollered across the street to a man walking around my neighbors yard (checking her mailbox, etc.) wearing all black with a heavy jacket with his hood on his head. "Hey Sam?" (That's the name of my neighbor's handyman.) He turned and waved. He took off his hood. Ok. It was Sam. So maybe I was already suspicious of the world from that incident. Maybe this whole ordeal was nothing.

But what if my name was front page news tomorrow because I opened that door.

I called 911. I did my part. I still got in my car after the guy was gone for about 5 minutes and drove around my neighborhood looking for his car. Nope. He was nowhere to be found.

Lock your doors even when you are home. You don't have to open the door just because someone is standing there.

This morning I felt a tad bit compelled to open the door just so I was not being rude. But if this guy was on the up and up, he would understand me not opening the door for him. He wouldn't want his daughter or wife opening the door for a stranger. Not rude- SAFE!

Just remembered something. While he was at the door, his head was down, looking at the ground. If he had been looking up I would have been able to identify him.

I am going to do a little research and post some websites that are helpful for keeping your families safe from the bad guys.

It can happen right???

So here is the photo that motivates me to put down the cashews, grilled cheese crusts from my kid's sandwiches, and fritoes. Not a bad goal right (to look like Christina Ricci in this photo)? A friend of mine believes in starvation. I believe in eating less and exercising. All the celebrities say that they keep fit by finding quiet time for themselves or focusing in on the positive or playing with their 2 year old in the park. I call bull $&*@ on that. The celebrities keep fit by firing their chefs if they allow doughnuts or potato chips to cross their thresholds.

So I can't afford a trainer and I have no chef/"food bouncer" at my door. Hmmm... wish me luck. I am going to try chanting in the backyard in a criss-cross apple sauce position while my kids run circles around me. Or maybe I should just tie my hands behind my back. No more typing today......

What's Best/What's Easiest

Top Ten Best/Easiest List for March 30, 2009 (note: this is just for today)

Let me set this day up for you. Today is the first day of spring break for my children (and me) Hooray. No carpool! So here is my list- (Best will be listed first. Easiest second)

1. Eggs and toast/pop tarts

2. Reading E.B. White's Stuart Little to the kids at bedtime/Reading Sponge Bob's "Show me the Bunny".

3. making whole wheat bread, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch/defrosting the Uncrustable frozen sandwich

4. calling the soccer families to tell them that my hubby is not coaching this weekend/emailing them (chickening out)

5. blow drying my hair for the first time in 5 days/another day with the hair clip

6. playing educational games with the kids/kids plugged into the television or wii

7. being the pitcher for my fellas/magazine reading by the play set

8. leaving the laundry for another day/leaving the laundry for another day (of course this is just my opinion)

9. vacuuming/swiffering

10. talking to friends about my life/talking to friends about everyone else's life

So I am not saying that I am taking the easy road today. And if I did everything on the "best list" it would be my best mom/wife day ever. But the way I see it folks is that it's all about balance. I think I will be the pitcher and read a little E.B. White at story time after I avoid the laundry and swiffer.

Why can't people be more direct??

Today I have been getting 20 emails in my inbox from my neighbors. (Email is a great way for everyone living here to share news and information about what is going on in our little section of town.) It has been a reply to all kind of morning. The most recent gripe has been about people not picking up after their dogs.

Before I continue, let me paint a picture of my neighborhood for you. Our "hood" (as we like to call it) is shaped like a lollipop. You drive in on the stick and either turn right or left around the candy/circle. Sidewalks line the streets. The oldest house here was built in the 1800's. We have houses on the Macon historic registry. We have a house or two built in the 60's. Some homes have less than 1500 square feet and some with 6,000+. It goes from cottages to mansions here. There are 50 altogether.

We have a reputation for being a very fun, close knit neighborhood. We have an annual 4th of July party, spring party and Christmas party. Our kids play football and frisbee in the street. We borrow eggs from each other. We meet once a month to discuss issues ranging from what color to paint the historic street lamps to finding a date for the Easter egg hunt. We also meet once a month over a keg of beer. The weekly "cocktail cruise" usually starts about 5:15 on Friday afternoon. Parents cruise (walk) with their styrofoam cups behind their children's big wheels, scooters or tricycles. It's just that kind of neighborhood. Wide streets. Long afternoons with people talking over their fences.

So when the dog poop conversation comes up everyone wants to throw in their two cents. (By all means we need to keep this neighborhood sparkling white!) except for the guilty parties (they, of course, are silent). But if no one ever names names we are going to be right back where we started in a month or so. The guilty will continue to leave their crap behind. The rest of us will continue to endure the vast amount of emails.

Why can't people be more direct????

I only post this because I am a very direct person. If someone is doing something that is hurtful or annoying I tell it like it is. Of course I am polite but direct. I use my "feeling" words.

Let's all try it out... "I feel ___________ when ___________. Next time please______."

pause... pause.... pause...

Now my turn:
"'B' (no need to name names here on my blog), I feel frustrated when I have to pick up a pound of dog poop that has been deposited by your 150 pound Labrador. Would you please use a grocery bag to pick up after 'S' on your next walk?"

Wouldn't this be much better than 50 people getting bothered by 50 emails that do not pertain to them whatsoever because of one or two neighbor's irresponsibility?

I did not send out the original "poop" email this morning so I am not going to be direct on this one. I have a dog. I pick up after her if she is out of our yard. If there is a little extra poop in our yard from a neighbor's dog, no biggie. But what I don't want is a vast amount of emails smothering my inbox over something that doesn't pertain to me because someone is not going directly to the source of the problem.

So, people- use your feeling words!!!! Here are some more examples:

"Honey, I feel disgusted when I sit on the toilet with the toilet seat is up. There are times when I have fallen in and that adds to my aggravation. Please put the toilet seat down." (This does not happen in our house, thank heavens.)

OR-

"Sweety, I feel unappreciated when you do not notice that all the laundry is put away when you know it is my least favorite thing IN THE WORLD to do. Please just give me a bit of acknowledgement for this task." (This also does not occur in my house because the laundry never gets put away.)

See how easy that is? You say how you feel and the other person sympathises with your feelings. Do not point the finger. Do not use the word "you" (as in "you leave the toilet seat up"). That immediately puts the other person on the defensive.

Go for it! It works!