Week 1 - Ally's Serious Diet

It's December 1. And I'm starting my serious diet after a long holiday weekend of binge eating. I am going to have Fridays be my weigh-in day. So I have a few days to shape up my eating before stepping on the scale. But I'm going to log my food journal here:

Breakfast - 2 pieces cinnamon raisin toast with 2 tbsp peanut butter
Lunch - TJ's Roasted Vegetable soup
Snack - 1/2 cup raspberries; 1/4 cup pistacio nuts
Dinner - Still to come (will edit later)

Exercise: 40 mins elliptical; 10 mins stretching and abs

Ally's Serious Diet

Ok, I'm really tired of being fat. [Sorry to those who've been listening to me say this for years!] I just read a blog on Serious Eats about a year of dieting. I'm going to commit to writing here for a year about my diet efforts. In hopes that by next year at this time I will have moved the needle by a significant amount. My goal is 20 pounds. This means I have to get on the scale. Which I don't really have the nerve to do today. But I will by December 1, which will begin my Week 1. And record it here. I'm also going to keep a food log here. Kinda boring, I know. But essential, I'm told.

You love Kate, Daddy loves me

When Stinker turned three in October, I thought I was pretty lucky to have escaped the terrible twos without too much terrible trouble. Now I just feel foolish. Stinker is going through something. He's throwing tantrums, laying face down in the garage, pounding his fists and kicking his feet. I'm not sure if it's the transition to preschool or the transition to underwear (no more diapers!) or both. But he's not acting like himself. And he's specifically taking it out on me. And it hurts. The other night, Chris was at a work function. I had put Smiley to bed, and I wanted to spend some special time with Stinker. I was trying to cuddle with him, on my lap, and I said "I love you." He replied, "No, you love Kate. Daddy loves me." My heart ached. I responded, "I love you and Kate. And Daddy loves you and Kate too. We both love you both." But I don't know why he said it or why he would feel that way. Is this the start of sibling rivalry? What do I do to turn this around? What's the right thing to say? This is hard!

L-A-S-L-O-M-A-S

Chris and I took Will to a Las Lomas football game tonight against Acalanes. In some ways, it felt like aeons since I'd been on the Las Lomas field. Mostly, it felt like no time had passed. We went to watch our friend Cami Cox, who is six, participate in the Las Lomas half time routine. After spending a week at cheer camp, Cami nailed her routine and was just adorable to watch. But the thing that struck me hard was that, while I still feel like I could be one of those teenage cheerleaders, six-year-old Cami is actually much closer to them in age. I know it to be true, but I still find it shocking. Thirty-five is really OLD!

Biggest Loser

We had our first "weigh in" tonight. Chris and I have challenged our friends Matt and Monica to a "Biggest Loser" competition, to see which team can lose the biggest percentage of weight by December 31. Everyone did well this week. Chris lost an amazing 11.6 pounds! I only lost 1.4. I am happy though because I wanted to at least lose one pound. Plus we weighed in after only 5 days, not a full week. I hope to do even better next week!

My First Blog

I've never blogged before. It feels kinda strange. I've never been one to keep a journal or diary. But I read a friend of a friend's blog recently...someone with two kids like me. She was using her blog to record funny moments from her life. Not a bad idea to write down the hilarious things your kids do and say. So I thought I'd try it. My son Will is in the midst of potty training, which offers many funny moments that should be captured for posterity. He just turned three. Today he had a friend from school over, Rachel. When he needed to go potty, I took him into the bathroom and got him all set up to go "pee-pee." But he didn't go. Instead he said, "I want Rachel to watch." Funny how you have no inhibitions when you're three. He's very proud of himself and his newfound talents. And Chris and I are proud too.