Miss Kaelyn is going to be 3 on the 25th of this month, and party planning is in progress. I'm having slight anxiety over being mom to a 3-year old, especially one who isn't potty trained! She is being such a major stinker about using the potty. I have been reading a potty training book that matches training methods to your child's personality type. At the beginning of the book I filled out a quiz to determine which type of personality Kaelyn has. The results were "strong-willed child." I then flipped to the section about potty training my strong-willed child and so far the gist is that I cannot force my strong-willed child to do anything, I can only wait til she is ready. If I show any anger or frustration toward her during potty training, it is only saying to her, "here are my buttons, push them whenever you want." So basically, potty training has to be HER idea, not mine. Great. Ty and I joke all the time that Kaelyn is going to go off to college in diapers. Sadly, it's really not much of a joke! Even Brylee used the potty for the first time a few days ago, and she's only 19 months. I am open to suggestions, but am feeling pretty pessimistic at the moment.
And this is what's going on with me.
Lately I have finally been somewhat serious about getting back to my pre-Kaelyn weight, or preferably less. Last summer I began working out regularly and eating better, and I did lose weight but quickly hit a plateau and had no idea how to get over it. I stayed at the same weight for the last several months, and then I started the hCG diet. Now, I am NOT an advocate of fad diets or quick fixes, but I did a lot of research on this diet and it intrigued me to the point that I thought I might as well just try it. The point of the hCG (yes it's a hormone produced by the placenta, kind of creepy I know) is to "reset" your metabolism to the point where you can eat just about whatever (after the diet is over) and your weight will remain stable. The diet is very strict, only 500 calories a day with absolutely no sugars and no oils. It's probably true that anyone eating only 500 calories per day will lose some weight, but the hCG prevents your metabolism from slowing; it actually speeds it up to where you burn between 3500 and 4000 calories a day. Sweet! I have been on the diet for about 3.5 weeks now, and in the first two weeks I lost 15 pounds. There was even one day when I lost 6 pounds literally overnight. I was thrilled and amazed and stayed really motivated, but lately I have been cheating and am finding it hard to get back on track. I haven't really gained any of the weight back, but I am definitely not losing anything right now because of the cheating. The first few days of the diet were really hard. I was hungry and fatigued and depressed about the bland meat and gross dry veggies. Amazingly I got over it and was feeling great until the temptation to cheat became too strong, and after I cheated once, it was hard not to cheat again. I only have less than 3 weeks left on the diet and I have not reached my goal, although I am now at the same weight I was when I got pregnant with Kaelyn (down about 25 pounds from last January). Hooray! If only I could stomach that grotesque fish waiting for me in my refrigerator. Seriously just thinking about it makes me want to vomit. And I typically love fish.
Also, I have decided that I am going to become an avid runner. Actually, I decided this a long time ago but this time I'm going to do it. I know, you're probably all scoffing inside, but bigger and more sedentary people than myself have become marathon runners, so why not me? Runners seem to have it all, and I want it. I'm currently doing research on what shoes I should get. There are way too many to choose from. Don't know if I need stability, cushioning, flexibility, whatever. Now if we could just get rid of this darn snow so I can get outside!






