Losing Weight

When we got Elijah's bloodwork, back and it showed he was susceptible to diabetes, I made the decision to put him on a diet. I also added walking to his daily routine. I also decided it was time for me to lose some weight and change some of my habits. Elijah's cholesterol was also a little high for his age so we are working on that too.

He is now eating a cup of Cheerios, a bowl of strawberries, an egg(made with egg beaters so no cholesterol) and a half a cup of milk(to drink) for breakfast. There is also a half a cup of milk with his cereal. Lunch varies depending on the day, but he likes to have a ham or turkey sandwich with an apple most days. Dinner also varies, but thankfully we had already added vegetables to his routine so we didn't have to worry about trying to get him to eat vegetables. He is averaging between 1200 to 1600 calories a day. His snack in the afternoon consists of half a cup of Greek yogurt(no sugar added) with strawberries, blueberries and sometimes pineapple. At night he usually eats a Skinny Cow no sugar added ice cream sandwich. I found them on sale and stocked up! He usually has a cup of milk too!

He lost 1.2 pounds the first week and then at our second weigh in today he lost another 2.6 pounds! You can really see the weight loss in his face and his stomach seems to be shrinking some. He is also walking between 1-2 miles a day with me. I am averaging 2-3 miles walking, with another 2 miles during the day doing housework or daily activities. My FitBit keeps track of that for me! I have found that measuring and weighing food makes a HUGE difference for both of us. A cup of milk really isn't a whole lot of milk and both of were probably drinking twice as much as we are now. It also helps that I am off this summer and have the time to walk and keep track of calories.

Elijah really hasn't complained too much. He sometimes doesn't want to walk, but he usually can be coaxed easily to come with us. He earns more time on electronics when he walks! He is really enjoying the fruit and LOVES pineapple! He could eat it with every meal I think. Hoping for a good weigh in next weekend!

Just One More Thing

Elijah just can't seem to ever catch a break. When we went to the pediatrician on Monday, he had blood drawn. He is on so many meds for his Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD, that the doctor wanted to check his liver function and whatever else could be affected. The doctor also checked his cholesterol which was a little high, but not too bad, and also checked for diabetes. Well, he doesn't have diabetes, but he is not too far from it. The nurse said she was going to send me information on a Step 1 diet. I really wasn't too surprised, he has put on so much weight in the last two years. I can blame it on medicine, but I can also blame it on poor food choices.

I was at the rec center when the nurse called and then my honey actually called me. She was close by, so Elijah and I met her at the grocery store. We picked up some fruit, yogurt and Cheerios. Cheerios will be for breakfast. The fruit will be for a snack as will the yogurt. I have needed an incentive to lose weight and now I have one....for Elijah, because he needs to lose weight. I am also going to have him walk with me whenever I go walking. All we can do is get up every morning and tackle this the best that we can. I am going to start counting his calories too. I tried to explain to him why we have to change things up with what he eats, and finally told him if he doesn't make these changes then there are needles in his future. I know this isn't going to be easy, for any of us. He doesn't have diabetes now, and my goal is for him NOT to ever get it. This is a true kick in the rear for me, but I think I needed it to put these changes in place!