My observation in my co-op is that of the 10 moms in my co-op 3 are not overweight. I them googled my state (37.7%) and county( 30%) obesity rate so evidently in my very mall group homeschoolers have a problem. What I notice is despite all the cultural push to be thin, losing weight or being a normal weight is viewed as unhealthy in my community of friends and acquaintances. I assume people come to view what they see everyday as " normal". I can't speak to every individual but I think much of the local problem is poor dietary habits, high fast food intake and a feeling that having kids or getting older means it is a given that weight will be gained. Exercise and " strange" diets are looked upon as weird or fringe.

Hugs and prayers :grouphug:

They will sometimes hate you. Because you are a safe target. Be firm but have grace and patience. Don't sweat the small stuff. Do fun stuff with them. Talk to them. Hang out with them. Touch them. Try to remember what it was like. Really try. Then have more grace and patience.

The only thing I'm sure of is this is a multi factorial problem. Chemicals, lifestyle, personal body chemistry, health issues, etc, etc all are contributing to our weight problems. My dh (who is morbidly obese) has a theory it's not one thing but the synergy of all these working together in confounding ways. *I do have to add in my dh's case it is very poor habits learned from childhood.

We are currently reading Peter Pan. They are going to be in a kid production and I wanted them to hear the original.

Reishy-congrats to your son Slache-aw, I hope you are better soon. Laura-yoga sounds great I did some sweaty yoga and took a nice walk.

This will sound horrible but before you become very old and very ill get rid of STUFF! Your heirs will thank you. It's just stuff. Let it go.

No supplements. In addition to the above I try to get sun everyday. I do yoga and some meditation ( not weird, woo woo stuff but quiet) and I freely admit I use music to modulate my mood.

The good news is I feel even better in my 50's. I think having kids who can bathe themselves, feed themselves, dress themselves, etc has helped.

Homemade mac&cheese with broccoli Bean quesadillas Minestrone soup Cream of broccoli soup Hot veggie subs Spaghetti with sauce and Parmesan, just no meat Vegetable pot pie Eggs and potatoes Don't discount soup and grilled cheese. I mostly just make what we like minus the meat. My dh is also picky and not adventurous. He will sometime Se eat a ham and cheese sandwich if dinner is too weird. My oldest dd has been a vegetarian since she was 12 so I would either make a veg meal or just dish hers up before the meat.

We don't have a budget. I plan ahead on coats, boots, cleats. Big things. We buy almost exclusively second hand so I keep my eye out all year long. I have also found that if you make it known you will gladly take people's hand me downs you often don't have to buy anything.

Just a quick check in. Unfortunately my dad passed away Thursday morning. I have done yoga both days as a stress reliever.

Too much. Pretty much anything I had a good time to.

For years we lived on a pretty tight budget. My biggest suggestion is to see if there is an Aldi nearby. It has saved me a fortune on basics. Breakfast was oats, toast, hm muffins or eggs if cheap. Lunch was leftovers, a pbj sandwich, a bean quesadilla or soup and crackers. Carrot sticks or other inexpensive/sale veggie and possibly canned fruit. Dinner was a casserole, starch or soup with meat, beans or a little cheese. Fruit was usually the " special" at the Kroger in town so if grapes were $1.20/lb or pineapples $.99 that's what we had. Frozen vegetables were used unless there was a sale. Salad was for Sunday. Sometimes. I make lots of multi use meats, for example the ever popular roast chicken can be Sunday lunch, the leftover bits are in a casserole on Monday and the carcass gets turned into chicken noodle soup on Tuesday. Snacks for my kids were muffins, cinnamon or pb toast or more beans and salsa. I wouldn't expect to cut 1/2 right away. It's a process. Other ways to cut costs STAY home, only thrift clothes, library, free entertainment. I still cut shampoo and dish soap 1/2 with water and clean with only vinegar and elbow grease. But really, learning to love walking most places, the library and plain doing without saved us the most.

Awesome work everyone! :hurray: If you have been unwell I hope you are feeling better :grouphug: I am seriously behind in posting so.... Sunday~yoga and a walk Monday-run Tuesday-yoga Today-a chilly run I'm in a bit of mourning now that autumn has arrived. Dh refuses to flip hemispheres every six months though so I guess I'll have to resign myself :glare: Have a lovely day everyone!

:grouphug:

I've been fairly interested the whole time ;-)

I run most mornings fueled by coffee. Eating makes me feel gross and slows me down. Try both ways and see how you feel.

Re gift or throw away the treats. Seriously Thanksgiving and Christmas are supposed to be days not weeks. I also have set meals that are satisfying and don't require me to think. I have eggs or oatmeal or a smoothie for breakfast. Lunch in winter I almost always have a bowl of soup with1/2 sandwich or hummus and pita chips and a piece of fruit for dessert. If I get the habit rolling then it's easier to avoid the "stuff" that is not so healthy.

If we are home and they just don't want dinner it's pbj or scrambled egg and toast. You make it ( 8 yo makes egg sandwiches most days for lunch). We too are gone many evenings at this time of year for soccer. I take things I a little cooler if we have no time for dinner. We like hummus and olives with pita chips, boiled eggs, peanut butter to spread on apples or crackers or carrots, cold meat wrapped around cheese sticks. Apples, grapes, clementines, pepper, celery and carrots and homemade trail mix in baggies.

I just have to add PS here ( IN) is hardly free. I just spent $230 for two high schoolers for " book rental" which we pay here. That doesn't count the $100 I owe the university for dd's dual credit class ( still cheaper than the university cost). They chose to attend so I'm not whining, I'm just pointing out PS isn't free either.

Easy to make your own but my kids always ate too much for the baking to be practical. I opt for English muffins or bagels since the " crust" doesn't actually have to bake.

I was awake during the night with a migraine and then had all the attendant GI issues they always bring me. Dh thinks it's my body saying "Slow down already." Yesterday was especially insane sooooo he has me puttering around the house today and not much else. I did do some stretching and maybe a stroll tonight.

We're not free but we are cheap ;-). I use CLE grammar and math because we like it but it is pretty inexpensive. Printing stuff, for me, is more expensive. I use our library extensively. I also attend used homeschool sales. I've found most of my curriculum SOTW that way. We watch extensively on Youtube. I do pay for a LA cottage class for dd but it is writing, spelling and grammar and she likes it so that is our $40/month splurge.

My potatoes are sprouting, does that count? Seriously, now I want to grow a pineapple.