Moxie, you need to listen to your body and take into consideration your health issues. If you feel good on a high protein diet, that is a very good sign that it works for your body. You are not killing yourself with heart disease and cancer! There are many studies that link heart disease to a high sugar/refined carb diet. You have to watch your refined carbs to manage blood sugar, a veg/vegan diet is not going to work for everyone. If you found what makes you feel good, stick with it. Look for clean meats and aim for 50% of your plate to be filled with veggies, some cooked some not. You are on the right track.

I love cheese too! I have found that my body is not such a fan so I try to limit it to special occasions, when we have company I love to put out a nice cheese plate! I think we can still enjoy occasionally and still listen to our bodies.

One of the problems with the low carb approach is that some folks translate that as meat heavy and veggie light. Flip that and go heavy veg and light on the meat and you may have good results. Not everyone can digest tons of meat, especially people who have done any amount of time on a low fat diet. The bile becomes viscous and is not able to do a good job of emulsifying the fat in a high meat diet. I encourage you to play around with ratios, enough fat and protein to keep you satiated but loads of fresh veggies help too. Anytime your diet makes you sick you need to reevaluate, which you did, and shake things up. We have been taught to not listen to our bodies!

One approach (my fave) is if you do not go out very often, just relax and enjoy. One crappy meal is not going to undo a week's worth of good healthy eating! If it is more frequent, then yes, you need to find a way to make good choices, which can be challenging.

It sounds like you may need more protein and fat in your lunch to carry you through to dinner. Both are more satiating and have less impact on blood sugar than high carb foods.

My oldest was 13, and discovered she had begun shortly before water polo practice. Her best friend and I were on the outside of the bathroom door trying to explain how to use a tampon. She was freaking out! Next DD was 16, very thin and body fat was certainly a factor. DD 12.4 has very recently grown in shoe size...I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was 13

Can't offer any advice, but I just wanted to commiserate. My cat is a jerk too. Although I live him dearly, sometimes he is an A-hole.

It is very hard to sift through the 'research' because much of it is slanted to meet an agenda. Look into each study that you read and really try to anayize if they have stacked the deck to achieve a desired result. I agree with and recommend a balanced approach. Daily diet that includes a wide variety of veggies, a serving or two of fruit, some whole grains, healthy fats, clean protein, and plenty of water. More specifically: Veggies - some cooked, some raw should make up about 50% of the volume that you eat. Fruit - is great and tasty, some who are trying to lose weight or have blood sugar issues need to be careful. Whole Grains - is brown rice, quinoa, oats, etc...real whole grains. Not processed 'whole' grains like cereal, crackers etc Healthy Fats- EVOO, coconut oil, grass fed butter, avocado, raw nuts, olives, etc Clean Protein - Organic free roaming meats, not farmed (that includes fish) I believe quality over quantity but our bodies do need protein to function optimally. While some vegetarians CAN make it work, most are missing the mark ( just like homeschoolers!) Water - critical on many levels What you want to avoid is anything processed, sugars etc. Anything extreme is probably not going to last (or benefit you ) in the long run. I am hearing reports of extreme low carbers developing insulin resistance. We need carbs, just as we need protein and fat. We just don't want to run on processed carbs or carbs that cause insulin spikes over and over. That really is like running on caffeine, it is unhealthy. Use the above outline and adjust it to suit you. If you are very active eat more grains and fruit, if you are more sedentary eat only 1 serving of grains and fruit. If you feel tired and are lacking energy eat more protein and fat. If you have blood sugar issues combine proteins and fats with high carb foods always. You have to adjust any diet to work for you.

Usually if you are feeling deprived, you are missing something. We are all unique and have different nutritional requirements. What works well for some will not work for others. You have to listen to your body and tweak things enough that you are satiated, but not indulging in unhealthy choices. Care to elaborate on your particular struggle?

My life!

This is a tough one, very hard I know. Here is the deal though, sometimes the body just wants to hold on to weight for a while longer than we would like. Sometimes it has to do with the body regulating detoxification. We hold toxins in our fat cells, they are safe there and do not cause us harm. When we lose weight, our cells have to release those toxins and if that happens too quickly, we will feel pretty lousy. The body tries to regulate that toxin release, until all detox pathways are open and working optimally. Usually there is a reason weight loss is slow. Our bodies need good nutrition so that we can operate optimally, that includes detox pathways. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and do what we know is right (like lacing up and heading to the gym) even when we don't want to. One day we wake up and notice things have changed, our waistline, our taste buds, our energy levels. It can be a leap of faith. Just my thoughts. I am happy to offer insights if you want to share more specifically what your daily diet and water intake look like and what your activity level is.

Thanks for the great feedback! Keep it coming, I love hearing the challenges. My name is Cakes, LOL, but it is the nick name of someone dear to me :-) I personally have faced (and still do) many of the same challenges. But in creating my business, it is important to consider what other struggle with not just what I struggle with! NicksMama...I have a love hate relationship with W30. I do not like the restrictiveness of it, but I love the clean eating. I know personally how you can really lose all desire to eat when on W30 but I do believe that the way it forces you to face your mindless eating habits is mostly good. Have you looked at NomNomPaleo? She has a lot of good W30 recipes.

I am creating a program to help people adopt healthier eating habits. It would be a tremendous help to me if you all would share with me where you get stuck. So, what are your biggest challenges in improving your diet? Thanks!

Yes ballet shoes do come in saying widths. Do you order shoes on line or do you have a store near by where he could try on several different brands? My DD has the opposite problem, narrow feet. We have had to jump thru a few hoops to find a properly fitting shoe.

We use butter in our bullet proof along with coconut oil, and use an immersion blender. It is much creamier with a blender stick! You may want to try it that way but use some Ghee instead of the butter.

My husband was also concerned about college acceptance for a homeschooled child. I found that by looking up the admissions policy to several top end colleges, and forwarding the link to him, as well as emailing directly asking about admissions policies for HSers, I was able to satisfy him that HSers do indeed go to college. All of this comes quick and I find myself already planning my 12 yr olds high school years, in earnest, as she will graduate a year early. HSing has benefited her in several ways: 1) sleep, glorious sleep. Her active, growing body and busy mind NEED sleep to be healthy and well balanced (as another poster stated) 2) the lack of homework has allowed her to pursue a passion with no limitations. Her evenings are committed every day of the week to studying and practicing this passion 3) she has not fallen into the teen trap of being a little snot with a sassy attitude that it is us against her. She very much feels that we are a team. There is a lot to consider, there is a big learning curve too. I only have one semester under my belt, but I am keeping my eye on the ball (college) and adjusting our course where ever the need arises.

Last semester we kept a weekly log of what needed to be done and DD was responsible to complete it all before the end of the week. Some things were left hanging more often that I would like to admit. This semester we are time blocking and starting with the stuff she likes to put off first. Math - 1 lesson (typically 45-60 mins) Big History- 45 mins (also supplementing with Documentaries and The Cosmos) Physical Therapy- 30 mins ( not academic but necessary) Lightning Lit- 45 mins Writing- 45 mins Logic - 30 mins Vocab- 15 mins Free Reading - 30 mins First day worked like a charm!

I have spent some time researching school admissions requirements and I am waiting on feedback from the Ballet Mistress. What I have concluded at this point is that: 1) I really need to flush out what type of life DD would be interested if she were not dancing (although this goes against my belief that if you want to achieve something you have to fully commit to it. Plan B needs to be in the back of my mind, not in hers) 2) "So I am NOT suggesting that she do some light weight science under the guise of 'interest led', but rather I am suggesting that I can help her design a strong course that fits her interests. Motivation is typically higher when you are studying something interesting to you." - Ruth NZ YES! I want to maximize what she is learning not phone it in. Thanks to everyone who has chimed in. I will update as soon as I get more guidance on a realistic path for DD< which will influence high school plans.

We are starting back up full swing tomorrow!

Here is another BFA program's admissions policy: Recommended Academic Preparation for FreshmenGraduation from an accredited high school with a total of 15 units in college preparatory subjects, to include the following: 4 years of English 2 years of one international language 2 years of college preparatory mathematics-algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc. (3 to 4 years preferred) 1 year of lab science to be taken in grades 10-12 (2 years preferred) 1 year of U.S. history or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year U.S. government (2 years preferred) (one year of world history or Western civilization is an acceptable alternative for international students) The University encourages students to choose additional courses in at least two of the following areas: art computer science English history international language music social science typing/keyboarding Home School Policy Home schooled students bring unique qualities to our campus, and we welcome their interest in Dominican University of California. The Office of Admissions provides these guidelines to help home schooled applicants become eligible for admission consideration. If any courses have been taken online through a home school umbrella program or an accredited college or university; or at a local high school, college or university, official transcripts must be provided. For the years of high school and/or subject areas for which there is no official transcript, responsibility for documenting the course of study rests with the student. A detailed outline of the home school curriculum, including subject areas studied, level of instruction, time spent on each discipline, texts read, work produced and assessment of performance or grade. In addition, please provide a short narrative, written by the person other than yourself who has been most responsible for your overall academic program, providing a summary of your instruction in recent years. Home school students are required to submit official test scores from either the SAT or ACT. Test scores are waived if the student graduated high school more than two years ago. Home school students are not required to present an equivalency diploma to be considered for admission, however, Dominican requires all admitted students to present proof of graduation prior to enrollment. Admitted home school students must submit a home school diploma, a certificate of completion that is considered the equivalent of a high school diploma in the applicant’s home state, or results from a GED test as proof of graduation. We strongly encourage home school students to visit campus and complete an interview with a member of our admissions staff. I have a lot of research to do before I start planning 9th grade. I will spend the next several days identifying the best potential schools for DD and then share what I learn.

After reading thru the other Gen Ed thread and now this one, it would appear that our best option is to homeschool HS and plan on early graduation. IF she gets accepted into a pro school/company great, if not she can use that gap year at the local CC while still taking dance classes. We are an independent homeschool. As I have begun to explore colleges that offer a strong ballet program I realize it is typically a double acceptance, first to the academic program and second to the ballet program. This means that understanding the Cal State/UC admittance policies are not all that I need to consider. I need to spend some time researching the top schools and design DD's hs years to meet the requirements of the most stringent. She would be looking at a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree. I looked up one top school randomly and this is what was listed as requirements for admission: DanceSuperior talent and potential for a dance performance career Good technique training in ballet and modern dance Musicality Energy, creativity and the ability to communicate through movement AcademicSolid B+/ A- average in a college preparatory program Competitive GPA and SAT scores Strong writing skills Involvement in community or extracurricular activities Academically they are looking for a college prep in high school...does that equate to AP? I will say that the test, test, test, route is not at all appealing! I have sent an email to the Ballet Mistress at her studio to get some guidance. She knows that we are homeschooling and that I am trying to start planning out the high school years. Hopefully she can give me a list of potential schools to begin researching. In the short term....we are thinking that the Big History Project might be a good way to finish out this year. Do you all think that we could do that with 45 mis per day and finish in 1 semester or is it a longer program than that? I thought I had read somewhere it could be 1-2 semesters. I am eternally grateful to everyone who chimed in with their experiences! The fog is starting to clear a little bit.

A lot has flushed out here! Thank you to all who took the time! I will head over to the other thread :001_smile:

It is not icky, it is yummy! Add water, onion, celery and carrot, a bay leaf, few peppercorns and a garlic clove or two. Simmer for several hours.

Thank you Ruth for posting this here! Thank you to anyone who can help sort this out! I was looking at high school grad requirements and I am pretty unclear.

It was my understanding that as long as students complete home schooling courses that are UC-approved for satisfying a-g requirements (for students in California) or are essentially equivalent to UC-approved courses for California high schools (for out-of-state students). So the bottom line is DD plans to go directly into a ballet school (dance only, no academics) and then into a company to dance professionally. Mom knows this may or may not happen.If it does not happen she needs to be prepared to go to a state or university school that offers as BFA degree. I am not sure how rigorous the academic side of acceptance is, I assume they will want well educated kids, who are also exceptional dancers. I am currently researching admittance requirements on some now.