So, where to start... again.

This is Jennifer.  I'm the mom.  I only introduce myself because hopefully there will be 3 of us adding to this blog - my 2 daughters, Carly (16yo) and Emily (14yo) have said they would post too.  I'm super excited they are willing to share because they are such amazing kids and that I just know their story and experiences will help someone else. 

I'm actually a little hesitant to start this blog again because I'm embarrassed that we didn't complete our goal the first time.  But my sweet friend April told me a while back that if failing is part of the process, I needed to share that too.  So here's to failure... but more importantly, here's to trying again.

It's been almost 3 years since I last posted.  It sure doesn't seem that long.  So that you know what in the world we are doing, PLEASE stop now and go back and read my first 4 posts starting in August 2009.  It will help you understand what we are doing in detail, but in a nutshell, I am overweight.  Emily is overweight too. We each have 90 pounds to lose.... but I bet dropping 100 would be even better.  It makes me sick to think of what a crappy role model I have been for my kids when it comes to nutrition to let one of them get so overweight.  The boys have weight to lose too.  It's not just Emily, but unfortunately, that sweet angel has a huge mountain to climb and I'm going every step with her.  Her weight is not her fault, it's mine.  I believe parents of overweight kids are completely to blame. You'll find me hating myself a lot for this... until I help her change it.

This change in diet - no sugar no flour - works for us when we follow it so we are starting again... but it only works for us when we are committed *completely*.  Oh how much importance is in that one word - completely.  90% doesn't work for us.

When Carly started NSNF with us 2+ years ago, she caught on quick!!  What little "chubby" she had, fell off quickly, and the way she looked at food completely changed.  It was the best thing we could have taught her.  Her will-power is amazing.  NSNF helped her weight BUT 18mos ago, she was diagnosed with arthritis. It sucks that she's only 16yo and has arthritis.  Specifically, she has ankylosing spondylitis (AS).  AS is a chronic, inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disease.  Tom (my hubby, her dad) has it too.  She'll talk about AS in her future posts.  Her pediatrician specifically recommended this diet change as one way to manage the arthritis. Carly is part of a Facebook group with other teens with AS and there are always questions about how diet changes help.  Hopefully her sharing will help some of them who also want to see if this can minimize their pain too.

OK, now that I've caught you up, what I want is for one of us to post DAILY.  We will post everything we eat every day, including any recipes we find.  I'm hoping that if we do that, you all will have something to follow in case you want to do this too.

I'm going to try and figure out how I can divide this blog into sections where we can post recipes or food journals in one area, and have another section where each of us can post so this doesn't become jumbled.  Have patience if we move things around.

To get her motivated, and it *has* motivated her, I told Emily that if she kept the blog going and "talked" to other teens who might also be overweight to help them, so they could see they could do this too, that we'd figure out how to make this into an e-book to sell.  I want her to write "from a teen to a teen".  I've asked her to share her good thoughts and the ones where she was mad at me too for not letting her cheat.  Not every day is a good day. She could tell everyone that even though she REALLY wanted an ice cream cone, she ate air-popped popcorn instead (which she is doing at this moment!).  I want her to tell other teens that this is not a cake-walk but if you know ALL the things you can eat, you are never hungry.  I want her to educate others like Dr. Pendergrast educated us.  It's a simple as reading the ingredients on the box... or better yet, eat the things that don't have an ingredient list - like an apple.

Holy moly!  I'm rambling!  I'm a talker.  So, here's what I ask you...
- First, thanks for reading. We hope this helps someone so share this blog with a friend who might want to lose weight or help their child lose weight.  Invite others who could benefit. I don't want to have "followers" just to have followers; I'd rather have a dozen people who are benefiting from our experience. :-)
- NO NEGATIVE TALK.  I will NOT allow negative comments or bad vibes here.  You might not agree with what we are doing, and that is fine, but you are not allowed to share that here.  If you do not agree with us, you go do your thing on your blog and we'll do our thing on our blog.  Me, and my teenage girls are putting it out there for everyone to see and they are to be commended for that.  Please support them. Encourage them. Pray for them... us. Be POSITIVE!!
- Be sure to sign-up and "follow" this blog so you get notified when we post.
- Lastly, if you haven't gone back yet and read the first four posts I ever made on this blog in 2009, do it now so this begins to makes sense.

Today is Day 4 since we started back.  Every minute of the first 3 days were hard but it gets easier.  I rarely eat ice cream but for some reason, that's all I have wanted the past 3 days when I could not have it!!  The craving for sugar dies down.  The food diary will start tomorrow of the past few days.

So here's to one day at a time...  a day in the life of a Crow...
Jennifer