Dining with Toddlers and Wild Birds

I love to dine.  How heavenly is a leisurely meal out with yummy wine, multiple courses, and good conversation?    Now add Zephyr. Dining out with my two-year old feels like combat dinning. When I am out with him forget the first course and instead of sipping fine wines that compliment my meal, I am slugging it for strength. He just doesn’t have my passion for food and good service. His passions are running, jumping and fire trucks.

Last night it was a beautiful, clear evening. My husband and I thought it would be fun to go to Indian Creek Golf Course for dinner. Plenty of outdoor seating and an amazing view of Mt. Hood.  We had been up playing in the woods and I should have known he was too punch drunk for a nice meal.  He would not stay put.  My normally active toddler was on overdrive.  A restaurant nightmare.  My husband and I had to take turns walking to the pond with him.

Nice family meal.

I chose an outdoor table away from the other dinners.  This is normally a great idea, but this time it back-fired.  While Jim was coming to trade-off with me so I could finish my meal, a raven landed on our table and ate the rest of my lovely crab pasta.   And knocked over my beer.  Ravens are the tricksters in Native American Mythology.  They trick you into learning.  What was that blasted raven teaching me?

The Ravens Dining with Hurricane Zephyr tips:

1.  Make sure your toddler is not at his limit.  That he/she is well rested and excited to go out.

2. Bring an activity such as small trucks or a game.

3. Ask your server to bring the child’s meal out right away.

4. Tip, Tip tip well.

5. Most importantly…..  BABYSITTER!!!!!  Leave the kid at home.  He has fun and you get to relax.

I have taken Zephyr out to eat since he was two weeks old and even though it is challenging, I still take him out about once a week.  It is important that he learns good restaurant etiquette  even at his age.  But next time I will be more prepared and use judgment.  If he is begging to go home, it might be a good idea to get take-out.

Dine happy,

Dayl

Weight a minute…

While I was visiting my doctor about my naughty Achilles tendon, I took the opportunity to ask her if she had any ideas for me for losing weight. I was so successful losing all the baby weight before Anna was a year old, but it’s been a roller coaster of up and down since I had Eric. Exercise and watching my eating have worked in the past, but even with running several times a week and not being too stupid about my intake, I can’t seem to lose.

Frustrating. I don’t even want to go to parties, because all my cute party dresses are about 20 lbs too tight. {Not go to parties? Who is this person, and what have you done with Krista?}

My doctor is awesome, and she had some valuable insight for me. So I thought I’d share it…
1. Write down everything you eat.
OK, I knew this from Weight Watchers, but I haven’t been doing it. Her reasoning is this: There is a really big window of food intake to maintain weight. There is a very small window of food intake to lose weight. The difference between losing weight and maintaining weight can be as few as 300 calories. If I’m not tracking everything, I won’t know that, and a couple snacks or an extra glass of wine might be holding me back. {If only it were only one extra glass of wine!}

2. Our bodies will tell us we’re hungry for the heaviest we’ve been in the last 2 years. TWO YEARS. So even when I’ve lost weight, my body tells me I’m hungrier than I should be. I have to maintain my real weight for TWO YEARS—and be hungry some of the time—in order to convince my brain of my new, lower weight. {And by “new,” I mean back to pre-baby!}

3. Running long distances may be thwarting my weight loss.
WHAT? That’s so counter-intuitive.
But yes, our bodies learn quickly how to conserve energy. She suggested I add some sprints into my training runs to shake things up. That makes sense!

So what will I do with this information?
Well, I guess it’s back to Weight Watchers.
And I need to adjust my thinking that it’s just going to be ok to be a little bit hungry for a few years. I know having snacks like raw veggies and fruit around will help, I just need to take the time to prepare for each day so I’m ready. I’m anxious to try the speed training as soon as my dang Achilles heals!

What do you think? Good information?
Have you been on a weight loss journey yourself? If so, what works when you’re successful?

Cheers,

~Krista