Auld Lang Shine- step into 2010 healthy, wealthy and wise!

[BitOfFun]

Welcome to our 36th healthy eating thread, where we will renew any healthy eating resolutions with all the viguor that the Christmas munchies require...

We chat, keep each other on track, and monitor our goals together- some on the thread have lost shed loads of weight, some are running ridiculous distances. Some, of course (like myself and Shiney, our dubious leader) have been a bit, er, remiss really. But that can all change with a New Year!

Come and introduce yourself, old and new, and let's get Mumsnet's famous Shiney Healthy Eating Thread kicked off for 2010...

LIzzy uh oh! I thought you seemed a bit serene! I found some quite good lyons decaff coffee (you know those ones that you put on top of the cup and let it filter through)...it makes you think you are having coffee even if it's not got any strength. Also got decaff teabags which are actually fine (M&S and waitrose ones are the best I've come across). Had to take more headache tablets today to stop me moaning...but other than that feeling o.k.

Breakfast - baked eggs & ham (again) and decaf coffee with skimmed milk. Sipping on a vanilla roobois (sp?) tea now and pretending it's my normal brew.

Iggi - so so exciting. Have you braved the style threads. Some of those ladies are google queens and seem to uncover the most amazing bargains.

What size are you by the way? I have got my dress sitting in the wardrobe and would be happy to lend it to you (10-12, height 5 ft 8, large norkage space as I'm 32FF. It's ivory silk, strapless. corsety. Cost a fair penny at the time and I'm sure it's not really dated as it was quite classic. If that size sounds feasable I'll try and dig out some pics and see if it suits.

We also have snow this morning. and weirdly it seems to be snowing heavier out the back then the front Right i am off to get organised and try to get something done today. Have a good one folks.

Hells, you are lovely offering to lend your wedding dress out . Even if I had mine, I would never offer it - it was a huge meringue but then nearly 23 years ago they were all the rage.

Well it would be lovely if it was right for iggi - it does seem a waste to only get 1 (or possibly 2 if DD wanted it) use out of it .

Shiney - how is Ted? is he any better?

Trying to cancel viewings as some houses will be completely inaccessible, the viewing lady has a 4x4 but is 62yrs old, some investor bloke wants her to walk up (and then dwon!) a v steep hill to let him in the house (it's empty).
FGS, they are pushing cars that are stuck on this main road outside the office! I know my car will be stuck where it is parked so I won't get to it.
So not too quiet, but lots of moaners and frankly selfish people.

Lizzy - he sounds such a ?!***

Breathe some smoked salmon breath all over him

I may do, Hells.
I think if he is still moaning I will have to get viewing lady to watch the office and I'll walk up there (thinking of fat burning potential), will take me about 15mins in normal weather. Will take some skis with me for the descent

I may be here for the weekend anyway, gawd only knows how I'll get my car out, unless there is a major thaw before this afternoon.

Cobbled streets look very pretty, but they are v dangerous in snow!

Mycat, Starflower is on of the things I am trying .

And Lizzy, yes, that is sort of what I hope to do when I get used to the idea. My family were quite late 'menopausers' and I have been told stress can bring it on early, I am a bit pre occupied with it at the moment because it is like going it puberty in reverse and I'm only 40 waaahhhhhh!!!

Iggi, depending on how important the dress thing is to you, could you hire one? I wore bright yellow, not to everybody's tastes! Come to Derbyshire we have a fab contemporary wedding shop here....will try to do a link when I remember it's name.

Or dress up an evening gown and go quirky..

I am really not supposed to be here, but after a night of quilt wrestling (and sadly that is NOT a euphanism!) have just dragged my body out of bed.

We also have snow (yippee) I am thinking of creating a luge run on the village hill. Coming down that on a sledge would get my heart going this morning

Must get dressed before my absence is noted elsewhere .

MOrning everyone. I am back on weight watchers points counting, so hope you can bear with me but I'll probably tot it all up on here to keep me going (I get 23points a day).

So far have had poached egg, toast and half a digestive - total of 4 points. Not a bad start and I don't feel hungry.

Now can I ask a question to those of you who have done controlled crying? (on the basis that this is a healthy eating thread and if I don't get decent sleep I tend to eat sugar and carbs all day just to keep awake) How do you do it? I don't like leaving DS to cry alone so tend to sit with him, is that worse? How long has it taken for it to work for you? And do you pick up the DC or just stroke and settle them in their cot? Hope you don't mind me asking these questions here, I don't want to start a thread and get everyone telling me I'm a cruel mother when I'm not.

Cat - how old is DS? Are you still feeding him at night? (I will adapt my method depending on your answers - )

Are you an estate agent Lizzy? People involved in buying and selling houses are the most unreasonable people in the world, aren't they?

I'm a trainee solicitor doing a conveyancing seat at the mo - not my natural calling, I'm afraid. Just before Christmas I had someone on the phone "we have to complete before Christmas!"

"You don't have your mortgage offer, you don't have your survey and the seller's solicitor hasn't replied to my queries."

"But we have to! The chain will collaaaaapse!!!!"

"No it won't. No one else has any of those things either."

Aarghhhhh.

hells - He's 10 1/2 mths and yes I give him a feed at around 11pm (he goes to bed around 6pm). I have been feeding him about 4am but would like to get him to go from 11ish to 6/7ish. I don't think thats unreasonable, but am happy to be told by the wise and worthy that it is.

Oooh, loving the wedding dress talk, I can't wait til my friends start getting married. DP's sister got engaged a month ago and is getting married in May, so she can't do the ridiculous 'order it 6 months ahead' thing either.

I'm waiting for the Tesco man to come wiht my food. The delivery doesn't look very healthy on its own, but I like to pretend that I'll top up with fresh fruit and veg from local shops so I can see what I'm getting.

I think I will have a cup of tea and an orange now.

georgi, spookily I have a Saturday job in an Estate Agents (been here for 2.5 years, took it on to get brain moving post DC) and a year ago set up a Legal Recruitment company (what I used to do pre-DC), due to credit crunch etc not exactly raking it in at the moment!

I couldn't do this (Estate Agency) full time, too many rude, complaining and frankly dim people (that scenario you've outlined is all too common tbh). I liked the nosing around people's houses thing far more, but now we have a viewing lady and I am office based.

I don't think I'd enjoy conveyancing tbh, though made a fortune out of placing Conveyancers in the boom years, if only they'd return! What area of law do you want to specialise in?

Mitts, it may just be a hormonal thing, may not be full blown menopause but having a look at diet etc could help control things? Enjoy your luge run, sounds fab, that inner child of yours is getting spoilt!

OK so roads are being closed and DH has just rang to say on no account to try and drive down to our house. Apparently next door's massive 4x4 couldn't get out (which is funny because they've been bazzing about doing regal waves to everyone who is stuck whilst they power on in their gas guzzling beast for the past week or so).

Not sure how I can get home though as have been watching cars stuck and revving like bastards on the flat outside the office.....

Wish me luck, will ring my boss and try and get out of this place......

Fingers crossed for you Lizzy.

I am (whispers) a personal injury lawyer. Have already been offered a job on qualification in PI at my current firm. Insert your ambulance chaser jokes here:

Cat - I did it in two stages with DS as I'm too much of a wuss. I dropped the feeds first then did the cc. But I know some people do it in one go.

So the first bit was the worst. I gradually reduced the amount I was feeding him (less time on boob) and got him back to sleep by any means possible (rocking, dummy and at one point even taking the pushchair into his room and pushing him to sleep - desperate times!).

Then after a few days when he wasn't expecting the feed anymore we did the cc. For us it was the easy bit. Instead of feeding him to sleep (at 7ish) I fed him - made sure he was awake when I put him down and then it all kicked off - he was very very cross. I (well actually DH as I was too sad to do it) went in after 5 mins - no eye contact - just to reassure him we were around) then every 10 mins. This went on for about 45 mins!!!! Then he slept through the whole night. It was better the next night (about 30 mins), then got worse day 3 & 4 (back to 45 mins/1 hour) but then that was it and he really is a wonderful sleeper now.

I think we were lucky that for some reason he didn't then wake up in the night - which he had been doing - I assume because he had got himself to sleep in the early evening - he then knew how to get himself back to sleep later on. It was the hardest thing but I feel like it was the right thing for us.

I know lots of people disagree with CC. And I was absolutely desperate as we were all exhausted and unhappy and DS was not getting enough sleep (I did read the Ferber book first and adapted that - may be worth you looking at). My logic was that the results of the exhaustion for all of us were worse than the CC

Hope it works easily for you - I know it's a real mixed bag for people....some get a relatively easy go of it (like me) and some don't (one friend's baby woke up all through the night on the first night).

CC does work. It really does. I managed it with DS when he was 8 months old but he is now a dreadful sleeper, and now he is 3 I simply don't have the stomach to do it. Crying a bit was one ting but plantive cries of "mummy I need you! Please come to me mummy! Pleeeaaaaase mummy!" are too much for me. Anyway, when he wakes up now he doesn't want anything from us other than to get in our bed, or one of us to get in his, so we are awake for about 2 minutes at a time tops. Not like when he was waking for feeds (and I stopped him BFing by going absolutely cold turkey, God I felt like a bitch but within a week he had forgotten all about it).

hells - thanks for that. I hadn't thought about cutting out the feeds first. I'm happy for him to have something at around 11 for a few months more so I should cut out all other feeds til say around 6 / 630 ish.

The thing is, in the day for his naps, and going to bed he doesn't actually feed to sleep. He is 95% of the time awake when we put him down and then goes to sleep after 2 or 3 mins, so I do n't really understand why he can't manage that at 3am! First night we did it it took 1 1/2hrs, last night was 1hr when he woke, so maybe tonight will be better. My biggest problem is that when he does it at 4am I am usually so tired I find myself giving in. However, this time I wont. I agree with you hells that the benefits of sleep for all far outway the hardness of 4 or 5 nights of CC in the long run.

Georgi - we have been lucky with DD in that, from about 18mths she has been a very good sleeper (obviously we will now have a complete nightmare with her). We just never bring her downstairs, its the same routine every night - 3 book stories, one made up one, brush teeth have a wee then lights out (starts around 7pm, all over by 730pm). I'm sure you've tried all sorts though. I did find that sitting with DD but not saying anything then slowly moving out of the room over a few nights helped (alhtough she was a lot younger than your DS). Why do they fight sleep so, it's soul destroying.

Right, just off to have lunch (sausages, roast potatoes, gravy & veg - yum - about 8pts in total so now up to 12 for today).

Thank you for your advice.

All sounds very sensible, not evil at all. Going into the room sporadically and saying 'shh' or patting baby's tummy or whatever is hardly abandoning them to eternal torment, is it?

Cat - sounds like your DS is just used to very early morning feed - so maybe gradually dropping that 4.30 one will do the trick without having to do a lot of CC?

you are right about teh sleep fighting. The 'overtired' thing is a bloody nightmare. They are so tired that they are crying and then they can't get to sleep??!!! Nature is a bit daft sometimes with things like that!

lunch today - chefs salad - well ok that makes it sound a bit glam..when in reality it was mixed leaf salad, cucumber, little tomatoes, cold chicken breast, turkey breast and some boiled ham...with balsamic and olive oil dressing. Actually a lot nicer than it sounds and probably my favourite south beach lunch as the dressing is yummy. I am boring aren't I! Sorry. Just trying to take my mind off Trills' nice cup of tea and french bread and butter (my heroin)

Okay, now it is snowing.

Tomato soup (and bread and butter) for lunch, sorry.

Thank you all for lovely wedding dress advice! Don't feel quite so paniced now.Just so far nothing wedding related has gone as I'd hoped (including DPs parents refusing to come abroad with us to my first choice location) so feeling a bit jinxed..
And Helles, how kind of you, that's a lovely offer - unfortunately I'm more of a 16 let's face it, 18 so it would only fit round one of my thighs!
It's snowing in Edinburgh again. My car's been too cold to start for weeks. Stuck in the flat with the stilton.