Tipping scales

OMG!  OMG!  OMG!  Guess what I just did on this lovely Sunday morning??  That's right, I stepped on my scale and tipped it so far that I almost fell off!!  You know when you get to a certain point that you know you can go no further - kind of like hitting rock bottom I guess - well, that's where I am at now!  As of right now, I am officially on a diet!  I know I said at the begininning of this journey that I would follow no plan, go on no diet and pay nobody to help me lose weight....ya well, the scale didn't have those numbers on it then!!  Of course this is the day I am planning a big brunch for my sister (that is if they make it through all the snow drifts!) and I even bought croissants! 

What I am going to write next is not an excuse, but it sure doesn't help the situation either....I have a low thyroid (hypothyroidism) and I take a little pink pill every morning for it.  The dose is 175 but I have a funny feeling it might have to bumped up to 200.  I will call my doctor tomorrow to have it checked.  If you don't have a low thyroid, then you may not understand how much easier it is to gain weight and how much harder it is to lose it!!  Especially if it is out of whack and you need to up your medication dose.  One year ago we were in Las Vegas for six days (way to long to be in Vegas, by the way) and I gained seven pounds...which amazed me because all I did was walk and walk and walk - if you have been to Vegas, you will know exactly what I mean.  I was a little dissapointed in myself at the time, but then the landslide happened!!  I had no idea I needed to have my medication checked at time and in the following 3 months I gained 30 lbs!!!  Thas is a huge reason why I am at this point now.  I went to my doctor and had the test done and yep, we needed to adjust the meds.  I had it done again a few months ago and it was fine, but I think I will get it checked just to see.  The crappy thing about hypothryroid - besides always being tired and gaining weight - is that once you change meds, the weight that you have gained does not just melt away because your medication is the right dose...you then have to work (probably) twice as hard as the regular person to lose the weight.  Like I said, this is not an excuse becasue I do know that the amount of food I consume to the amount of calories I burn has more to do with it...I am just saying, it sure doesn't make it easy!

Speaking of food, have you ever taken a look at the Canada Food Guide and what they recommend we eat in a day?  I would like to know if it's a minimum or maximum kind of thing.  I will use the kids guide here because that is what I have posted on my fridge and I am farmiliar with it.  For boys/girls ages 6 - 8 here is what it says:

Recommended number of servings each day:

Vegetables & Fruit - 5
Grain products - 4
Milk & Alternatives - 2
Meats & Alternatives - 1

So, here is where I am very confused...let's take my seven year old son (who by the way is tall and lanky).  If I fed him according to the guide, he would have to stop eating everything but fruits and vegetables by lunch time (sometimes by first snack at school).  Here is his typical diet for a day:

Mark, 7 years old

Breakfast - 2 peices of toast with cheesewiz (2 grain products)
                - 1 glass of milk  (1 milk product)


Snack (school) - Muffin (1 grain product)


Lunch (school lunch) - Ham & Cheese sandwich on bread (1 meat, 1 milk, 2 grain)
                                - Grapes or Strawberries (1 fruit)
                                - Milk (1 milk)


Second snack (school) - Muffin or Cheese bun (1 grain)


Supper - Chicken, Carrots, Milk and I would offer him potatoes, but he hates them (1 meat, 1 vegetable, 1 milk)

Bedtime snack - Apple (1 fruit)

...and he would have about three more glasses of milk through the day (3 milk)

So, what that equals is:

Fruits & Vegetables - 3

Grain Products - 6

Milk & Alternatives - 7

Meat & Alternative - 2

So, to me that looks like a pretty good day of eating for a seven year old boy, but according to the Canada Food Guide he has gone over most of his recommened servings.  No wonder we are all so confused about what we are supposed to eat!

SJ