Yes, well. About that {2nd} Whole30 venture…
I don’t know what to tell you. One minute I was fine and the next minute, I’d fallen. Literally! My will power lasted about one whole minute.
I don’t know. Somehow it seemed easier when I did it this summer. Back then I had more time to shop & plan; I had a lighter schedule and much less stress; I had limited no access to Halloween candy!
I’ll tell you, those plastic pumpkins of candy really did me in.
Not that you can relate or anything.
It’s such a conundrum, really, and I say that not just because it’s fun to say “conundrum.” I hate my belly fat–despise it, loathe it–and yet, I’m not willing to go the extra mile to lose it.
Well, how ’bout I start with an extra half mile? Baby steps, to get back on track, and hopefully I’ll be more inspiring when I check in next week.
Here’s a homeschooling win, however: Sugar Cube Architecture!
Unlike concrete, the building materials are both cheap and delicious.
And unlike concrete, they can be hot-glued.
Though you’ll want to avoid using the leftovers in your tea.
They had fun, I think! Burnt pinkies notwithstanding.
Finally, I really need to ask your advice. One of the reasons that we were going to do the Whole30–my daughter Cate and I–is that Cate has a horrible case of eczema. We thought we’d try an elimination diet but cutting out sugar, wheat and dairy was hard! She’s seeing an allergist tomorrow but meanwhile, do you have any recommendations of what’s worked for your family?
Thank you in advance. We’re desperate. : /
We saw a midwife at urgent care last year for some that D had. (It's a small town. You get the medical professional you get at urgent care.) She gave us a prescription for something she called "Magic Butt Paste" that she prescribes for diaper rash. Not exactly sure what was in it, but I will be darned if it didn't do the trick.
What about just eliminating the dairy and gluten? That is what we do and it eliminated my kid's eczema (and a whole lot of other problems to boot.) I don't think that it would be possible for me to take away sugar. I have friends who are able to do it but I guess I am just weak. We definitely consume less sugar with this diet but of coarse we still have more than our share. I can't imagine if we did your sugar cube craft there that there would be ANY sugar left to build but a shack. 🙂
My oldest daughter's eczema was so bad it bled. allot. She now would not go back to gluten and dairy if forced. Oh, did you see this? There is a gluten caused symptom that looks like eczema. http://celiac.org/celiac-disease/dermatitis-herpetiformis/
One other idea, my sisters son was told that the eczema on his legs was due to a dust mite allergy. They have tried to eliminate the sources of mites and it has improved but not disappeared.
Have to echo the gluten and dairy.
Also, taking a good (gluten-free, dairy-free) probiotic has worked wonders for the resident 3-year-old. She's even back on dairy as long as she's taking her probiotic. No go on the gluten, but I do better without too so it's not a huge deal.
No advice on the exzema but oh my! Those big eyes! That beautiful head of blonde hair! What a cutie!
Good luck hopping back on the Whole 30 train! I've been doing Atkins since the end of August and had a brief encounter with the Halloween Candy that has been a minor set back. BUT – I'm forging ahead! I will NOT be defeated by some Reese's Cups and a couple of Almond Joys!
I've had good luck with Eucerin. I am careful to avoid any scented product and keep my skin from drying out.
My oldest child has eczema flares fairly regularly. They aren't horrible ones, mainly just in the creases of her arms and legs, but they are definitely bothersome. Some things that have helped us are to limit dust mite contact (i.e. clean sheets and especially curtains regularly, vacuum, keep dust down), use all natural laundry detergent (she was sensitive to the dyes and enzymes in stuff like Tide), and to cut down on the # of baths/showers she was taking (she does well bathing once or twice a week – she's 5 – so if she was older probably every other day would work). Her allergist (she has food allergies as well) has told us that eczema is a skin barrier problem, so making sure we keep her skin well hydrated has been key too. There is a moisturizing cream called MetaDerm that has really helped her. Last but not least, I've noticed a definite correlation between itchy eczema flares and sugar/junk food intake.. she was itchy as all get out after Halloween. I think there might be a yeast imbalance correlation though we've never tried cutting out gluten… oh and I second the probiotic recommendation, her skin cleared up quite a bit when we were drinking kefir regularly.
With you in desperation, friend. N is a disaster and up all night itching with horrible, bleeding rashes. We have to keep her off dairy but even then, she's still in bad shape. I'll be watching these comments.
Simeon had eczema really really bad…up his legs, arms, at every crease, you know, where his limbs bend…bright red…itchy….until we gave up milk. I read about it somewhere on line, that in most case of eczema, it is dairy that is causing it. He still has yogurt once in a while and cheese…so it is still around his ankles/feet..but not as red and not anywhere else!! Yogurt and cheese are the hardest to give up I'm finding. We switched to almond milk, either regular or vanilla.
We use that really thick generic Eucerin cream from Wal-mart, seems to help the itchies a little.
Oh, and I daily re-start my Weight Watchers plan. Did good yesterday. I usually do good til about lunchtime.
I'm so with you. I did start exercising though, 1/2 hour each weekday…http://www.bodiesinmotionwithgilad.com/ doing that every other day and walking on the treadmill the opposite…
Oh, yes, and what the others said about no scented products, even scented soap…we use dove sensitive skin…non scented….Even for his hair…
Try giving up one thing first like dairy and see if it clears up any…so many things would be hard and you wouldn't know what cleared it up…
I had (have) a sensitivity, not a full fledged allergy, to corn and peanuts. I had terrible eczema my whole childhood and much of my adult life until I limited those foods in my diet. Those may not be the culprits for your daughter, but try eliminating various foods. The problem with eczema is that it takes a while to go away….. I also have a sensitivity to scented produsts….one thing at a time is a good way to eliminate…..
Reading what others said here reminds me that yes, any scented products or soaps makes the skin worse around here. We were told to do Cetaphil skin cleanser (the generic equivalent actually) and that has helped. We use that instead of body wash in the showers as well. Oh, and the kids cannot take a bath with any bubble bath or soap in the water or they break out.
I'm alerting you to a typo in your text. You wrote "fail" when I think you meant "fall." 😉 You didn't fail, my dear, merely fell. And we all know we can get back up when we fall.
I'll email you later about eczema.
email me too Barbara!
email me too!
You could try pine tar soap. Some respond well to it. I use it for other reasons, but I generally like it.
You can try using real, handmade soap for bathing. I've been making soap for about 10 years now and I've heard from a few people who use it that their eczema cleared up. You have to purchase the kind that is made with good oils and lye, old fashioned style. If you'd like I can send you a few bars of soap. I don't have any unscented right now but I only scent mine with essential oils.
Davidmeyerfamily ( at ) gmail ( dot ) com
Bridget
Your post made me think of something I saw recently about a young girl and her eczema. I have not tried this so cannot vouch for its effectiveness but it may be worth looking into. Praying for Cate's recovery : http://www.anniejaffrey.com/2014/09/cure-eczema-allergies-with-raw-foods.html
We are coming into our summer (in Australia) and yes, it is easier to diet and eat healthier then because you want salads and lighter meals. But the minute it gets a bit cold and chilly, we think of comfort foods and I think you want more of it. Keep going, start again – just think, if you have 5 good days and only 2 bad days in the week, that has got to be better than 7 bad days.
I am currently yoyo-ing up and down by a pound (500 gms here). Up one week, down the next then up again. But I feel accountable for what goes in my mouth. A treat here, some healthy food there. You gotta live!
That littlest blondie is just so cute! Oh, so is Angela too! 🙂
Does she have seasonal allergies? We also found a correlation between the seasonal allergies and the dairy/eczema issue. It has something to do with the histamine response…can't remember the details. Also, I know it gets colder there earlier, and for longer, so I'm sure that doesn't help. My 13 year old virtually has no dry skin in the summer (she wants to live at the beach because her skin is baby smooth when we are there). We do Coconut Milk for her for cereal, she wants to try almond now (but I have a nut/peanut allergy girl that I'm terrified will accidentally swipe that out when she's half awake and pouring something for her cereal…then we will be up to the ER), but I do know that when we tried to be super restrictive with her diet…it didn't fare well. All she sees is "what she can't have", and you know…she's a teenager. Life is stressful enough. So she feels she can do no dairy and still have cheese (she gave up yogurt…forgot about that). We got a prescription cream for the winter…will have to find the name. Good luck…it stinks for sure
Being from Minnesota, I'm sure you're familiar with Norwex, right? I'm newer to the company, but I have seen many, many testimonies from people who used the Norwex body cloth to clear up eczema and other skin conditions. It removes all contaminants from the skin without using soap and it has silver in the fibers. http://www.norwex.biz/publicstore/stores/LynnBaunach/AM/product/Body-Pack-Vintage,1282,198.aspx#overview We deal with eczema flares here in the winter so I'm anxious to see if it will help my son. I'm also fascinated to hear about the dust mite connection. I just got the Norwex Mattress spray and I'm getting ready to treat our beds and pillows. It also helps people SO much with allergies. Just throwing that out there…I think it's a pretty easy and immediate thing to try. Wondering if others have had success with those?
Thanks for your update on thw Whole30 and your amazing honesty, as always! I totally relate to not feeling good about my weight/health/energy but not being willing to do the HARD work it would take me to feel really good. I really don't spend nearly as much time thinking/feeling guilty etc…about food and weight as I used to, but I still don't feel free, if you know what I mean. I would love to hear more from on on the connection between over eating and self neglect (not taking time to exercise) and faith. I feel like food issues can put a wedge between me and joy and, therefore, between me and God. Thanks again for your wonderful posts! Laura
I haven't read all the other comments yet (I am stealing a wee moment at the computer as it is…) but my eldest son suffered with eczema and we found that Vitamin D supplementation was the key to keeping his skin clear. Once the summer months were over we had to give him at least 1000 iu per day. If he was on top of it, his skin was fine!
My daughter has eczema too. We have found that gelatin works wonders. We use Great Lakes grass-fed gelatin (found on Amazon) and just use fruit juice to make it. This gelatin is better than Knox, but you can use that if you want. Two Tablespoons gelatin to one cup juice, then add one cup hot juice to the cold mixture. I also add one Tablespoon of sugar to the juice if it is unsweetened. chill till firm.