books

Holding it all together: Homeschooling and Working

Do you feel that homeschooling will be the best choice for your family, but you don’t want to, or aren’t able to, give up your career? I’m here to tell you that you can do both! How do I know? Because I have done it myself. Let me tell you my story and be encouraged that you can homeschool and work at the same time!

Last year, when we decided we were going to homeschool our Kindergartner, I also happened to be working part-time as a Medical Lab Tech at our local hospital. I worked a lot of irregular hours, early mornings, late nights, weekends, on-call overnight, holidays. I also worked part time as the Worship Director at my church. On top of that, I also carried the health insurance for myself and our kids, and still had student loans to pay off. Quitting my job wasn’t an option at the time, but I also couldn’t get over the fact that in my heart I knew homeschooling would be the best choice for our family. [continue reading…]

If you are considering homeschooling, at some point you will probably be asking yourself, “Am I really qualified to teach my child?”

Trust me, I was asking myself the same question last year!

For some reason, many of us have bought into this notion that we need to be certified, licensed, and sealed with a government stamp of approval in order to be a qualified teacher. This couldn’t be any more far from the truth.

Let me tell you why, by first asking a few questions: [continue reading…]

If there is ever any doubt as to whether you can homeschool your kids, let my story encourage you and remove any fears or hesitations you may have! Truly, if I can do it, so can you.

Let me take you back to the beginning of my story… [continue reading…]

We’ve all heard about “the diet that changed my life” from other people.  It’s so cliche.  However, after reading Gary Taubes’ “Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It“, I have to say it: This is the diet that changed my life!  Or at least the way I think about why people get fat.

When my daughter reached the 8-month mark in January and I was still hanging on to 20 pounds extra baby weight, I jumped on the New Year bandwagon to lose weight.  My husband recommended I read Gary Taubes’ book, which he had heard about from an acquaintance who lost a great deal of weight after reading it. I did read it.  In less than 2 days.  And I haven’t turned back since!

Here is the jest of the book and the diet Gary recommends: eat low carb.  Now I know what you’re probably thinking!  “Those diets are dangerous…it’s just an Atkins diet..etc, etc”.

My advice to you is to read it anyways!  Borrow it from someone if you don’t want to buy it.  But find a way to read it.

After reading the book, my mind was blown away with the idea that eating carbohydrates (sugars) is what ultimately makes us fat.  It all comes down to insulin, the hormone that is released from the pancreas when we ingest sugar (whether it be in brown rice, fruit, or pie!).  Insulin has a huge effect on how our body uses energy and on our fat storage.  Basically by eliminated sugars from our diet, both simple and complex, our body greatly decreases insulin production and starts to burn fat for energy instead of carbs.

This just scratches the surface of what is in the book.  Just read it, and you’ll get why the way I eat will forever be different, and for the better!

So after reading the book, my husband and I started following the diet recommended in the Appendix of the book.  It is simple and to the point.  Basically any type of meat and non-starchy vegetable is allowed.  Any low carb dressings, oils, butters, etc are allowed.  As long as it’s low carb you can eat it.

My first weigh-in was January 3rd at 159.8 pounds.

The first week was awful.  I was fighting cravings for anything sweet, because I was pretty much a chocolate addict.  Day 3 I woke up feeling really shaky and weak.  This is normal however, because my body was in the process of switching form burning carbs for energy to burning fat.  So all-in-all it was a good sign.

Since I got past that, it’s been the easiest way of eating ever!  I can eat whenever I’m hungry, until I’m full.  There is no denying myself food when I’m hungry.  As long as I eat low-carb I can eat until I’m full whenever I feel hungry.  I also have not exercised.  Let me repeat I HAVE NOT EXERCISED!

Here are the results of my weekly weigh-ins thus far:

Jan 3:   159.8

Jan 9:    152.4  (-7.4 lbs)  (this is largely water weight which is typical the first week to lose)

Jan 16:  149.4  (-3 lbs)

Jan 23:  148.6  (-0.8 lbs)

Jan 30:  148.0  (-0.6 lbs)

Feb 6:    145.0   (-3 lbs)

Feb 13:  143.8   (-1.2 lbs)

Feb 20:  143.6  (-0.2 lbs)

OVERALL WEIGHT LOSS:  16.2 lbs in 7 weeks

In 7 weeks I am just about to my pre-pregnancy weight of 140.  I am going to keep eating this way indefinitely.  The health benefits (decreased risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc) are laid out in the book.  I am hoping to lose another 10 pounds and reach 130, which was the weight I was before having any babies at all!

I am sold on this lifestyle and I just want to shout it out to the entire world because I believe in it.

I will keep you updated on my progress!  Until then, read “Why We Get Fat“!