Day 16 209.5 lbs and holding...for now

I weighed this morning at work and the scales didn't budge at all. I have been sticking to the diet religiously. I wasn't expecting a plateau this early on. The only thing I can think that may have affected a loss is that when I give my children a bath I have been shampooing their hair and when I wash my hands at work I use their soap. I'm not sure if this would affect a loss or not. I am considering doing an apple day tomorrow; if I don't lose when I weigh, in the morning. I'm starting to get bored with the diet of chicken, cabbage, spinach. I had shrimp, spinach, and strawberries for dinner tonight to try to change things up a bit. I try to have food on hand that I've already prepared to make it easier for dinner. With four children, I have to be able to prepare something quick. They are keeping me so busy with homework. I still fix the food that they like. I cook their food as I am eating my dinner so as to try to eat as early as possible. I do have them make their own plates so I won't be tempted to take a bite. It hasn't been too hard to stick with this diet so far. I'm not really hungry most of the time. My kids always want to eat the food that I'm eating so I've been buying extra and when I prepare my food I will make a little extra for them too. It's amazing how kids follow the habits of their parents.......bad and good. Don't get me wrong I'm not putting my kids on a diet. I still fix a normal meal but they want to eat what they see me eating. I think this will be a great way to teach them about healthier eating. We have cut out all of the soft drinks in the house. They were screaming about it at first. But after a visit to the dentist; I realized that my bad habits were affecting my children. I guess we just don't realize because they are young; that they need to eat right too. They had pop again; after a few weeks and all of them thought there was something wrong with it. They kept wanting me to taste it to see if I thought it was too sweet. I said no; of course.....and just smiled. It makes me feel good to make small changes that will hopefully affect my children's health and future eating habits. I heard on the news that this generation's life expectancy will be younger than their parents! All because of our lifestyle. When I heard that...my heart ached. I knew I had to make some changes and have been doing it ever since. I used to buy them candy for a treat and now I let them pick out any kind of fruit they would like to try. I do buy the sugar free flavorings for water for them (which I know is not the healthiest thing) but that's a major step in my family. I also try to keep healthy snacks on hand; for when they are famished after school. Just trying to start creating healthy habits. Well I better go for now....I've got my apples on hand for tomorrow just in case......Pam