We spent one week away at a performing arts family camp. The entire family had a great time and enjoyed the music and drama classes as well as being in the redwoods in Northern California. We were blessed with the wonderful cooking of the camp chef who prepared delicious and nutritious meals for us all. Of course, the lovely food that was provided to us also resulted in the liabilities of triggering more temptations for Sasha to overeat or sneak extra food. Sure enough, it was very difficult to manage him around the PB&J sandwich bar that was in the cafeteria at almost all hours of the day. We did the best we could to guide and steer Sasha away from the foods that would be unhealthy for him. Still, we are certain he had several chances to sneak in some PB&J sandwiches when we weren't looking and that he probably overate during the week. Oh well, we probably all ate more than we should have during that week of vacation!
In any case, we knew that the effects of the oxytocin had worn off. Even before we left for our family camp trip, we could see that Sasha was regressing back to his old hungry, food-obsessed self. We knew we had to do something different so I decided to increase his oxytocin to a six unit daily spray. Since Monday, he has had this daily spray and, knock on wood, it seems to be working. Now that I fully aware of the difficulties of assessing Sasha's true appetite, food obsession and food consumption since I am not with him 24 hours a day, I report this news to you with a guarded attitude...
I can say that in the last four days, we have noted a decrease in the amount of food he eats. He has been bringing home food unfinished and he has been leaving food on his plate during meals and even during dessert. I have searched his room and backpack on several occasions and have found no signs of hidden candy or money (by which to purchase food). I have been in contact with his teachers and camp directors of the week and they have not reported any signs of food seeking or extra candy eating except for only one time when he was seen eating one piece of Starburst candy. The other positive sign is that I have not experienced my Kitchen Bitch persona of late. Sasha has been much more mellow around the kitchen and around the topic of food and it has helped me feel much more relaxed when I am around him and food.
Starting tomorrow we will take a 5-day trip to the mountains for some camping. Starting tomorrow and continuing until his first day of school on August 29, we will have 10 continuous days to observe Sasha and his appetite and eating behaviors. It will give us a good opportunity to truly assess whether or not this new dose is indeed helping him in decreasing his appetite and food seeking.
Wish us luck!!
Good luck in your healthy food quest.
ReplyDeleteWelcome relief as Sasha and the family were able to relax and be nurtured by good food, music, and the outdoor surroundings. Is there anything to report about Sasha's willingness to engage his agemates? Besides his previous disinclination and recent increase of interest, his experiences entering the teen social scene after years of not participating will be of interest to others in the same situation. Given Sasha's remaining differences and his lack of practice with peer interaction, an often difficult time of life socially may present unique challenges. Can we crowd source people's experiences, especially anything they have learned that may be helpful?
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