You know, I was loosing weight during my maternity leave. I figured this out a couple of weeks ago. When I'm at work, I intake a lot of food and drink that I wouldn't otherwise. I eat out more. It is easier to eat crappy food at work. Chipotle and thousand-calorie burritos was a staple for a few months. And, I needed a snack to get me to work. Sometimes two. I also needed a snack to get me into the newscast. Then, there was a glass of wine to chill out at night. There were many days where I would have 3 snacks and 2 lunches (along with breakfast and dinner). Hungry? Need coffee? BAM! Starbucks breakfast sandwich. There were other days where I'd eat a thousand calories of gluten free pizza, because it was yummy and we were too hungry to figure anything else out.
And, you cannot crash diet while breastfeeding, because loosing weight too quickly will release toxins that will get into the breastmilk. Additionally, if I am not eating at regular intervals, I am starving, and I will suddenly crash and need to eat 2,000 calories of whatever I can get my hands on first.
I had attempted to cut out grains, sugar, and nuts while focusing on the overall health of my teeth. Those newborn months were busy, and since the days didn't have distinction between them, there wasn't a clear place to take care of myself. I noticed during that first round of cutting out grains and sugars that I started dropping pounds. But, I plateaued and stopped loosing weight, so I got frustrated and gave up. I chose the food that comforted me. I did make the switch from Starbucks brownies to organic peanut butter cups. But, I was back to eating frozen dinners in the microwave. Something had to give.
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| homemade chicken tikka masala and broccoli |
I do the best on grilled meat and veggies. But, I have to have hot food, I have to take lunch and dinner to work with me, and I have to use a microwave (which dries out meat). I realized a few weeks ago that I could simmer the meat in a premade sauce, like the frozen dinners do. Voila! I could make healthy, low cost, no grain meals that I could put in glass containers. These would not dry out in the microwave. I then went down to one sugar snack a day (before the newscast), and now I am down to ZERO snacks per day. I had a little chocolate the other day, and it was too sweet. Win.
What I cut out:
- All sugar (refined sugar, natural sugar, fruit, etc)
- All grains (refined, whole, bread, corn, rice, etc)
- All nuts and seeds
What I eat now:
- Breakfast: Eggs (and sometimes bacon)
- Snack: Salad with cheese and oil and vinegar
- Lunch: chicken/beef and veggies
- Dinner: chicken/beef and veggies
- Water/Coffee
- Walking 1.2 to 2.5 miles per day almost every day (now that we're on 2 naps)
And, that's it. No cookies. No chocolates. No peanut butter cups. Well, there are some situations where I do indulge. I have a mimosa with my eggs benedict at brunch. And, you can be damn sure that I'm going to eat cake when it's there. Damn. Sure. Holla. Cake. Mmm.
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