My portion control strategy, especially during the holiday season: Jack-Jack, our resident gourmand (almost) two year old. He is constantly taking food off of my plate and anyone else's that is within reach for that matter.
Here he is waiting for crumbs by the dishwasher after Thanksgiving:
Here he is with two forks in his mouth, one
of them Mommy's, of course:And while everyone was distracted by the camera during Thanksgiving dinner, Jack-Jack (in the Princeton sweatshirt) leans over to take some food off of Mr. Incredible's plate.
In all honestly, I have trouble keeping weight on while lactating, and Red advised me to try paying attention to what I eat for a few days since I'm usually distracted by feeding toddlers. It is way less than I think, because I usually have a good deal of help with my meal.
You might not have a 2 year old human vacuum cleaner to help you with this diet. No problem...you can borrow mine. And then I'll go get something to eat. I'm hungry.
*It is not recommended that a nursing mother try to diet!
2 comments:
Tex, you should cultivate the skill of grazing. Like a cow. My kids may swipe my food or ask for one thing after another during mealtime so that there's no chance for me to eat before it's time to clear the food, but that leaves the whole rest of the afternoon or night for grazing.
BTW, I love when you and Red talk about getting too thin when you're nursing. I'll reserve the snarky comments this time as an Advent penance : )
Just for the record, I did not bring up the thin thing.
Nursing helps some women lose weight, and other moms can't lose the weight until after they stop nursing! Your metabolism is supposed to slow down when nursing, and for some it slows too much, while for others it doesn't slow down quite enough.
After Gianna was born, I had to eat a special milk-free diet because she had a cows milk intolerance. The limited diet, coupled with nursing really did a number of my weight AND my health. I didn't have any energy and I got really sick. One illness after another...
So, I have tried to really watch what I eat when I am nursing. I take a good multivitamin supplement every day AND I make sure I pack in some extra calories while the kids are sleeping. Nap times and post dinner are great times to add in a snack or meal. As a busy mom it is always so difficult to find the time to sit down and eat. For those of you trying to lose weight, this missed meal can result in low blood sugar levels, which then results in over-eating or cravings later in the day. For those of us trying to maintain a healthy weight, we really need the extra calories and can't afford to be skipping meals.
Mothers need to take good care of themselves in order to take good care of their children. I have it as part of my morning routine to 1) eat (preferably something with protein) 2) drink a large glass of water 3) take my vitamins. A rushed morning with nothing but coffee is not good for anyone! While this may happen occasionally, if you find yourself regularly missing a meal, something has to change to make eating at least 3 meals per day a priority.
For me, the most difficult meal is lunch. I always get my kids fed and then I try to eat afterwards. On many days something comes up and I find myself eating "lunch" at 2pm. I have a headache and I am cranky.
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