Mousty's Shedding the Baby Pounds Journal

[Alezia]

I'm joining the ENA health forum weight-loss bandwagon. I've been exercising for quite a while but my nutrition has been very sub-par. I like to indulge on a lot of sweets which is my biggest weakness.

I love pancakes, french toasts, deserts, chocolate, muffins, cakes, cookies and bake some almost daily.

 

I'll be weighing in tomorrow morning. I'm dreading it, absolutely. The only person that has weighed me was the Dr. after my 2 month post-partum appointment. It will soon be 5 months. My baby is on solid food and requiring less milk, therefore I figure it's a great time to start.

[Richard-]

What kind of workout do you have in mind?

[Alezia]

I'm probably going to mix the New Rules of Lifting for Women along with Ps90x. Make it my own type deal.

 

I'd love to follow the PS90X program entirely but it seems like so much effort and dedication. I'm not sure I can work out 7 days a week to be quite honest.

[Alezia]

I've made the menu for tomorrow... I have to integrate this with the entire family, so I need to cut and prepare in advance or else I won't do it. It's more about the entire family eating well, not just me - so I'm not doing any restrictive crazy dieting like no carbs.

 

For me, the son:

 

Breakfast: Oatmeal and banana

Snack and celery

Lunch: Baked Salmon and salad

Snack: Apple and natural peanut butter

Supper: Chicken, brown rice and veggies (Bf also)

 

For Alex:

Sweet potatoes

[Richard-]

I think it's only 60 mins a day for 6 days a week. Your selection looks really good. Try to eat non instant oatmeal if you can, instant isn't as strong benefits wise.

[Alezia]

Yeah we eat the non-instant one already. I have usually pretty healthy habits, it's just that I love to over indulge.

[Alezia]

Mmmm... fake blueberry muffins. I had to indulge but I stopped at one =)

[LivingToday]

Your diet does sound good so far. Especially the fish, excellent. Omega 3s work not only for memory but weight loss (and does lots of water to flush out sodium).

 

How much do you like aquacates(you'll have to google it, language filter)? You could find ways to include those, plus they have the good fats as most know and are super tasty.

[Alezia]

 

How much do you like aquacates(you'll have to google it, language filter)? You could find ways to include those, plus they have the good fats as most know and are super tasty.

 

Aguacates? Seems like * * * * * * * s turned up for me in the image search? I sometimes use those in my salads, sandiwches or make guacamole. Not sure if it's the same thing.

 

Gah: forgot about the Avo-cado ban.

[Alezia]

My issues aren't really related to how to eat well. I've got that part down. Rather it is how to avoid boredom / stress eating, over-indulgence etc...

 

The fact that I'm stuck in a tiny apartment with two kids really drives me nuts. I have to find ways to distract myself from eating. I'm moving out soon... that should fix it.

[Batya33]

If you want to lose weight I would avoid the peanut butter and hummus for now - try a leaner form of protein without all that fat.

 

I lost my baby weight in the first five months (I gained 37 pounds during the pregnancy). I did it by increasing fiber (I found a yummy high fiber bread to toast in the morning - one slice, a little fake butter and jam), eating some prunes and activia yogurt as snacks (for regularity but also it was filling and reasonable calories), and limiting the take out food. I also started doing 30-40 minutes of exercise 5 times a week at least which mostly involved fast walking with the baby in the stroller or leg lifts with the baby in the baby bjorn carrier (he's too heavy for that now).

 

I am now about 4 pounds below my prepregnancy weight (which was slim to begin with) and the baby is ten months old. I believe it is mostly the exercise that did it - we have lots of sweets around - chocolate and cookies - and I do eat some but only after a healthful meal and not large quantities (once i hit 30, my appetite for chocolate/sugar decreased - too much would give me a sort of headache or a weird feeling). I found other ways to indulge - chick lit novels, bad tv, etc.

 

I wish you the best of luck in your weight loss - and I promise you it feels so great to fit into the prepregnancy clothes again!

[NightLily]

If you really want some sweets every now and then you could try skittles. They take a really long time to chew and are really sweet haha. Pretty much what I get when I go to a movie. One bag is somewhere between 100-200 calories. Also dark chocolate is a pretty healthy option as well.

 

When do you usually eat too much? If it is at night you could record TV shows you like and watch that around the time you eat too much. If you want one of those 100 calorie popcorn things with it.

 

You could also be the type of person who is just better off eating lots of small meals.

[Alezia]

I already eat lots of small meals. I eat 6-7 meals a day but I munch terribly in between the 6-7 meals.

 

I'm trying to avoid the artificial man-made products rather than the high fat ones. Even the ones with "added fibers" or "more omega-3's" and all those health claims.

I'd rather eat the * * * * * * * , olive oil, peanut butter, hummus etc... rather than fake butter, skittles etc...

I just tend to like the taste so much that I don't restrict myself to one serving. Seems like I always want to eat more of it.

 

I wonder if trying to "time" my meals would be good or bad. It seems if I try to time my meals, then I am waiting obsessively until my next snack or meal which makes it worst. If I don't then I snack mindlessly. Maybe it's just that I need to do it until my mind accepts the routine?

 

I used to want to eat a lot at night but now it just seems all round during the day. There is no specific time, it's all the time!! It just makes it so much worst.

[Alezia]

Is possible that I am simply dehydrated? or drinking too much coffee? =\

[NightLily]

Sounds like a severe case of boredom. Is there anything you can do to distract yourself? Work? A hobby?

 

If it is to the point where all you think about all day long is food.. have you ever suffered from an eating disorder or anxiety? Sometimes dealing with the route issue helps with everything else. I used to have a bit of an obsessive nature but that seemed to go away when I started taking a mood stabalizer so for me that helped.

 

Could really be none of that and just boredom. I think you need to find a way to focus your energy and thoughts somewhere else. Always trying to perfect your diet or you work out routine can result in obsession. I know it did in my case.

[Richard-]

I agree with Suzy. You sound like you tend to eat when you're bored, too. Doing some kind of activity, will probably greatly benefit you. Maybe you could get some yoga tapes, or just something to help you stay active while giving you a positive benefit. As far as dehydration, how much water are you drinking a day?

[thejigsup]

You're bored with two kids in the house. How is that happening? My doc says av**cados are GREAT for weight loss and health. He says they're jam packed with good cholesterol and are very filling. Everytime I diet, I eat a lot of them and my weight loss plummets quickly, along with my blood pressure. They are a good food. I am hooked on the affects of omega 3, also. Great stuff!

[thejigsup]

You're bored with two kids in the house. How is that happening? My doc says av**cados are GREAT for weight loss and health. He says they're jam packed with good cholesterol and are very filling. Everytime I diet, I eat a lot of them and my weight loss plummets quickly, along with my blood pressure. They are a good food. I am hooked on the affects of omega 3, also. Great stuff!

[Alezia]

The whole baby talk, changing diapers etc... can be fun at times but can also be very long and boring at others. I don't honestly like staying in this tiny apartment 24/7. It's 700 square feet for the four of us. It's like I relieve the "mental pain" by eating. It's a distraction really. I don't crave food constantly if I am doing "my things" like shopping, working etc... After working out, I'm usually not hungry at all and need to "force myself to eat". I'm like the opposite of everyone else.

 

I am not anorexic or bulimic, or never have been diagnosed of the sorts. I am known to overindulge at times or eat lots in one sitting but I have always been like this from a young age. I am addicted to sugar I could say but that would be the closest I could classify myself to those disease.

 

So today was a bit of a miserable day to stick to the original menu plan. I'll come up with ways to keep myself from being so "bored" and "lonely".

[Alezia]

Chef's Menu!

 

Breakfast: Oatmeal and Banana (a favorite)

Snack: Protein Smoothie; Kid will get the peanut butter toast on whole grain bread.

Lunch: link removed

Snack: Raw vegetables and eggs

Supper: Montreal Chicken and Green Beans (a lot of salt, but I'm digging it!)

 

I'm going to try to avoid the peanut butter for tomorrow's menu as I always tend to go back for more. Not that there is anything bad with the food per say, but I can easily eat 5-6 servings in one sitting.

I'll reintegrate it later when I'm more used to this.

 

I'm going to try to stick to this menu exclusively, no outside snacking from this... I had to have small pizza slices and the muffin today *eugh so hard*. I won't kid myself into thinking that I can make changes overnight.

 

The fact that I'm waiting impatiently for my new house makes it worst I believe. I'll try to get some cleaning done if the temptation is too hard... I don't have any studying to do as I am done my classes so technically that should make it better. I also suffer from the study-snacking problem.

 

I've known some people to feed protein powder to their kids, but to me this seems a bit odd.

[Alezia]

Eugh I am a failure =)

 

I guess I have to approach this another way... *back to thinking pad*.

[NightLily]

Eugh I am a failure =)

 

I guess I have to approach this another way... *back to thinking pad*.

 

failure how so? You only fail when you stop trying

 

You can do it!

[Alezia]

That's true.

 

I'm thinking I may need less of a stringent method and take it one step at a time. Maybe instead of tracking food portions, I'll just try to get on a schedule for now.

It won't lead to weight loss RIGHT NOW, but I can get rid of my bad snacking all the time habits and be more regular. It's pretty much what's causing me more harm than good right now.

 

I also tend to munch on really bad stuff - chocolate bars, chips, pizza, cookies, cakes etc... as I did A LOT yesterday. It's not just a few servings but several spread through the course of the night ex: each half an hour I'll take a serving of something bad. I admit I wasn't trying hard.

[NightLily]

That's true.

 

I'm thinking I may need less of a stringent method and take it one step at a time. Maybe instead of tracking food portions, I'll just try to get on a schedule for now.

It won't lead to weight loss RIGHT NOW, but I can get rid of my bad snacking all the time habits and be more regular. It's pretty much what's causing me more harm than good right now.

 

I also tend to munch on really bad stuff - chocolate bars, chips, pizza, cookies, cakes etc... as I did A LOT yesterday. It's not just a few servings but several spread through the course of the night ex: each half an hour I'll take a serving of something bad. I admit I wasn't trying hard.

 

Small changes over time add up. If you really like pizza, you could try making your own at home or buying it frozen and just eating the right portion. You can make one that is quite healthy really with wheat crust. I like to put smoked salmon, capers, olives, onions on top on rare occasions.

 

Getting some of the junk out of the house might help. Sweets like.. some frozen fruit bars are only 80 calories, have no fake sugar, and are really tasty.

 

I'm doing the same thing kind of. Trying to get my body used to eating through out the day. I have the opposite problem as you. I go days with eating far too little and only two times a day.. and then will have days where I don't eat the entire day until dinner and eat possibly too much at dinner. ... -_-' Your problem sounds far healthier. And if I remember correctly, I saw a picture of you and didn't see any weight problem at all. I'm sure you just want to slim down a tiny bit.

 

What I learned is that if I eat like two bites of something, soon after I become hungry and then can eat. Weird right?

[Alezia]

I do have some of the same problems you have (ex: eat enormous amounts of food in one sitting) but I will eat the entire day as well. I don't go through deprive - eat cycles I just eat all the time.

 

My problem is rather a health issue than a weight issue (you are right, I don't have much weight to lose). It's just a bit easier to describe it as a weight issue - people seem to relate to it a bit more. It really is much more than a weight issue as I have portion control problems and tend to turn to food quite a lot lately. I figure that if I don't fix this now.. then it may be too late when the extra pounds do creep up on me. I'm still in the healthy BMI range but at the latter part of it.

 

To be quite honest, I weigh a lot less than I should with my bad habits. It helps that I naturally stick to healthy foods. I would just like to eat like a normal person with normal portions at regular intervals. If I can lose my 10-15lbs extra in that process, then it'd be great.