Most important first: if you're a breastfeeding mother you probably shouldn't do this diet. It affected my milk supply. I drank a cup of mother's milk tea every day for the month and it boosted my supply back to normal but for a few days it was kind of rough. It's a tricky time, breastfeeding, because you want to diet and get your pre-baby body back and at the same time you need those calories to keep the milk flowing freely. Conundrum. But back to the point. If you are a breastfeeding mama and you want to lose weight while keeping your supply up, definitely talk to your doctor about a healthy eating plan. This was perfectly healthy (I didn't restrict quantity, just type of food) but any major changes in your diet while breastfeeding can affect your supply.
The other thing I learned is this. I love food. Okay, I already knew that. But more than just enjoying food, I really love to cook and share food with the people I love. I will go into the kitchen and make anything my husband or dad request, all I need is a recipe. So to have such a restriction on my diet was difficult. Food became really boring for me. And I started not to want to cook or eat much. I had to eat because as I said before, Everly needs her food, but seriously. Boring. I tried to get creative with the restrictions but near then end I was eating the same thing every day, just waiting for the end of the month to come. I was bored of the diet but I'd made a commitment.
The thing I truly learned (or I suppose remembered) is to pay attention to everything I eat. Not just the main meals, but the snacks in between too. It's all about moderation, healthy choices, and sometimes saying no. I don't need a treat every day. I don't need to eat bread with every meal. Mostly, I just need to remember to take care of this body of mine. It's the only one I get.
What do you think about dieting? Or do you just call it healthy eating?
xo Sue
I recently read this thing about dieting that made so much sense for me...you know there's about a million different ones and people get so pessimistic like "none of them work" ....that's true in a way and it makes sense. There's a million different types of people, so the millions of diets are a good thing because not every single thing works for every single person and that's okay.
ReplyDeletePersonally I do prefer to call it a 'lifestyle change' because diets in themselves seem to fizzle and there's a lot of science on the why of that....but just being conscious of things you eat in general can really make a world of difference. Moving to Sweden I realized just how much crap I ate, and I was kind of a health nut by American standards!! Having hypothyroidism I can't eat certain veggies like cauliflower, and people think I'm crazy or making excuses...but just as soon as I eat something from the 'bad' list I can feel my throat close up and I get weak. So I dont' think there's a perfect food regime.
Also, I love sugar and always will. Nothing has ever broken my sugar addiction and I guess nothing ever will!! lol that's the way it is. When I get to SLC are you gonna cook me a good ol' Murrican meal? :D oh and where are you guys living, will it be close to Sugar House?
wow! you're so strong and full of willpower! I do like sugar...and flour, well I know i could cut down on things with flour. I dont like the word diet, i think of more changing what i eat overall, everyday. i totally felt guilty bcuz i eat a bag of cheetos! lol which i rarely do. Love ya girl
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed the change we've made (no dairy, no gluten) and feel worse than crap when I slip or cheat. I'm happy to finally be back in our home so I can eat well and cook again. I know what you mean about getting bored with food, though. In the hotel we must've had a variation of stir fry or fajitas (no tortilla, of course) almost every night and I was so tired of it. I have a slew of recipes (including some baked goods) that I'm anxious to make now that I have all of my stuff again. I also noticed a dip in my supply, so I started making sure I drink plenty of water and I have a bowl of oatmeal a day. I will say that the days I cheated or when I have more dairy than usual, Julia is extremely gassy.
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