Breastfeeding Food Journal, week 3

With Rylan I decided to pump instead of feeding through the boob. Just my personal choice. I know last time I rapidly lost weight the first 2 weeks postpartum and then again when I stopped breastfeeding Taylor at 9 weeks. Some professionals say your body holds onto extra fluids (the fluids is obvious) and fat. Your body needs to retain more fat than usual to breastfeed. So once I stopped (again a personal decision because I wanted my time and my body to myself again) the weight started to come off again. And my exercise was slowly building up. Women's bodies are machines postpartum - breastfeeding or not breastfeeding - and I like to take advantage of that! It's the only time weight loss is easier and your metabolism is a little higher--without having to do anything! We all know breastfeeding depletes our fat storage, and we can eat more. So for a lot of women breastfeeding just amps up the wieght loss!

There is no "one plan fits all" for breastfeeding and weight loss. And I have a bunch of info on my website--what's safe, how much to lose each week, how many calories to eat etc. Generally you can take your BMR (also known as how many calories you can consume-you can calculate it on www.momsintofitness.com) and add 300-600 calories. Even more if you have more than 1 baby! But the best way to track a healthy weight loss while breastfeeding is measuring yourself and weighing yourself weekly. And I have to admit it is fun to see that scale drop after seeing it increase for 9 months--or 10 months for me since I gain while on fertility meds.

It's hard. First you have to turn off the pregnancy eating. Second you have to turn off the breastfeeding eating. And all the sudden you miss those calories (although your body is ok without excess calories!)

Oh and by the way I truly admire moms that breastfeed for a long time. It's very un-selfish of you! Whatever your choice, breastfeed or formula feed, we all have to turn off the pregnancy eating! And if you adopted it's time to adjust your eating as well...excess pounds creep up on us all, pregnant or not!

So moms ask me all the time what I eat while breastfeeding. To be honest I do not change much from when I was pregnant. And although I try to incorprate lots of fruits and veggies, I also end up going through drive-thurs and eating lots o' crap. But I do eat within my perimeter which is 3 meals + 1 snack, 3 meals and 2 snacks when pregnant/breastfeeding. So here it is!

*I drink a lot of water, anywhere from 60-80 ounces of water especially on the days I exercise. I also like to have my pop for the day at least 3-4 days a week. Usually a 32 oz. Mr. Pibb filled to the top with crushed ice. My husband, a dentist, gets so angry but I love to chomp on the ice throughout the day too. Not any good nutrients coming from the Pibb but I do have to include those 150-200 calories to my daily intake. Anyhoo I didn't include my fluids in my food journal below:

Day 1
Breakfast-2 Fiber One Muffins
Snack-oops forgot
Lunch-Panera Bread Co Broccoli Cheese Soup, 1 roll and 1/2 Chicken Frontega sandwich
Snack-the other 1/2 Chicken Frontega sandwich
Dinner-Salad (2 cups romaine, sprinkled shredded cheese, sprinkled sunflower seeds, cucumbers, peppers), crock Pot Beef stew (1 kids bowl), 12 saltines

Day 2
Breakfast-1 Pop Tart with Fiber
Snack-Apple
Lunch-Cheesecake Factory 1/2 Chicken salad Sandwich, split garden salad with ranch dressing with mom
Snack-Baked Potato with melted shredded cheese
Dinner-Leftover Beef Stew (2 kids bowls)

Day 3
Breakfast-Smoothie (from my website) with 2 cups berries and whole milk
Snack-Pear
Lunch-Salad (2 cups romaine, sprinkled shredded cheese, sprinkled sunflower seeds, cucumbers, peppers), Lean Cuisine Pita Sandwich
Snack-handful peanuts, apple
Dinner-2 cups Beef n' Broccoli Frozen Skillet Meal (made with extra rice and extra broccoli)
I try to only let it happen once a week, eating after diiner, I had 2 small peanut butter cookies (my mom's is in town and baking!)

Day 4
Breakfast-Yogurt Whips sprinkled with grape nuts
Snack-Pear
Lunch-2 homemade grilled cheese with full fat cheese, 1 drinkable tomato soup
Snack-Cranberry Salad (2 cups romaine, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 2-3 T poppyseed dressing, 1/4 cup sliced almonds)
Dinner-3 homemade Tacos with seasoned ground beef, 6" flour tortilla, shredded cheese, lettuce, 2T sour cream and a side of refried beans
6 Twizzlers

Day 5
Breakfast-English Muffin with 2T peanut butter
Snack-1/2 Target popcorn...so we got the popcorn on our way in (and a Mr. Pibb) and when we're done I throw the other half away and fill my pop cup with water/ice
Lunch-16 shrimp cocktail, Baked Potato with 1/3 cup full fat sour cream and chives
Snack-handful peanuts, apple
Dinner-1 Shrimp Kabob with pineapple, peppers and onions, 2 cups caesar salad with cheese

Day 6
Breakfast-1/2 plain bagel with 1T peanut butter
Snack-other 1/2 plain bagel with 1T peanut butter
Lunch-McDonalds small vanilla shake & 6 piece chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce (it's either fries or the milkshake, not both)
Snack-1/2 baked potato with full fat sour cream and chives, 2 cups caesar salad with cheese
Dinner-Homemade Jalapeno potato soup (2 kids bowls)

Day 7
Breakfast-English Muffin with 1T peanut butter
Snack-Apple
Lunch-Burger King grilled chicken salad with ranch dressing and croutons
Snack-1 cup vegetable pasta salad with oil dressing
Dinner-Pizza Hut 2 slices Large Cheese Pizza, regular crust

A few immediate problems I have with my journal: too much red meat and not enough fruit! And a little more calcium wouldn't hurt.