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09 May 2011

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Amber

Now that I'm currently on the 40 week weight gain plan, I'm finding it hard to not just eat anything and everything. I know I'm supposed to be gaining weight, so why not just let myself go and bring it on?!? But I really don't want to sow those bad habits, because I can see how sabotaging they can be when it is time to lose the baby weight again. Granted, this has been pretty effortless each time, but still... I think that is in no small part to some pretty good eating habits I worked very hard to establish after having my first. I try to tell myself it would be a lot better to be gaining 40-45 lbs rather than 50-55 lbs but I'm finding that a hard sell when faced with the prospect of dessert every night (hey, it's the Easter Season, right?) and seconds at every dinner.

And thanks for your comment about on the co-schooling post. I think right now I'm not sure if the trade-offs (namely how different Seton is from my approach to HS'ing and the distance to the other family's house) are worth the potential benefits. Maybe you should write more about those! *grin*

C

I appreciate the post, thank you! Sometimes it seems as though no one who is successful has struggled, so it's nice to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, thank you for "keeping it real."

bearing

@Amber, congratulations on your pregnancy.

I completely understand the worry about sowing bad habits. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant after my weight loss, and I wish I had handled things a little differently because it really did happen -- I was able to "get away with" abandoning some of my good habits while I was pregnant and during the first year of breastfeeding, and now I'm unhappily discovering that I have some ground to cover to get back to them, now that I really need to.

I think if I could do it over, I would try to be more deliberate about the habits -- like, if I was needing second helpings at dinner, I think I'd eat one helping from a bigger plate instead (keep the one helping habit), or I'd try to add snacks to my day at specific times instead of grazing when hungry.

I'd probably still enjoy the chance to eat more desserts though, considering how much ice cream I was craving during that last pregnancy!

Jennifer

Hi! I found you through DarwinCatholic blog. Here's my advice to you - have a larger breakfast and cut out the snacking and see what happens. Instead of one hard boiled egg, have a two (large) egg omelet with feta cheese, some black coffee and an orange. Then see how long you can go without eating. I can make it for 5 or 6 hours. Check out Jeffrey Taubes blog, too. You may just need more protein to fill you up. I've managed to maintain the same weight (after 4 children) for 9 years now and I basically stopped eating snacks between meals. You can do this, provided that you eat enough during a meal. Don't eat after dinner at all. Have a small dessert to signal to your body that you are done. Also, I allow myself a glass or two of wine every night. Life wouldn't be as fun without it!

bearing

@Jennifer,

Oh, believe me, I've been through all that ;-) It's possible that the me-with-four-children has to develop different habits than the me-with-three-children needed, but I've already worked out that one egg is enough eggs for breakfast, that I require a small snack at 3:30 pm, that I don't require a bedtime snack, and that alcohol is not a good idea when I'm working hard to stick to habits because it reduces my self-control. If you'll check out my "Chronological index on gluttony, weight loss and weight maintenance" you'll see what I mean :-)

I'm not a large person (under five feet tall) and it seems that my maintenance level of calories is only about 1400-1500 per day, and that's with the breastfeeding. New visitors to my blog are often scandalized by how little I report that I "have to" eat. I am regularly chided for the one-egg breakfasts, for one thing. Seriously, though, if I have a two-egg omelet with feta cheese and an orange for breakfast -- as I might if I had breakfast in a restaurant -- I probably wouldn't be hungry for lunch. And I like eating lunch, so I have a smaller breakfast.

As for Jeffrey Taubes, do you mean Gary Taubes?

Jennifer

It's Gary Taubes, not Jeffrey. Sorry.

MrsDarwin

This sounds so much like where I am right now. I'm maintaining (though creeping upward that one pound), but I'm losing focus. And the kids' leftovers! It's like you're at my house.

One egg is definitely enough for breakfast, and I'm almost 5'7".

Amber, congratulations!

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