Hi, Mamas!
My name is Rachel T. I’m a Registered Dietitian who specializes in healthy lifestyle modifications for children and families. I am also the proud mother of a beautiful 4 month old baby girl, Olivia. During my pregnancy I gained 35 pounds and I still have 10 pounds left to go before I reach a weight that I’m comfortable with.
This is the first time in my life that I have been really concerned about my weight. I am also hungrier than I have ever been before, thanks to exclusive breastfeeding (well, exclusive pumping). Thankfully making milk burns tons of calories (about 500 a day), so I attribute most of my weight loss to breastfeeding–yet another reason to love nursing my babe!
On June 8th I am heading to Miami for good friend’s bachelorette party, so that’s good motivation to drop those last ten pounds! So for the next six weeks I will be kicking my butt in gear and sharing my weight loss journey with all of you.
My philosophy on nutrition:
– Moderation, moderation, moderation
– Don’t skip meals ever
– Don’t drink your calories–stick to water
– Skip diet foods and drinks, which contain loads of chemicals–especially toxic for nursing mamas like me
– Eat a varied diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, and healthy dairy
– Treating yourself is okay (as long as you remember it’s a treat)
Okay so all that being said, since Oliva’s birth I have broken two of my cardinal rules! I have been skipping breakfast almost every day and I have been drinking way too much juice (…and I hate to admit it…soda). So these are going to be the two major areas I work on.
I also plan on cutting down on my portion sizes and increasing my fruit intake (I’m pretty good with veggies!).
Week One
Initial Weight: 130 Final Weight: 128
Week 1 triumphs
– I tried coconut milk yogurt for the first time. Not sure if I love it yet, but it was pretty good.
– I only drank water and seltzer (and of course decaf coffee, with skim milk and sugar)
– I ate breakfast every day
– I lost 2 pounds, yay! ( a healthy weight loss is about 2 pounds a week)
Week 1 issues
– I ate more prepared foods than I want, like Kashi or Amy’s frozen meals for lunches. I need to work on this.
– I ate half a cupcake yesterday. Eek! That was definitely a treat.
– Today I was really craving French fries and came so close to getting them…but I ate wheat thins with hummus instead. While it’s a good compromise, I probably ate too many crackers!
Here are some pictures of my meals from this week and a picture of Olivia eating her favorite doll!
For new mamas, what have been your challenges when it comes to returning to pre-pregnancy weight? What questions do you have about making healthier choices?
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for me, finding time to make a decent or healthy meal is difficult. I often skip breakfast or just drink coffee in the morning and don’t even realize i have eaten nothing but a bowl of milk until 2pm! i’m not sure how much i gained during pregnancy since i tried to not look at the scales. i did well at first but gained a lot that last month 😦 we don’t own a scale so i’m not sure where I am now, just go by the fit of my clothes. my daughter will not nap unless its on me/in a baby carrier so i just fit in food where i can. i know i eat too much processed food too since its easy and quick.
I too am an RD, but now am focusing on my new mommy role. My daughter is 2 months now and I am exclusively breastfeeding. I had been expecting for the weight to come off quickly b/c of breastfeeding, but after the big weight loss from birth it just hasn’t changed for the past 3 weeks or so. It’s been a bit discouraging, I have to admit. Maternity clothes are too big but I’m just not comfortable with my “muffin top” spilling out of the top of my pre-pregnancy jeans.
I generally eat pretty healthy, and am eating less now than when I was working – mostly because I am busy with my LO -but I’m also less active than I was (no gym twice a week or runs with the dog anymore).
My plan to help the weight come off now is to 1) walk for at least 1 hour a day – either stroller or with her in the carrier, 2) cut back on the volume of granola I eat at breakfast – although it’s homemade and super healthy, I think 1/3-1/2 cup of nuts and seeds is more than my body needs each day! 3) cut back on the treats – I think I was eating more than I should because “hey, I’m breastfeeding… the weight is just supposed to fall off!”. Ooops- I guess it doesn’t work like that for me.