Dieting

For the last 10 months I have been telling myself that I don't need to diet. I've been telling myself that since I breastfeed my baby I can eat whatever I want and not gain any weight (somewhat true) and that it's not good for my breastfed baby for me to diet (totally untrue). There are some definite problems with this logic. For one, even if I wasn't going to gain any weight, I won't be breastfeeding forever and I really need to pay attention to what I am eating, specifically HOW MUCH I have been eating. Otherwise, as soon as we are done, I will blow up! Second, I may not gain any, but I certainly wasn't losing any either. I've plateaued and I am not happy where I am. Third, I don't so much need to diet as I need to really change what and how I eat. Therefore, the solution is to count calories. I simply have adjusted the number of calories I would normally need in a day to account for the number lost in breastfeeding and created a safe and healthy way to lose weight without depriving my baby of what she needs. (**Please note, I am not a doctor or a nutritionist and the statements I make apply to myself only.)

So far it has been very successful. I use myfitnesspal.com and it's App for the iPhone. I created a two week meal plan to aid in my grocery shopping and overall planning. It ended up being three weeks worth of food and I tried out a lot of new recipes. Unfortunately, since I was making new dishes and not super sure of the recipes I didn't photograph or record them. However, for the most part each dish was a success and with a few tweaks to each I do plan on making them again.

I am starting really understand food in a different way. I know what has a lot of value calorie-wise and what is just not worth it. I know that if I want to have a beer in the evening it means less food during the day and I really have to want it! I know that measuring my food is the only way to accurately calorie count and using the short pour/long pour method of measurement is not going to work!

Some of the foods that have become neccesary pantry items now include, plain yogurt, vinegar, mustard, lean meats, Parmesan cheese, whole grain anything and lentils. I even adapted my famous spaghetti to a low cal version by using Turkey Italian Sausage and whole grain spaghetti.

As soon as I get myself to the grocery store, I'll be starting phase 2. I have a new 2 week mealplan and all the recipes and calories are accounted for. Hopefully the new recipes will be just as successful and some of the repeat recipes will be even better when I add my personal touches. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures and share with you some of the new, delicious, calorie-valuable meals I discover along the way.

On a totally different note, August is the month of the birth of my daughter. So, I am in total First Birthday Party planning mode which means crafts and lists are taking over my home. I will definitely post pictures of whatever is successful, so stay tuned!