I'm prepared to be a little more honest than I am comfortable with tonight. I'm sure it will come as a shock to all of you because you have this all figured out, but I am not doing as well as I would like to be with my eating habits.
I am eating mostly good things. I've got the fruits and veggies stacked up, whole grains galore, plenty of protein. But I am way off balance most days in when and how much I eat. Some days (like today) I just don't feel that hungry. I forgot to eat much of anything for lunch or dinner. This is not the norm right now, I'm usually famished. I hope this won't bring a blush to anyone's face but I am (to put it quite delicately) exclusively nursing a 15 or 16 pound 3 month old. Okay, that wasn't very delicate. (And yes, my tiptoeing around the subject is quite sarcastic because I think it's a little ridiculous that people can get so uppity about a woman feeding her baby the way God provided for her to do. And I'm going to step up on my soapbox for just a minute and proclaim that locking nursing moms away in "nursing rooms" or shaming them into blanketing themselves from head to toe while feeding is a little extreme. You really aren't going to see anything. And yes, we do see you staring at us in horror. And I'm not just talking about the church folk.)
Sorry... I'm a little "ranty" tonight. I told a friend yesterday that I usually erase my ranting but I think I'll leave it in this time so you know that sometimes I do rant.
Back to my deep dark confessions. On my famished days, which are many at the moment, I'm pretty sure I'm eating too much. I say pretty sure because it's hard to gauge. I don't eat as much as MacGyver, but he's a freak of nature that surely must have some sort of black hole inside him. I eat about as much as my kids during the day, maybe a little less. But then bedtime comes and I rush to the kitchen for a snack which sometimes becomes two snacks as I sit and do lesson plans or write. It's this bedtime snacking that is getting me into trouble. I think if I could do away with this save one small high protein snack I would be getting on the right track. I also have to admit that I've let ice cream and peanut butter sneak back in. It's hard to resist when it's here, and MacGyver can't live without ice cream and Second born loves the peanut butter.
I am doing pretty well with exercise at the moment. I could be doing better, but I'm pretty consistent. I guess I'd give myself a C+ or a B-.
I'm a little discouraged about my general health at the moment. My throat has been hurting for awhile and I've been sneezing a lot, but I can't figure out what I'm suddenly allergic to. I've been getting migraines again - I've had to take medicine for them 3 times in the past week and a half. This concerns me, because I thought they were better. It can't be dietary, because I haven't really changed anything and I'm avoiding the things that give me instant headaches. It could be weather related, as the weather has been a little moody... anyway, I'm hoping that they ease off again, because they aren't compatible with... life.
And there is an annoying prankster who keeps calling our house around midnight. What in the world do you do about that?
So, all this to say... I don't know what I'm saying today. I'm a work in progress as far as this eating thing goes. Anybody else?
Goodnight.
*69 that prankster
ReplyDeleteAlso may I posit that your upper respiratory symptoms alone may be triggering your migraines- be they allergic or viral. I will offer unsolicited advice at a discount, if you desire.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing- www.fatsecret.com has a nice food logging feature (I have an app on my phone- it's way cool- MacGyver would be proud) that may help you gauge exactly how much you are eating compared to how much you should be- I have to keep a log for my meeting with my new personal trainer tomorrow. Eek! (last week I almost passed out after 5 minutes- physician, heal thyself!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'm sure there are other online tools that are just as handy, and honestly I don't know if I would think it was as awesome if it weren't for the droid app- I can point my phone's camera at the barcode on the package for what I'm eating and instantly record the nutrition info! Which I'm sure is being downloaded to some vast database that's storing my eating habits in a little file that will somehow be used to destroy me in the future, but whatever, it's a novelty, and I've managed to keep my calorie intake lower than I thought I would be able to without feeling deprived- except that I'm starving at this moment. Good thing the ice cream is all the way downstairs- my hatred of exercise trumps my ice cream craving.
<3
Thanks Dr. G. I wondered if the headaches might be related to whatever the allergy thing is. It seems like allergies because it comes and goes and causes those sorts of symptoms.
ReplyDeleteI am totally jealous that you have a personal trainer and a cool phone that records your foods so easily. I have a website that I can log food into, but it is a long and tedious process for which I have no time.
Keep up the good work my friend. I am inspired.
i have a sore throat/sneeze too. and thing one had it for several days. maybe we gave you something.
ReplyDeleteand ditto on the nighttime snacks. so hard to resist when it's the first quiet moment you've had all day to yourself. lets blame our children.
and on nursing mothers: YES! i want to join you in a nursing revolution, but alas, i am not lactating at the moment. it's ridiculous to shut a woman away for feeding a human. i think, at least in the church, it all goes back to how modesty in women is stressed to the point where everyone believes (though we don't ever say it) that a woman is solely responsible for keeping every man's thought life pure around her, but our young men are not taught to "make a covenant with their eyes" and control their thoughts regardless of what's going on. seth and i have had many discussions about this. i feel a blog coming on.
I'm TOTALLY with ya on the nursing. I loved it & think it's wonderful when Moms can do it. I was also never bashful about nursing in front of other people. It's a beautiful thing when a Mom nurses her baby! I did use a cover-up in front of others so I wouldn't accidentally expose myself. I even sometimes sat in the rocker in the nursery & NOT in the nursing room. I hated hiding in another room! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI have the snacking problem, too. That's partly why I started crocheting so I'd have something to do with my hands & I wouldn't eat.
Praying your migraines get better! :)
oh good, i'm not the only failure this week...
ReplyDeletethe thought of seeing jillian today makes me tired, especially since #3 didn't allow for very much sleep last night.
i think it's interesting to be locked away at church, but if i go to a 'church friend's' home, they always encourage me to stay with everyone while nursing (and I do use a cover when i'm out because 1. i make them and try to sell them and it's good advertisement, and 2. i'm quite large and clumsy and it even shows while bfing.)
as far as eating, i was gorging the past few weeks even though i pretended i wasn't. my weight didn't go up (nor down). the past 10 days i've really tried hard to eat WAY less and eat WAY healthier, and upon weighing myself yesterday, the weight still hadn't budged.
needless to say, it didn't encourage me to not eat half a bag of chocolate chips last night, because apparently leaving them out of my diet wasn't making a difference. :P
i love this blog. it's convicting and comforting. thank you, dear friend. <3
Thank you for including the ranting. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem is nighttime snacking. As soon as everyone goes to bed and I'm in the quiet of the house I feel like I need a snack. It's so hard.
Also your headaches- I am a migraine sufferer and have been for many years. (I remember in H.S. swallowing tylenol without water all the time. I didn't know that was dangerous at the time.) Anyway, I normally get 1 or 2 migraines a month and in that same month get about 5-6 plain old headaches. However, this past 7-10 days has been horrible. I've had 3 migraines and a headache every other day that I didn't have a migraine. Terrible. Weather is a big trigger for me- and stress & my cycle.
And about the breastfeeding- I totally agree. I don't think anyone should be secluded just to do something natural. Although for MYSELF I am a fan of coverups when in public only because I don't want anyone to accidentally see my fat side or tummy. lol AND I agree completely with what Kathy said and really look forward to that blog. :)
I have never posted on a blog before. But I read Mandy's all the time. So I thought I would try it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the breastfeeding issue. It is natural, and we should not have to hide. That said I always used a cover-up when not at home. While I was never ashamed of what I was doing and did not care if others knew what I was doing, I did not want to display myself. (My husband had slightly different thoughts on this subject, so to please him I often went into another room to nurse. All by myself.)
I don't agree with the need for a nursing room, hidden away, especially in a nursery. But I can see both sides of the issue.
As for late night snacks, I do so-so on that. But I am finding out that I have a sweet tooth. Especially when I am stressed, which seems to be all the time lately.
Exercise is what I need. But I am resisting it. Maybe one of these days I will exercise again. I love riding a bicycle, but that is kind of hard to do with so many young kids who cannot ride yet or keep up with me.
And THANK YOU for ranting. It is nice to know that others do the same thing. I edit too.
I also understand the headaches. I have frequent headaches/migraines myself. Although I have never found a trigger other than too much caffeine. (I don't drink coffee and have drastically (spelling?) cut out pop.)
Keep up the good work, Mandy. I love reading your posts. And learning more about you.
D
I'm so thankful that I'm not the only one! You all have been such an encouragement to me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the topic of nursing in public, I can see both sides as well. But I really think it should be up to a woman whether she wants to drape herself in a blanket or not. For me, my kids have always pulled it off and trying to hold it on while trying to get them set up is just more of a disaster trying to happen then discreetly doing it uncovered. I've never had anyone see anything accidentally. And even so, as Kathy said, it's not just my responsibility. When I'm in the wretched "nursing room" with another mom, I avert my eyes while they are getting set up just to be polite. Why doesn't the rest of creation understand this? I've noticed other moms do the same thing.
And another thing about covering up. If I just sit there and nurse without covering, nobody even notices I'm nursing. When I cover up I feel like all eyes immediately fall on me in judgment. Maybe this is just my perception.
I hear you Amy. Jillian's calling right now and I'm saying "Can't I just do the elliptical today, I'm so tired?" and she's saying "GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND DO THE SHRED!"
Sigh, Jillian. SIGH.
Thank you, Mandy, for your ranting and being real. I realizet that I'm pregnant and still in the first trimester, but I would be terrified to know how many calories I've been consuming recently, and as far as exercise, cleaning and chasing the boys counts, right? We all go through seasons. Some days we're on top of everything, and somedays, well, somedays are just not pretty.
ReplyDeleteTake one day at a time, and don't sweat the small stuff.
H
You too Harmony! You are always an inspiration of self-control to me. I consider pregnancy to be a time of survival. Just hang in there and do what you need to do to get through the day. I'll do your exercise for you along with mine for now. :)
ReplyDeletemandy, i feel the same way about the coverup. i've had entire conversations with brothers in law whilst nursing and they had no idea. if i had a blanket over me, they would have known instantly and not talked to me. it's sort of a funny trick i like to play. i'd say i'm about half and half with the covering up. depends on who's in the room.
ReplyDeletebut. i. hate. the. nursing. room.
so who's going to bring the nursing room up with someone who can do something? :D
ReplyDeletekathy, i LOOOOOVED your post! it's so true!
yes, if moms can avert their eyes while other moms get set up, why can't anyone else? and we can still have conversations and look at each other without staring at the feeding infant. it's NOT that DIFFICULT!!
haha, amy m., i'm more afraid of showing my 'extraness' than my feeding utensil too!! ;) oooh, that should not be funny... (shut up, jillian!).
you girls are so much fun and thought provoking and encouraging. :D love it!
Don't be jealous of my trainer. I hate him.
ReplyDeleteI have three trainers. They are quite relentless too. But I can't hate them because they are my children. :)
ReplyDeleteAmy, unfortunately the powers that be believe strongly in the nursing room. Those that have tried to make a stand in the past and do the unthinkable have been "spoken to." (Yes, I was one of them.)
At least maybe they could give us a few bucks to make the room a little more cheerful and less "closety." Or maybe someone could just vaccuum the floor once in awhile...
And it's not just church that has nursing rooms. They are everywhere. As if they are doing us a favor.
Thanks, but no thanks.
:) I'm bad tonight.
Exercising, why do I hate you so much? Is it b/c you take so much energy that I just don't seem to have? Or maybe, b/c when I get my heart rate to a point where I am actually burning calories I realize that I am on the verge of passing out. Of could it be that I just don't like the feeling of my lungs burning, my legs turning to jelly and my heart feeling like it's going to explode! I'm so glad there won't be exercising in heaven!!!! (of course that is a completely unbibilical comment, totally not supported by the bible, just my personal opinion). LOL!!!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Migraines suck!!!! I have had them for the last 15 years off and on, mostly on. They are no fun and unfortunately I don't have any tips or helpful hints for avoiding them that you probably don't already know.
I'm sorry, M.W. I feel for anyone who has to endure migraines. Mine have been better again in the past week since I wrote this. In fact, I haven't had one since. Hopefully this trend will continue!
ReplyDeleteI know, I hate exercise too. I do like the feeling of accomplishment when it's done, but I hate the doing. If you haven't tried it already, you should try the Shred. It's intense but it's only 20 minutes so it's over quickly. And if you have a chance to get an elliptical I have found that it isn't too bad, especially since you can hook your laptop to it and watch netflix. (MacGyver's idea) :)
I totally "get" what ya'll are sayin' but I HATE nursing in public! I'm pretty sure I flashed the guy next to me on the plane I was on last week. I hate covering up, I hate not covering up. I'm completely stressed and not relaxed. I totally prefer to be in a quiet room, by myself. . . no other kids to climb on me, no one else to have to entertain. . .maybe a tv or computer, but silence is great too. So, while I appreciate all of the "it's totally natural" and "avert your eyes" true statements, I AM thankful for places that provide a place for my baby to feed from the (in my opinion) excessively large "feeding things" in peace and quiet and privacy. :-) Now I'm ranting, I think. And I should be sleeping. Hugs! - Tracy D.
ReplyDelete