- Eat three meals and two snacks a day
- A meal should consist of at least three food groups: a protein, a grain, and a fruit or vegetable
- A snack should consist of two food groups: a protein and a fruit or veggie or whole grain serving
- My job as a parent is to provide healthy food, and Alex's job is to decide how much he wants to eat
- I had grown weary of Cheerios and oatmeal, so we had open boxes of Reese's, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Cookie Crisp by the time I saw Nicole. It seems obvious, but she suggested we have only one sugary cereal as an option, and also recommended I give Kashi Mighty Bites a try. (It's not bad, and Alex likes it.)
- I'm an emotional eater, and I've been eating a lot of chocolate since Tyler was born because that's one of the major ways I cope with stress. So Nicole suggested that instead of reflexively reaching for chocolate, I pick a time during the day when I can sit down and actually enjoy and savor a treat. It's working pretty well - I still eat a little chocolate or other sweet during the day sometimes, but I eat a lot less knowing that I'll be able to enjoy something at the end of the day.
- I already knew that I need to find another outlet for stress, particularly in the moment - something I can do instead of eat. I'm still working on this one, but I've discovered that if I can put Tyler down and pick up the Gameboy, my hands are too busy for me to eat.
May 17, 2007
Tips From a Nutritionist
I haven't been too happy with my eating or my weight, and I really want to set a good example for my boys. So I asked their pediatrician for help and he hooked me up with a wonderful nutritionist named Nicole. Here are some of the tips she gave me:
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2 comments:
Hi! I must say that I love reading your blogs, so informative and still yet personal.
There is something many people don't realize, and when you think about it, it really does make sense, and has kept me thin my entire life without any effort or cravings. Well that is until this past December when I was diagnosed with a ovarian solid complex mass. But I will get to that in a moment.
Take your hand and ball it into a fist. This is the size of your stomach. Eating any more food than this is unessecary and will cause weight gain and or not being able to shed those unwanted pounds. Many people will heap their plates with food, and especially when under stress or it just taste plain good!
But I guarentee that if you try this one night you will see that it really is the truth. Only eat a fist amount of food. You will find that you are full. You are not overly full, nor are you left with any hunger pains, but you are at just the right fullness. If people would just tune into their bodies, they would find that their bodies know exactly how much food it needs to intake to maintain a healthy weight. When are stomachs are telling us that it is full, it is time to stop eating. When it tells us that we are hungry it is time to eat. If it is your body craving something like fish, pasta, and even dark chocolate, it is our body naturally telling us that we need something that is in that particular item. Learning to follow what your body tells you is the fastest way to weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight.
And I really do promise that it works, my friends have always been amazed that I can eat whatever I want and not gain, but it is simply because I stop when my body tells me to stop, and I eat what my body is telling me to eat.
As I mentioned earlier in December I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Ovarian cancer shows no real tell tale signs. The only reason it was diagnosed was because all of a sudden I had rapid weight gain that was unexplainable. I went from 114 pounds to 135 pounds in 23 days.
Since I realize that many other women out there will read your post with interest, I was hoping to alert them to the signs of Ovarian cancer. Many people think that if you get cancer that you get really skinny, not with Ovarian Cancer.
Signs are:
Unexplained weight gain, even though you will feel full when eating only a bite or two.
Irregular Menses.
Abdominal fullness, or feeling constantly bloated, and pants become a little tighter around the waist line.
Constipation.
Unexplained loss of energy.
Unexplained back pain.
The need to urinate frequently.
The feeling of having gas.
As you can see many of these symptoms would not cause any alarm and would easily be explained as something else, which is the reason that so many women are not diagnosed until it is in its latter stages.
So please ladies, not only learn to listen to what your body is telling you as far as eating habits, but pay close attention to anything that seems a little off for just too long.
Hugs,
Joelle
Joelle - Thanks for the great tip. I'm sorry about the cancer diagnosis and hope that treatment is going well. Good luck and hugs to you too!
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