Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘dieting’

By Julia, Contributor, Work, Wife, Mom…Life (@JuliaLadewski)

Atkins.  South Beach. Zone.

Ring a bell?  Those are all names of formerly popular, low carb, high protein diets that claimed rapid weight loss. Suddenly, in the late 90s and early 2000s, Americans found themselves passing on the biscuits, but asking for more bacon.

Since then, we’ve learned a lot about diets and eating right. But still, I fear that most people hear the word “carbs” and cringe. Like anything else, we just need to be educated. Carbs are not bad, but they do affect your blood sugar, which affects your insulin levels, potentially leading to diabetes.

Without getting into too much nitty gritty, let’s get down to it.

#1. White is worse. Choose sweet potato over white potato. Wheat breads over white breads. Brown rice over white rice. Make sure you check the labels because not all wheat bread is the same. It has to be 100% whole wheat or whole grain. Just because it’s brown bread doesn’t mean it’s right!

#2. Think colorful. The more colorful the vegetables, the better. Romaine lettuce or spinach is better than iceberg lettuce.

#3. Package schmackage. Anything that comes boxed (crackers, granola bars, pretzels) should be few and far between. Don’t let veggie chips (or wheat crackers) fool you! You’re better off eating a piece of fruit with peanut butter; you’ll feel fuller and get more nutrients. Anything processed (or unnatural) just isn’t the same.

#4. Serving is key. Pasta is not bad. It’s how much you eat that can be bad. Watch your serving sizes and load up on veggies and proteins.

And remember, a juicy white flour blueberry muffin every once in a while won’t kill you.

Julia is a full-time working mom and wife, weight lifting enthusiast, and lover of food and fitness!  From preparing athletes for sports to helping mamas lose the baby weight, Julia’s in the mix every day… changing lives.  She also blogs at Work, Wife, Mom… Life!

By Toni, Contributor, Hemp and High Heels (@ToniSue)

Ask any random group of 100 women what their number one New Year’s Resolution is, and I am willing to bet that at the top of that list “Lose Weight”. I would know, it was mine for many years.

After reaching a personal (non-pregnant) high of 195 pounds on my 30th birthday, I was fat, bloated, and miserable. Embarrassed with my reflection, and disgusted with myself – I vowed I wouldn’t start another birthday feeling this way. I began dieting and exercising, and within two months I had lost twenty pounds.

I kept at it, and eventually, I managed to lose a total of sixty pounds through hard work and determination. I feel so much better than I ever have about myself. With every pound lost, a gained a new found self respect.

What I didn’t find was the small fortune I would require to clothe my now smaller self in. Here’s what no one ever tells you. When you are actively dieting and shedding pounds – it costs a LOT of money to replace your wardrobe. In my case, I was having to replace my entire wardrobe every season there for a little over a year and a half.

At first, to celebrate my new-found smaller self – I took myself on a rewarding clothes shopping spree at a high-end fashion boutique. I spent more money on clothes for myself in that one trip, than I have in several years combined.

Guess how long they fit? Exactly two weeks. Then, my butt shrank.

Reality check – when losing weight it isn’t always the smartest choice to buy your clothes at the more “name brand” stores. In fact, “Roll Back” store might be your best friend while you are in between sizes.

Let me give you an example. If you go shopping in mid-spring, you can buy a wardrobe that will last you until early fall (depending on where you live). At the place with “Smiley faces” I recently bought and entirely new Spring/ Summer/ Early Fall wardrobe for $100. I know that for some people $100 is a lot to spend on oneself, especially for us mother’s on a budget. However, I had no summer clothes that fit, so $100 is a bargain for a whole new wardrobe if you ask me.

Wanna know what all I got? I got four sun dresses, two pairs of shorts, three tees, five tank tops, and a pair of capris. For a single Benjamin. That’s twelve brand new pieces of clothing – you can’t beat that with a stick. And no, they are not ugly, tacky things. “That” store has BCBG, L.E.I., O.P. and several other designers now. It has come a long way from muu muus and camo.

My two cents is that when you are working hard at slimming down, save your pennies for when you cross the finish line. I took a year off, but am back on the weight loss express with a twenty pound goal in mind. When I reach it, you can bet that my budget is going to be more than $100 – though I doubt I’ll get a better deal than I have at the “discount chain” store.

By Stephanie

I woke up a little pissed frustrated this morning because I’m still fat. I’ve been dieting for close to eighteen hours now and nothing is happening. It’s bullshit.

I’m kind of an “immediate gratification” type of a gal, especially when it comes to “not outweighing my husband” or “no longer sweating when I eat”. And really, if I am to be expected to live on spring mix greens, half an apple slice, and a tablespoon of water a day, I should think I’d be down twenty, thirty pounds by now.

I’m not really sure how this “dieting” nonsense works ,as I’ve never been fat before. I was thin my whole life until my body was invaded by many a fetus* and I thought, “Oh! Eating for two!” But I was totally kidding myself about that; it was pretty obvious I was eating for, like, ninety.

And then, to make matters even more weighty (groan), when I was on bed rest in the hospital for several endless weeks, the Gestapo nursing staff watched me like a hawk to make sure I didn’t so much as walk to the ladies room– so there went the exercise**. And (this is so obvious I really don’t even need to mention it) the hospital food was so horrifying and I was so worried about the baby that I really didn’t have a choice but to order pizza every other night. And eat it alone. In the dark. While weeping and berating myself.

Now the time has come to shed the sixty*** pounds of “baby weight” (which is really on the cusp of no longer being able to be legitimately labeled “baby” weight) and I’m not sure how this is all going to go.

Things I’ve never even considered eating before are beginning to make my mouth water. You know; things like fish. Baby food. Wheat germ. The bed spread.

I’ve heard it said that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Unfortunately for me, I’m not so much interested in being “stronger” as I am in “eating some Chinese takeout”.

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*Lest you think I have a quasi-valid excuse here, I was never pregnant with multiples. I have a three year old and an eleven month old. But still.

**Isn’t it cute how I pretend that I actually would have exercised had it been permitted?

***Eighty

Stephanie is a stay at home mom to Joshua and Ella. She writes daily at Mama Still Wears Gucci,where she discusses everything from a radical obsession with vacuuming the draperies to vying (peacefully of course) for total world domination.