Since, it is Wednesday I am linking up with Jenn for What I Ate Wednesday. After last weeks postpartum post I have been getting a ton of emails asking more about my diet throughout the past 13 months. I thought I would give you a little more specifics. I must tell you I am not crazy strict with my diet, but I do try to eat healthier foods about 80% of the time. I do this without even thinking about it. I never feel like I am depriving myself. If I want something not so healthy I simply eat a few bites of it. I have learned I don’t label food as bad or good. Sometimes I will simply think I don’t want that right now, I can have it later. I never think in terms of never. By doing so this helps me feel in control, not guided by rules.
Anyway, for the first 6 months postpartum with my twins I didn’t monitor my eating at all. I mean I ate healthy simply because that is just who I am, but I was very inconsistent. Honestly, I was exhausted and didn’t want to think about what to eat, I just ate when I could. But, I will tell you I was not one to eat junk all day I did try to eat healthy to keep my milk supply strong for my babies, but I wasn’t strict. I would say I ate anywhere from 2500-3000 calories a day for the first 6 months while I was exclusively breastfeeding. I was hungry all the time, so I ate often.
Once the babies were 6 months I started working out more consistently. I also started consciously eating more protein and monitoring what I was eating a little closer. I am the type of person that when I workout I eat healthier. If I am going to take the time to exercise I am going to feed my body appropriately. At this time McKenzie and McKayla were beginning to eat solids. So, I was not producing as much milk, therefore my body was not working as hard and I was not as hungry. At this point I would say I was eating about 2000-2500 calories a day.
Once, McKenzie and McKayla turned one we slowly started weaning from breastfeeding. At this point my body did not need as many calories to keep up the milk supply, so my hunger level dropped tremendously. This is also when my body began dropping more fat. My body doesn’t hold on to pounds while breastfeeding, but it does hang on to a little extra fat. (I was a little softer.) At this time I began roughly eating around 1800 calories each day. I try to eat at least 100 grams of protein, if not more.
Remember to listen to your body, it will guide you to what you need. I am a huge believer in eat like crap, feel like crap.
Here are some food that are staples in my diet:
Poached Eggs
Turkey, carrots and hummus
Chicken – Crock Pot Salsa Chicken, Healthier Chicken Parmesan, Baked Chicken and Veggies, Easy Stove Top Breaded Chicken, BBQ Grilled Chicken
Fruit, fruit and more fruit
Veggies/Salads
Paleo/Gluten Free Single Serve Chocolate Cake
In the Comments Below:
- What are some of your favorite healthy foods?
You look great Renee, so inspiring!! I’m 6 months postpartum and struggling to lose the last few pounds! It seems that breastfeeding just holds onto the weight no matter what I do. I’m trying to increase my intensity in my wods to see if that makes a difference, so we’ll see. I know the weight will come off eventually, but I’m just impatient!
Thank you!! Yes, seriously as soon as I weaned to one session a day I lost 2 pounds. I knew I was a little softer then I wanted but I also knew it was because I was breastfeeding. So, no worries you are doing amazing!!