QuestionHi,
I had a baby 10 months ago and still can't seem to lost the baby weight I have tried cutting back on certain foods and my sweet in take but that doesn't work. I have trouble taking pills so that is not a option. I need a diet in which I could lose 20 lbs and keep it off. I just want to be able to manage my weight and be health. My weight had been given my so much trouble with my back and legs. So in say that want diet plan would you recommend for me.
AnswerHi Tashara,
You have a very common and normal problem, which I can relate to personally from my own past experience. It took me two years before I reached a more "comfortable" weight which no longer reminded me of my pregnancy. To return to your "old" self takes that long for most people. In part, it also has to do with the maternal life-style you are probably leading. So, first the unwelcome facts.
If you have been or still are nursing the baby with your own milk your body (hormone-regulated) will have been conserving all its energy for that, but even if you have not,on a subconscious level you will stay programmed to keep a "cushion" on for your child. From a more psychological aspect, it can also indicate a reduced interest in your more "sexually-attractive feminine" side. If you are not very/regularly sexually active this alas does not help your case....If you are (joyfully) so, then this will help you...
The first way to look at weight loss, is doing something for yourself, by yourself. You cannot start at the goal, though, so there is no point thinking about the "slim" you, and therefore "slimming" remains fundamentally an unrealistic "dream". What is real is a daily nutritional plan. Never lose this truth out of sight.
You probably know it takes a LOT less calories for the first burn to kick in and ABOVE ALL sustained, repetitive, vigorous movement. I presume you are already rushing around plenty with all the family and household chores, or even additional work, but it might take daily, hourly walks for a real effect. Don't amble, make some tempo; and pushing a pram is an ideal additional work out.The combination of prolonged, regular movement and fresh air really worked the miracle for me. You don't necessarily need to think of a gym, but yoga or some group exercise can be morally boosting. The walking though, worked for me, precisely because I had no guilt about leaving the baby, yet I found valuable time for my own (grown-up) thoughts, which the demanding needs indoors cramped constantly. In a way, my fat was also a barrier against the incessant wailing my mildly autistic child put me through. Only when I accepted the circumstances fully, could I regain realistic, sensible, and dedicated control of what was left of me as a woman, now that motherhood had claimed almost all of it. It turned out that the most control lay in what I did or did not consume (more so than exercise, which was also to pacify the baby). That's how I became more intensely involved with nutrition. Some of this might also be relevant to your situation: self-education will be key to success in permanent weight "control".
Realise, Nature has meant fertile women to be thinner than new mammas (who are not supposed to attract male attention). So half the trick is getting a "thinner, mind-set". The aches and pains, alas, will not help shift into another gear, because Nature has also programmed us to accept "suffering" and "sacrifice" as mothers! A lot of women find that this is not naturally possible till you hit about fifty and the kids have left the house again! Or they become neurotic all-rounders and have burn-out at fifty! So, it will not be easy to achieve a balance, but womanhood is all about trying to harmonise gracefully.
The art is in being a woman in all you do. The nurturer will come in handy now, and you must ask her to step to the forefront and nurture you with efficient but gentle discipline. Give yourself the bottom line: do not gain a single gram more, and be done with all "don'ts!". Negatives and forbidding cramp you even more, and you need to find a little room to breathe "yourself" out into the oppressing, insulating layers of fat. again.
Now for the Do's.
Thank God, you are not going to even contemplate taking pills! They are no good (the poison they are aside) because they cannot help you change to "eat fit for life". I will not be giving you a diet "plan" but some diet "basics".
In order to lose weight you need to eat healthy.
In order to eat healthy you need to buy high-grade, unrefined (raw) products.
To make a healthy meal from these products you need to (learn to) cook and prepare each meal (and snack!!) with "loving attention", as a kind of meditative dedication to the health of your body (and soul).
A diet is a way of life, a daily regime that provides you with what you need.We are no different to animals when it comes to the metabolic principle, and just see what happens to the lean wolf once he gets fed tins, treats and bon-bons: one unhappy fat pooch is the result. So, step one: educate yourself on all the ins and out of why you eat then you will know what to eat. know what you as a female human of your body frame (height, genetic tendencies) need to consume for optimal health.
But food is also a blessing and is a fabulous "material" for oodles of creative fun. The colours (think veg,fruit, spices), the textures (eat grains "whole"and compare cous cous to rice, to grits, to pasta, to buckwheat pancakes etc); the endless combinations (how many ways can you prepare a potato!); instead of being dazzled by groovy packaging, learn to become inspired by Nature, natural basic ingredients. They all have "manageable" fats. Ok, maybe a banana and an avocado are more "fattening" than an apple and a cucumber, but they are both indispensable for their vitamin and mineral contents (respectively, potassium and vit.E) so do not pass them by because of their calories.
Educate yourself on calories, so that you know where to moderate. Know, for example that sugars are hidden in potatoes as in all carbohydrates and the carb-sugars are better turned into consumable calories (not fat reserves) if you eat wholemeal. Obviously do not deep fry anything, and don't add creamy, mayonnaise sauces to anything. Use bouillon gravies and mustard or experiment with the endless seasonings of herbs and spices.
Once you know how to shop healthy: get some cookery books out of the library. Chinese/Eastern,Indian cuisine tends to be lean. The Japanese tend to be slender too!! And forgetting pasta for a minute: Mediterranean cooking is full of ovenbaked veg, seafood, salads which is all scrumptious). If you are a meat eater: grill and chose lean cuts. Have fish, if possible (steamed, poached, grilled) and tinned tuna (in water) but realise it's an "oily fish" (good for the brain but fattening: so in moderation).
In general: plan ahead and focus on an enjoyable fully nutritious main (evening) meal. Eat a proper breakfast - fruit is ideal. Then maybe some muesli for elevenses (or reverse depending on your schedule). I found it helps break the long morning, and puts a stop around lunch (have a light one, for you should still be fullish) and then you can better manage the long pause to dinner, which is quite important in "dieting".
Try to eat a large salad with every main meal, or if not in season, plenty of steamed veg. They are so beneficial for your overall health, plus they are great calorie-low fillers which COST energy to process (they also make you "feel" clean). Remember, drizzle a (sugar free!) dressing sparingly. (Preferably make your own! 1 part (balsamic) vinegar to three parts virgin olive oil, (possibly a drop of honey), (herb-)salt, pepper, (freshly chopped herbs in summer an absolute must: chives, parsley, mint in a couscous and hummus salad etc); alternately sesame oil, a splash of OJ, dill, soy-sauce (consult any good cook book for fun and easy ideas; I would recommend a "Celebrity Chef" over a diet cook book).
A final few tips:I would not automatically look towards "low-fat" products (they are expensive and have other or unknown health damaging side-effects): butter and pure vegetable/olive oils are beautiful products, just use them in great moderation (only when indispensable to the method of preparation). On the whole steam and grill, toast and boil your food. Don't avoid nuts or seeds because of their high calorific value, just use them either/or in a salad, or pasta sauce, or as a snack, alternating with a (LITTLE) cheese, meat or other protein rich products (do not combine proteins). Cut out peanutbutter and all jam/jelly if you can. Substitute with a yoghurt-based sandwich spread or sesame paste, or if you want something sweet, blacktreacle/molasses (lots of iron) or a little (raw, finest quality, otherwise don't bother) honey (a great energizer). Choose one carbohydrate per meal (so not potatoes and pastry, or pasta and bread). When peckish, choose fruit (apples, kiwis, watermelon, apricots, berries, citrus are excellent, not always grapes, banana, melon, or pear - you'll taste why not: too sugary!!). Eat yoghurt (semi skimmed or full fat, just have some daily to keep the flora in your bowels healthy. Or try a lacto-acid drink, if you can afford it), but don't drink more than one glass of milk (quite a lot of calories in milk, but very "grounding" and "comforting", associate maternal with cows...). Don't have tea/coffee if you take it milky/sweet!
Just keep watching out for those sneaky calories (kids tend to slip you with their unfinished bites or extra feeds...! Or spouses/friends feed you to keep you "happy"!).
Keep learning about your particular, unique, individual needs, both physically and on a more psychological/soulful level. For a life-long fairly stable figure there is no clear-cut plan better than the one you carefully put together for yourself.
Wishing you all the very best and enjoy your food and motherhood with all the blessings both bring!
Love Evelyn.
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