Eating for Two and Sometimes Three

After reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Neal Bernard's books in 2011 on how to eat for maximum nutrient, I changed forever my ideas on what healthy eating was. Green smoothies; vegetable-packed soups and casseroles, mega salads, and vegetable stir-fries became the main part of the Lewis' meals everyday. Beans, lentils, tofu, fruits, whole grains, nut, and seeds were also mainstays. Eating this way gave us increased energy because of all the micronutrients we consumed daily. I still baked cookies and muffins, but they were without dairy and eggs and made using wheat, spelt, oat, and/or nut flours increasing their nutritional profile.

When I found I was pregnant in May 2012 I was very excited because I was physically fit and eating a nutrient dense diet. I felt that my new found way of eating would result in a pregnancy that I did not gain an absurd amount of weight. That changed in June when I begun craving cheese and eggs. These cravings were VERY intense and as much as I tried to remind myself of the unethical treatment of dairy cows and unborn chickens that I would consumed I could not shake these cravings and begun including both eggs and cheese in my diet. That may have been what my body wanted but my waistline hated it because by August (my first OB appointment) I found out I had already gained 25lbs. Boo! Because I had allowed eggs and cheese back into my diet all those unhealthy candy bars, pastries, store bought cookies that had been absent from my diet for nearly a year flooded back as well.

My physical activity also took a nose dive as my energy levels decreased. My body had been used to hour long, hard-core workouts 5-6 times a week. Those intense workouts slowly were traded for napping, light playing with Rocket, and walking two or three times a week. I gained a total of 82lbs. This is about what I gained with Rocket. My starting weight in May was about 140lbs and my end weight was 221.5lbs. Wow, right? Yes that is how I felt.

Now that my hormones are returning to their former state of equilibrium and I am nursing, dairy has been cut out of my diet again. The result- a happy GI tract for Lex and I. The milk protein found in cow's milk is not compatible with the milk protein in human's milk.

Lex is 17 days old and a wonderful little guy. He has already gained 1lb 3oz in just two weeks. My breast milk must me yummy to this little one ;-)

Below are pictures of what the Lewis family had for dinner. A before and after picture. The picture is a little dark but there is a quinoa/brown rice pilaf, sweet potato, Lee's red, black, white beans, a veggie stir fry consisting of kale, asparagus, yellow pepper, and onion. Notice in the after that Rocket's little sectional plate is nearly finished as well. My big guy loves himself some healthy food!

During Lex's pregnancy I still ate like this just added a ton of junk food on top. Now the urge to eat junk food has greatly diminished and I am glad. So is my waistline as I now weigh 193lbs. Two days after Lex was born I weighed myself and discovered I had already lost 22lbs.

Next time I will further discuss what my plans are to lose the excess weight that I gained during Lex's pregnancy.