So, since I was pregnant with Christian and even more now that I'm breastfeeding, I've been eating healthier. Whole-grains, more water, less refined sugars, and most importantly reducing the amount of processed foods and dyes. So far so good. Before getting pregnant with Christian I weighed around 170-175 pounds. After having him, I was down to 155 pounds within the first 6 weeks of having him. And now, I'm working on my target weight of 125 pounds. But along this journey I've done a LOT of research and have found some very VERY interesting facts. So here they are.
1. Iceberg Lettuce basically has no nutritionally value whatsoever. Having an iceberg lettuce salad is basically useless. Yes, it's very low in calories and fat (granted you don't smother it in dressing). So, what to do if you actually LIKE salad but want it nutritionally sound? Add spinach leaves, shredded red cabbage, maybe even some dandelion leaves. There aren't any boundaries, you can go as far as your tastebuds and imagination will allow.
2. Decaf coffee is NOT caffeine free. Granted it's a lot less caffeine than regular coffee, there still is caffeine in it.
3. While we are on the subject of caffeine. YES it is possible to be physically addicted to caffeine. I don't know this from research, but from personal experience. I was pregnant and wanted to reduce my caffeine intake to promote a healthier little guy, but within 24 hours of no caffeine, I developed a terrible migraine. That migraine lasted for 3 days, and on the third day I was exhausted from lack of sleep, I grabbed me a cup of joe and sure enough within 30 minutes, my migraine was gone. Now with me breastfeeding I still try to keep my caffeine intake low, but sometimes, I will go all day and drink just water, and by the next morning I will have that all too familar "caffeine" headache back. So I know that I MUST have 1-3 cups of joe a day to eliminate my migraines. That I believe is healthy enough.
4. Pork is not fattening. Granted if you're eating sausage, bacon or ribs you surely are going to be scarfing down the calories. Eating pork tenderloin is equal to chicken breast. 3 ounces of pork tenderloin has the same amount of calories as 3 ounces of chicken breast. Yeah, so technically, it really is the other white meat!
5. Unless you're a hermit and been stuck in a cave somewhere, you've surely heard about that cancer fighting agent lycopene. And what vegetable has lots of lycopene? The tomato. Bet you didn't know that if you cooked that tomato, you would actually get MORE of that lycopene out of it. Yes, i just said that, cooking the tomato, makes it better for you.
6. Avoid peanut butter while breastfeeding. Although while pregnant it is safe to eat peanut butter, while breastfeeding, you actually can transfer it through your breastmilk. Some doctors believe that this could contribute to a child later in life having a peanut allergy. I've never seen proof that it "causes" a peanut allergy, but hey I'd rather not intentionally eat peanut butter and try. :)
7. While we're on the topic of breastfeeding, I've said it before while pregnant and even now while nursing, "This child is a leech". LOL! If while breastfeeding you don't feed yourself properly, you may still be able to have a healthy baby, but your health will suffer severely. And when I say feed yourself properly I'm not talking 3 square meals of McD's and 8 glasses of high sugar juices or soda pop, I'm talking eating well. Drink water! A nursing mother needs at least an additional quart of water a day. Take in an additional 500 calories a day. Do you know what your basic calorie needs are? (BMR calculator) Some suggest if you plan on nursing for longer than 3 months that you can increase your intake to 800 additional calories a day.
8. And additionally, many nursing mothers have heard avoid certain foods because it may irritate your baby. I've found nothing, and i mean nothing that supports this in the scientific field. Just as you and i are different, some things may give me gas and not you and vise versa, I personally believe it's the same with baby. I've heard, don't eat garlic, it may flavor your milk and baby will reject it. And then I've also heard, eat garlic, it'll increase your milk supply. So, I've done trial and error with these black labeled foods, and this is the only advice I'd be willing to give any nursing mother.
And the biggest thing that I've learned along this journey, Everyone is different. Always calculate amounts, tastes, and the such for you own self.
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