Food and Nutrition Issues Again
Last night I realized that the dial on my bathroom scale had gotten bumped, probably some time ago. Since I don't weigh myself often, I just thought my weight had finally stabilized, and I'd even gained a couple of pounds.
When I corrected the scale, I realized I've gotten below my normal-low target weight again.
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I'm down to 110 lbs, which is techically not underweight for a 5' 2" medium build woman my age, but I weighed more than that all through high school and most of college, even while playing sports and eating a very restricted diet. I'm right on the borderline between health and too thin in BMI (20), though if you look at just weight I'm closer to the mid-range of normal.
But I'm still losing weight. And this is even with making a point to be eating more since I'd reached my "no less than" goal of 115 a while ago. For the past couple of months I've been actively working on trying not to lose weight, and disciplining myself to eat when I'm hungry. But I'm hungry almost all the time.
I feel like I'm eating constantly, yet I'm still starving. Often I eat smallish meals--a bowl of cereal or an egg and a piece of fruit or more is a typical breakfast for me, and a sandwich and some fruit or veggies is a typical lunch--but lately I can sometimes eat 2 or 3 platefuls of food at a meal only to be ravenous again within an hour or two.
On Monday night I went to an event where I had two full plates of chicken and rice with broth and nutritional yeast, plus probably 8 stalks of asparagus and at least a dozen large strawberries, and by the time I was driving home I was so hungry I was eating dry nutritional yeast scooped out of the can. I hadn't skipped any meals; I was just hungry.
I know I certainly don't drink enough water. I haven't been consistent about taking my vitamins. I feel like I'm eating a ton, but I'm constantly hungry.
Of course, there are so many things I can't eat that I sometimes go hungry or just eat fruits and veggies rather than eat something that may make me or Baby E sick, especially when we're out somewhere.
DH has commented recently that it seems I spend much of my time in the evenings (and sometimes in the middle of the night) preparing and eating food (my favorite is hummus and salsa with corn chips or baked pita chips; yummy).
I'm not starving myself (which I have done somewhat in the past, mostly because of stomach problems), and I'm not purging (never have). I like my body the way it is. I'm not anorexic, but I do struggle to make sure I'm eating enough and healthily.
I have been working really hard at not skipping meals and eating enough, but apparently I'm still not eating enough to meet both my own and Baby E's nutritional needs. So I'm back to the old frustration of trying to gain or maintain a healthy weight.
That could explain a lot, both with my poor energy levels, fatigue and low immunity, and with Baby E's eating and sleeping habits. She's a big baby, and she eats a lot during the day but still wants to nurse all night. No wonder she's not sleeping well if she's hungry.
According to the calculator at dietician.com, I need to eat around 4,000 calories per day (including about 127 grams of protein) just to maintain my weight given my BMI, nursing status, and activity level.
If I wanted to gain a pound or two per week for a few weeks, I'd have to eat closer to 5,000 calories a day (with 140-150 grams of protein--the protein alone would be the equivalent of an entire 4-lb. whole chicken or nearly 2 dozen eggs, and that's just 10% of the necessary calories).
I can't even imagine eating that much food in one day. That's way more than a normal amount, isn't it?
I checked the calculator linked from nutrition.gov and it doesn't adjust for nursing or as many other factors, but assuming I'd add 500 calories because of nursing and none for exercise, it would still put me at needing to take in close to 3,000 calories per day. That's still a lot!
I'm having a hard time even picturing what the types and amounts of healthy, and hypoallergenic food would look like to equal 3,000 to 4,000 calories per day--especially considering that I can't eat dairy products, avocados, or anything with even a trace of soy (which does away with most condiments, desserts, prepackaged foods, the most common fats and shortenings, etc.). Rice milk, plain meats, and fruits/veggies just aren't that high in calories.
I guess I'm going to have to start keeping detailed records of what I'm eating and add it up to see how much I need to adjust my intake levels. I want to do the same for the rest of the family to make sure they're getting adequate nutrition, too.
I don't know how I'm going to find the spare time and energy for looking up the nutritional content of everything we eat, calculating/measuring it, and keeping records of it all. But I think if I can get my nutrition and calorie intake to a more optimal level it may give me a big energy and immunity boost, and hopefully get rid of some of the other health issues and symptoms I've been having.
Maybe it will help Baby E sleep better, too.
When I corrected the scale, I realized I've gotten below my normal-low target weight again.
####################
I'm down to 110 lbs, which is techically not underweight for a 5' 2" medium build woman my age, but I weighed more than that all through high school and most of college, even while playing sports and eating a very restricted diet. I'm right on the borderline between health and too thin in BMI (20), though if you look at just weight I'm closer to the mid-range of normal.
But I'm still losing weight. And this is even with making a point to be eating more since I'd reached my "no less than" goal of 115 a while ago. For the past couple of months I've been actively working on trying not to lose weight, and disciplining myself to eat when I'm hungry. But I'm hungry almost all the time.
I feel like I'm eating constantly, yet I'm still starving. Often I eat smallish meals--a bowl of cereal or an egg and a piece of fruit or more is a typical breakfast for me, and a sandwich and some fruit or veggies is a typical lunch--but lately I can sometimes eat 2 or 3 platefuls of food at a meal only to be ravenous again within an hour or two.
On Monday night I went to an event where I had two full plates of chicken and rice with broth and nutritional yeast, plus probably 8 stalks of asparagus and at least a dozen large strawberries, and by the time I was driving home I was so hungry I was eating dry nutritional yeast scooped out of the can. I hadn't skipped any meals; I was just hungry.
I know I certainly don't drink enough water. I haven't been consistent about taking my vitamins. I feel like I'm eating a ton, but I'm constantly hungry.
Of course, there are so many things I can't eat that I sometimes go hungry or just eat fruits and veggies rather than eat something that may make me or Baby E sick, especially when we're out somewhere.
DH has commented recently that it seems I spend much of my time in the evenings (and sometimes in the middle of the night) preparing and eating food (my favorite is hummus and salsa with corn chips or baked pita chips; yummy).
I'm not starving myself (which I have done somewhat in the past, mostly because of stomach problems), and I'm not purging (never have). I like my body the way it is. I'm not anorexic, but I do struggle to make sure I'm eating enough and healthily.
I have been working really hard at not skipping meals and eating enough, but apparently I'm still not eating enough to meet both my own and Baby E's nutritional needs. So I'm back to the old frustration of trying to gain or maintain a healthy weight.
That could explain a lot, both with my poor energy levels, fatigue and low immunity, and with Baby E's eating and sleeping habits. She's a big baby, and she eats a lot during the day but still wants to nurse all night. No wonder she's not sleeping well if she's hungry.
According to the calculator at dietician.com, I need to eat around 4,000 calories per day (including about 127 grams of protein) just to maintain my weight given my BMI, nursing status, and activity level.
If I wanted to gain a pound or two per week for a few weeks, I'd have to eat closer to 5,000 calories a day (with 140-150 grams of protein--the protein alone would be the equivalent of an entire 4-lb. whole chicken or nearly 2 dozen eggs, and that's just 10% of the necessary calories).
I can't even imagine eating that much food in one day. That's way more than a normal amount, isn't it?
I checked the calculator linked from nutrition.gov and it doesn't adjust for nursing or as many other factors, but assuming I'd add 500 calories because of nursing and none for exercise, it would still put me at needing to take in close to 3,000 calories per day. That's still a lot!
I'm having a hard time even picturing what the types and amounts of healthy, and hypoallergenic food would look like to equal 3,000 to 4,000 calories per day--especially considering that I can't eat dairy products, avocados, or anything with even a trace of soy (which does away with most condiments, desserts, prepackaged foods, the most common fats and shortenings, etc.). Rice milk, plain meats, and fruits/veggies just aren't that high in calories.
I guess I'm going to have to start keeping detailed records of what I'm eating and add it up to see how much I need to adjust my intake levels. I want to do the same for the rest of the family to make sure they're getting adequate nutrition, too.
I don't know how I'm going to find the spare time and energy for looking up the nutritional content of everything we eat, calculating/measuring it, and keeping records of it all. But I think if I can get my nutrition and calorie intake to a more optimal level it may give me a big energy and immunity boost, and hopefully get rid of some of the other health issues and symptoms I've been having.
Maybe it will help Baby E sleep better, too.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 11:28 AM[Permanent link]
5 Comments:
Oh PK, that is a tough position to be in. I hope you can figure something out. How about milkshakes all the time? Or can you not have milk either?
Maybe avocado? Lots and lots of avocado?
Thanks, Halloweenlover.
I'm very allergic to avocado and can eat only very limited amounts of a few certain dairy products (like yogurt and butter) . . . can't eat most breads because of the soy issue--the same goes for most other things.
My only suggestion is to try to up your water intake.
Thirst is often mistaken for hunger and, since you are breast feeding, you are depleting your fluids faster than you normally would.
Try to keep a container of water by you at all times. Refill it everytime you go to the bathroom. And as for urine, my doctor says: "Copious and clear, my dear, copious and clear."
It'll probably help maintain your weight too.
I find myself in the opposite position. To maintain a weight that is not at the high end of BMI I have to eat less than 2,000 calories and exercise a lot, which leaves me ravenous most of the time. Right now on bedrest I am gaining 2 lbs a week (lost weight in 1st tri.) and I eat 3 healthy meals, but don't pig out, and maybe one dessert.
Thanks, Liz, I am trying to figure out what my water intake is. So far I've been doing pretty well by filling a 2-liter pitcher and trying to drink it all.
Miraclebaby, bedrest would make it hard, since you're not burning many calories!
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