Anyone else watching their weight? - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[janellody]

I got sick but only threw up a couple times... I felt AWFUL so sometimes wished I could just throw up oat least I wasn't gaining weight...!  I have always been pretty healthy, even though I am on the heavier side.  I have taken care of myself and never had any issues so I am hoping this continues through this pregnancy.  I can't always eat as healthy as I want due to horrible food aversions but hopefully my life time of healthy eating will save me... I hope!!   

[lightheartedmom]

Somehow I missed this thread until now. I was just thinking about starting one over the weekend. I get that not everyone needs (and/) or wants to monitor their weight gain during pregnancy. But I definitely need and want to watch it. I was at my "wedding weight" (5'4", 134) when I got pg with dd2. I lost 6 lbs in the beginning of that pg (maybe it's wrong, but I still fantasize about how liberating 128 felt for my body). I then proceeded to gain...50lbs? Maybe 55. I think on delivery day I was around 182. I was so miserable by that point. And then i lost 20 lbs in a matter of a week or two post partum. My weight hasn't gone below that point since then...it floated around 162-165 and then I got pg, miscarried, twice and settled closer to 170. I started this pg at very wobbly 172. At 11 weeks I was 159 and now I am about 163. So...net weight gain of -9 lbs. My hope is that my body will understand that I dont need to gain as muc this time, but it doesn't have a great track record (2 lbs a week is normal for me for the last trimester). When my me saw last week she said "wow! It looks like the baby is taking everything and putting it right into your belly!" meaning i looked more healthy and less chubby than normal (this woman is the best mw - she completely "gets it" which is harder to find in a hospital mw). I keep hoping for that mythical baby that magically redirects all the flabbiness and actually makes you skinnier (I swear my friends' 3rd was like that).
So right now I am not counting calories, but I am watching myself. It's working in my favor that so far I have very little interest in sugars and chocolate (unlike last pg where I would happily put away a pint of peanut butter zigzag ice cream...seriously guys, it as bad). I'm also happier, which means less emotional eating.

I need to eat more veggies, which are kind of boring me to death right now. I eat lots of fruit though, mango, blueberries, bananas, oranges here and there.
Right now I'm all about protein. Eggs and turkey burgers mostly. (ok just a side note: turkey burger on sliced sourdough with teriyaki sauce and ketchup and mustard and lots of pickles. I might be a walking pregnancy cliche but omg. So good and so easy to make at home.)

Glad this thread is for those of us who do want the support. Hopefully we'll all be successful in taking care of our bodies this time around.

[Astraia]

The first trimester plus a few weeks I was eating a ton of junk. I mean junk. Chocolate covered popcorn, a bag of chips in an evening, a chocolate bar or two... or three.... I've been working really hard on cutting that out, or at least cutting it back to a reasonable amount (2 handfuls of chips, 2 pieces of chocolate). I also saw the midwife last week and she was really stressing how super important it is to make the food I put in my mouth really count- high quality vegetables and protein, fruit as a treat, minimal grains and "other stuff." Since then I've been trying to make almost everything I eat either a vegetable or a protein.

It's hard! And boring! And most of my food feels cold- I still am mostly repulsed by cooked vegetables, but cold food is too cold. Room temperature salads, carrots and hummus. I'm surprised by how not hungry I am, though, when I'm actually eating properly and not relying on toast and jam.

We're also cutting way way way back on meat these days, only eat it once or twice a week... but god, I'm sick of legumes and quinoa. I could kill for a turkey dinner right now, or a roast, or heck- even a good bowl of hot beef and barley soup. Not getting how vegetarians do it (this is mostly due to bugetary concerns... just got a bill back for car repairs- well over $1000! Money we definitely do not have).

[Just1More]

I was doing a little figuring last night about the whole beans and rice thing.  My family does not do well with beans (no, not gas...like joint pain, fogginess, poor sleep, etc), and my husband needs ALOT of food (like, if I roasted a chicken for supper, with a couple of sides, there would be no leftover chicken).  So, while cheap, it's just not something that works for us. 

But, I did the math for the supper I did make.  It worked out to be about 35 cents a serving.  Is that high?  Does that compare to beans and rice?  We had turkey pot pie.  The turkey I got for .33 cents a pound, and it was our Thanksgiving leftovers.  I did have to use a box of (high quality) chicken broth, and some good milk.  Even with the more expensive ingredients, it was still pretty cheap.  Tonight, I will use the leftover chicken broth, more turkey, an onion I got BOGO, a box of quinoa I got BOGO, a zucchini from the freezer from our garden last year, and a handful of spices, and we'll have quinoa casserole for about, again, 35 cents a serving.  The budget pain for us comes from the fact that my kids eat as much as adults, and my dh eats double or triple adults. :)

I'm just saying that shopping the deals, and such, I think that variety can be as cheap as beans and rice.  Am I wrong about that?  I really can't figure accurately because I don't buy beans.  But, a dollar for beans, and two for rice, gives you about 7 cups dry.  Then double that with cooking.  So, 14 cups of food for $3 (that's not counting any spices or whatever that you might add).  And then I'm not sure how big a serving is.  Dh would eat 2 to 3 cups.  But I never eat them, so I'm not sure how much I would.  But, if 1 cup was a serving size, with seems low to me, then it still, at the very cheapest, works out to .23 cents or so a serving.  If I had used regular milk, and had saved the turkey broth so I didn't have to use the box, my turkey pot pie could have been that low. 

Anyway, I am having this on-going conversation with a few friends, who are trying to be super budget careful as well as us, and I just can't get converted to the necessity of beans and rice.  Thoughts?

As far as vegetables, I can't stand them in their usual forms either.  I want my food as plain as possible, and separated.  So, I've been buying veggie tray stuff, and just putting it in baggies.  I eat whatever can be found on the counter, so I just throw a baggie on the counter with a small bowl of dip, and it's great.  Yesterday I ate about 3 cups of broccoli and a handful of cherry tomatoes without even thinking about it.  Of course, the other day I was eating popcorn and celery and peanut butter, and by the end of the day couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.  I was HUNGRY.  That stuff doesn't have much in the way of calories at all.  Anyway, I hear you about the room temperature thing.  Very important to me, too.

[sosurreal09]

That sounds cheap to me!

We eat as much meat as possible! Meat is gooood but we also strive to be paleo/primal so. I really do make my food to be satiating. I only eat 3 meals a day and one snack.

[sosurreal09]

Also our monthly food budget is $300 but we manage to stick to it but shopping around. We do eat 100% organic though and about 70% local

[KM84]

I came across a really good blog post on preparing freezer meals, which is something I want to do more of I just need to set aside the time to prep: http://www.aturtleslifeforme.com/2011/06/freezer-meals-on-cheap.html

The basic strategy is to stock up on meat when it's on sale throughout the year, and then a few times a year have a massive food prep day to get it all into single-meal bags.

She recommends a book called Don't Panic: Dinner's in the Freezer

[sosurreal09]

We don't do conventional meat BUT we get local farm raised completely pastured/grass-fed meat like waaaayyy cheap for that quality (about $4/pound) at a local co-op store =D

[Just1More]

We buy a cow at a time, too.  Also about 3.75/4.00 a pound. BUT...I am running out, and we don't have 1000 dollars to drop on beef right now.  We also had a freezer full of chickens that we got from friends who raise them, but we only have one or two more of those.  (And they are small.  It takes 2 to feed our family, no leftovers.)  I think that the beef I have left, plus the two chickens, plus I did buy the two store turkeys (at .33/lb) right before Thanksgiving.  If I'm clever and space them out...like in pot pie instead of in a pile on the plate, I can get us through another month or two.  Hopefully by then, things will have evened out and we can buy another cow.  That meat is SO much better. 

[sosurreal09]

We can buy just what we need weekly/monthly without buying the cow! It's totally awesome! They just started it about 6 months ago!

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by Just1More 

We buy a cow at a time, too.  Also about 3.75/4.00 a pound. BUT...I am running out, and we don't have 1000 dollars to drop on beef right now.  We also had a freezer full of chickens that we got from friends who raise them, but we only have one or two more of those.  (And they are small.  It takes 2 to feed our family, no leftovers.)  I think that the beef I have left, plus the two chickens, plus I did buy the two store turkeys (at .33/lb) right before Thanksgiving.  If I'm clever and space them out...like in pot pie instead of in a pile on the plate, I can get us through another month or two.  Hopefully by then, things will have evened out and we can buy another cow.  That meat is SO much better. 

This is where we are. With the $1000 repair for the car, there goes our budget for our local, organic, grass-fed, free-range meat (at about $4/lb). We have about 2 steaks left and some beef ribs (what do you do with beef ribs!? Clueless) Which now means we're looking at either grocery store meat (ethically, I just can't do it...) or paying through the nose for stuff from the organic butcher. Hence the lack of meat in this house :(

KM- I really need/want/had planned to do up a bunch of freezer meals, but never quite got around to it. I'd like to have a bunch put aside for after baby is born, too. We'll see if I ever manage it.

[Just1More]

I am planning to boil the ribs...maybe roast?  And then pick the meat, and use the broth for soup.  Maybe beef and noodles.

[sosurreal09]

I'd roast personally I don't like boiled meat so much though!

[janellody]

lol this thread is grossing me out.  Still lots of food aversions over here so I am just skimming it while you guys get all your meat talk out LOL!  I envy those of you who can talk freely about food like this, I must have a serious case of food aversions, even talking about it makes me wanna throw up.  Carry on, though! :P 

[Kamiro]

Just1more - I think beans and rice have there place, but I really think woe to the cook who thinks that is the only cheap eat option out there. Now I am not so experienced I can beat the simplicity and healthiness of beans and rice for cheap eats though. Sounds like you did a good job with your turkey pot pie.

For us we eat a lot of:

PB&J, yogurt, apples, fruits, vegetables, popcorn, all beef hotdogs, tortillas, muffins, meatloaf, tofu, lentils, potatoes, salad stuff. Before I was pregnant, lots of chicken. We eat a lot of rice and noodles as side dishes. Always a frozen vegetable or canned fruit on the side in our broke time when fresh is not available.

When I am especially budget strapped or trying to be healthier I make lentil meat balls or lentil meat patties (cooked lentils @ 43 cents a pound and 20 minutes to cook, egg, cottage cheese, breadcrumbs and spices until raw meatloaf texture, shape and then bake or fry). Hmm...Maybe I should make this up and experiment with freezing it for postpartum come to think of it....

anyways, I have never failed to get wonderful compliments and asked for the recipe.

Now the reason this is especially inexpensive for me is because I always keep cottage cheese in the fridge, what I have on hand and it can easily get overlooked and go to waste. Split pea soup is a cheap legume recipe. Carrots, potatoes, split peas, onion, bay leaf and fill with water or chicken brother two inches above the fixings,  bring to a boil and then turn to low until cooked.

Anyways - Those are my cheap recipes that involve legumes/beans that are outside the realm of beans and rice humdrum.

Turkey pot pie you can't really label a cheap eat because so much of the price of the food depends on what is on sale. So you being a thrifty and creative cook can make turkey soup or whatnot as cheap as beans and rice.

Thus a lot of the cheapness just depends on what we can create with what is on sale.

Ground beef is $3.69 a pound here. Meatloaf is 2 pounds of beef for our family. Add the mashed potatoes, devilled eggs, and vegetable and we have a dinner that easily gets in to nearly $2 a serving. Cheap, but not as cheap as beans and rice.

LOL

sorry found this conversation fascinating. What do you guys think?

[janellody]

onemore - please send me some lentil meat balls.  That is all.

[Astraia]

We don't do grocery store meat, so shopping deals isn't possible. We don't do dairy in the winter (breathing issues in my 3 year old, only in the winter) so tons of my usual food ideas and meal ideas are gone. Things do NOT taste the same without cheese! We do a lot of lentils and quinoa because I really really really hate beans. I can handle black beans or adzuki beans in moderation or mixed well with other things (ie, black bean chocolate cake!) Kidney beans are hte most vile bean in the world. I hate baked beans. I don't really like rice. I'm definitely not falling into the beans and rice humdrum thing because those are both things I don't like. We do lots of soups, stews, and curries. Lentil shepherd's pie, tofu fried rice, etc. 

A lot of the food we eat now is on the cheap side anyway (lots of pb, homemade bread, lots of pasta dishes- carbs carbs cabs) but I'm trying to eat better- veggies, proteins, whole grains- and that's pricey. And I find the total absence of dairy to be really difficult... it's really hard to make a good quinoa burger (soooo goood!) if you're not loading it up with cheese. Everything is bland.

I guess I'm learning, though. I'll figure it out.

[Kamiro]

Oh Grace, please send me some quinoa recipe ideas. I really have no idea what to do with the stuff. Its really cheap so I have some in bulk here. I made it once into a salad with peas and it was good..but didnt know what to do with it otherwise. We mostly eat meat from the butcher. Except chicken, I buy that at costco. I don't see how any one can live without dairy. You have my sympathy and awe.

As for rice...I love it. Jasmine and Basmati are my faves. nomnomnom.

Janelle - you can make them, they are so easy! And it will keep better than my driving down to the valley to deliver. LOL

[sosurreal09]

We are dairy free over here. DD is allergic so we don't cook with it at all.

[janellody]

onemore - here are a couple of quinoa recipes I use:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-and-black-beans/detail.aspx - My most favorite quinoa recipe EVER!!  I love it!!!  I have alwasy left out cayenne pepper since I never have it, but my mom made it with cayenne and it was yummy that way also!!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-and-quinoa-meatloaf/detail.aspx - I use this with regular meat not turkey and kinda change it up with more of a ketchupy sauce.  Great way to add quinoa to a normal dish.