I was incredibly lucky as I dropped the weight pretty quickly with both our girls. I’m an avid runner as well, so my obsession to pound the pavement helped tremendously. Despite this picture of me getting ready to stuff my face, I ate relatively healthy during all three pregnancies. It’s actually a bunch of melarchy when people say, “you’re eating for two.” Technically speaking, that’s correct, but that doesn’t mean to eat yourself into oblivion. The average pregnant lady is only supposed to consume an extra 200 calories per day. Of course never deprive yourself, but no need to overindulge (says the lady with the cheeseburger on her belly).
Anyway, I digress. Back to the battle of the bulge. My 4 1/2 year old daughter, Lucy, actually asked me the other day if there was another baby in my tummy. Ehm hem? Kids sure say the darnedest things. It’s a good thing it made me laugh and not cry! Huh, on second thought, maybe I should take a pregnancy test to be sure. My husband couldn’t get in for a vasectomy because it’s not considered an essential surgery at the moment. I am exclusively breastfeeding, but that’s not an 100% effective method of birth control. Ugh oh.
The scale doesn’t lie folks. Let me tell you, it’s been completely different with our son. Granted, I’m only 2 1/2 months in, but you guys, it’s not coming off like before and I think I know why. Sure, I can blame it on being 40, extreme sleep deprivation… but my kids are eating it too mantra, but at the end of the day, I still have to answer to myself. A similar experience happened to me roughly 20ish years ago. Anyone else gain the well known freshman 15 when they were in college? Well, I did. Where I went to school, they had frozen pizzas available at the front desk for $2.00, and drink specials every night of the week for the shallow pockets of thirsty collegiate fledglings. Needless to say, I had a rude awakening when I went back home for the holidays.
Flash forward to present time, and there is something about being confined to the house all day that makes me reach for the cheetos, cheese puffs, swiss cakes rolls, pop tarts, oreos… and the list goes on. Anyone having the same situation going on at their house? Anyone, anyone? Bueller? If yes, what is your favorite snack? I’d love to know because misery loves company. After the kiddos go to bed, bring on the scoobie snacks! As a Mom who was born in 1979, it has been rather nostalgic introducing these past time favorites to our kiddos, but then I’m stuck eating them at the end of the day. I have referred to this time period as the COVID-19 quarantine munchies.
All jokes aside, this recent weight gain has made me dig a bit deeper. Why AM I reaching for the giant bag of M and M’s after dinner? I’ve never been an emotional eater. I’m running to clear my head, and manage my stress, so why the extra treats? These are tough times. I am not complaining or making excuses because believe me, in the grand scheme of things, my family has been very lucky, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful. However, I do think it’s okay to talk about some of our struggles.
Our routines have been messed with, we haven’t seen our parents in almost three months and our groceries are delivered and left on our front porch. Our sweet newborn hasn’t been held by extended members of his family, and we haven’t had the support we usually have postpartum. No human contact, and it feels straight out of a movie. Yes, when my husband leaves to pick up my medications, he encounters other people, but everyone’s faces are hidden behind masks, and it’s eery. Everyone is afraid to come too close. I experienced this myself on a morning run the other day. I bumped into a dear old friend of mine, and I almost forgot the rules because I started going in for the hug. He quickly reminded me of the 6′ sanction. I think we’re all longing for human contact. We haven’t left the house, no interaction with friends other than Zoom calls, no playdates or trips to the Children’s Museum, and sweatpants for days. What day is it again? Oh yeah, it doesn’t matter because every day is the same. We’re alive though, and that is a gift. Each and every day.
I came to the conclusion that my solution to being deprived of some of our comforts in life, is to reward myself with a treat at the end of the day. Do I deserve it? Maybe not, but it feels pretty good at the moment. If I want to break up the monotony of the day by having a chocolate sweet to lessen the weight of it all, I’m going to do so. Why? Because we’re all doing what we need to do right now to get through the days. Don’t get me wrong, our days are wonderful mostly, but we can’t ignore the looming pandemic, and we’re only human after all. Everyone’s lives have been forever changed, and that’s heavy. Lets cut ourselves some slack. This too shall pass.
People who love to eat are the best people
– Julia Child
