My Food Struggle

Thanks to my share-all approach to social networking, it's no secret that I eat pretty darn healthy. It's also been made known that I breast feed and have an extremely limited diet because of it. My problem is that I absolutely love food. I actually enjoy having to plan out each meal, because thinking of strange but healthy concoctions to make is just fun. Unfortunately, most of the items on my "allowed to eat" list don't leave me very full, and I struggle trying to fill the void appropriately.

Because I have been racking up my running mileage, I've started keeping track of the calories I burn while exercising, and also the calories I eat throughout the day. This is because if I don't eat up to 500 extra calories a day, my milk supply would not only be lacking in nutrition, but also has the possibility of drying up. And as excited as I am about this half marathon I'm training for, nursing my baby is my number one priority right now, and so, every calorie I burn, I have to eat back - and then some.

What I hate is how much research I've done. There is a different opinion on everything, and if I could I would go back to just eating when I'm hungry and not worry about the protein-carb-fat contents. One specialist suggests eating more protein at snacks and meals to help keep you fuller longer, and another claims that the body stores extra protein as fat. Nuts have all sorts of mixed opinions; some say you can eat up to 500 calories in nuts per day before it starts to effect your weight because of their "good" fats and the way your body metabolizes and uses them, and others say to never eat more than a serving size because of their high calorie and fat content. WHAT'S A GIRL ON A LIMITED DIET TO DO? Fruits and veggies simply don't always cut it, if I eat too much protein it will allegedly turn to chub, and my serious addiction to almonds make it impossible to stick to the miniscule serving size of 1/4 cup.

Luckily as a runner, carbs are - and need to be - a huge part of my diet. Unfortunately for me, most of the carbs I love (cereal, bread, english muffins, bagels) contain milk or soy ingredients. Whole wheat pasta is still a-go, and I keep trying to find new recipes involving rolled oats, quinoa, and brown rice.

I'm stuck in such a catch-22. I need to eat enough calories to produce adequate nutrition for Hannah, but I'm so wildly limited in what I can eat. If I eat enough proteins and fats to fill me up and help rack up my calorie count, I'm getting about 3x what my body needs. If I somehow manage to fill my calorie void with fruits, veggies and whole grains, I feel starving. Other days I feel just fine but will have 600 calories to eat before bed, and basically force myself to eat when I'm not even hungry. I try to eat the same things every day, both to make sure I'm eating things that won't upset Hannah, but also to help my body adjust to such an extreme diet; but where my activity changes daily, so does my appetite.

But, with that said, and in an attempt to get back to my usual positive outlook - it's all temporary. She'll only nurse for about 5 more months, and this is all a small price to pay for what's best for my baby. 7 down, 5 to go. It's worth the struggle and effort to be able to run - something I love... and use to keep my sanity ;)