Healthy Eating Brought to you by CuddleBugs at Peace River Regional Medical Center

Spring-cleaning for your eating habits

Spring is traditionally a time when we take on big cleaning and organizing projects around the house — clearing out closets, organizing the garage, or tackling that project we’ve been putting off for so long.

CuddleBugs at Peace River Regional Medical Center would like to put a twist on the idea of spring-cleaning: focusing on your eating habits. Because so many new moms struggle with losing pregnancy weight, we’d like to help you clear out some troublesome habits and replace them with healthier practices.

Banishing those bad habits

For many new moms, finding time to take a shower can be difficult on some days, let alone focusing on healthy eating. Factor in stress, sleep deprivation, and less time to do what you need to do and it’s easy to make poor choices or overindulge.

But don’t despair — by incorporating just a few healthy habits, you can avoid some of the most common dietary challenges new moms face:

• Don’t get too hungry. It’s important to have healthy snacks handy to keep you fueled throughout the day. Whether it’s pre-cut veggies and cheese, low-fat energy bars, fruit, yogurt or other ready-to-eat snacks, keeping these items available can help you avoid getting overly hungry, which can lead to poor choices.
• Slow things down and practice mindful eating. When it’s time to eat, sit down, pay attention to what you’re eating, and eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your body to register fullness, so if you eat hastily, you may be eating far more than you need.
• Drink plenty of water. It's easy to mistake hunger for thirst. By drinking plenty of water — at least eight, 8-ounce glasses per day — you'll not only avoid this pitfall, but it’s good for your skin and overall health. If you're breastfeeding, your need for fluids also increases, so be sure to drink frequently.
• Get active. First, talk to your doctor about when you can begin exercising and what is appropriate. Just because you can’t get to the gym or don’t have a large block of time doesn’t mean you can’t be active. Whether it’s taking the stairs, parking farther away when you run errands, or going for a walk with your baby, every little bit counts.

Losing pregnancy weight doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time. Talk to your doctor to learn what’s realistic for weight loss, exercise and other specifics regarding your nutritional needs — particularly if you’re breastfeeding.

Spring is a time of change and renewal, and a perfect time to incorporate some healthy habits into your own life. It’s a good time to consider which situations lead to unhealthy eating — is it when you eat out, when you’re stressed, or at one particular meal? Identify what those situations are and then think of what you can do to prevent them. Eventually, you can replace bad habits with good. Don’t expect to be perfect at first; celebrate your successes and stay positive.

True or False: Healthy women must be on a special diet while breastfeeding.

False. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health, there are no foods you have to avoid while breastfeeding. You should limit your caffeine intake to up to two or three cups per day, and limit alcoholic beverages to a small drink occasionally. If you do imbibe, avoid breastfeeding for two hours after the drink. Talk with your doctor about any specific nutritional needs that you might have.