I have belonged to moms groups since I was pregnant with my son three years ago, and one of the chief complaints from fellow moms is that we can’t find time to take care of ourselves.
Sure, we would love to find the time to do our normally scheduled activities, like getting our hair done, going out with friends to see a movie, or having a weekly date night with our spouse.
But I’m not even talking about those things…
I’m talking about the essentials of taking care of oneself – eating, drinking, sleeping, and cleanliness.
It’s super hard. The struggle is REAL. I spend all of my waking hours making sure both of my kids are fed, dressed, have had appropriate sleep (god willing) and aren’t covered in some sort of gross sticky substance.
Finding time to take care of myself is difficult. Sometimes I pick up a coffee and donut through the drive through because its EASY. But deep down I know it’s not good for me.
I need to take care of myself, because if momma ain’t happy – then nobody will be happy!
I’m working on getting in more sleep, trying to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day, and am hopefully showering more than 2x a week. Yes, you read that right. 2 times is my goal. Whatevs. I smell – I always told you that I’d be an honest blogger!
But the eating has been difficult for me. Like really difficult. Especially post Halloween, when I start to debate with myself that a chocolate crispy candy kinda is like getting my dairy and grain requirements…
One thing I’ve done to help take care of myself is join Weight Watchers®. They understand that a lot of nursing mothers, like myself, want to lose weight safely. We need more calories, but not too many, and Weight Watchers actually figures this into the equation with how much I can eat.
I also adore Weight Watchers because they really promote eating as much fruits and vegetables as I want. Because let’s be honest, nobody became overweight because they ate too much broccoli or apples, right?
I’m down a whopping 32 lbs since I gave birth to my daughter.
Some of that was my child herself, plus her placenta, and all of the other things that go along with birth, but a bunch of that has been my own weight. I still have a little ways to go, and to help get momentum I’ve been eating breakfast each morning.
As I stated earlier, I spend almost all of my time feeding and taking care of my two children.
I usually wake up, nurse my little lass, and then head to the kitchen to make my son some breakfast. Somedays I’ll have what I make him, but other days I throw in a Smart Ones English Muffin and Turkey Sausage (I find them at my local Walmart) because I can either eat it at the table with my son as he eats his breakfast or on our morning walk.
I think they are yummy and filling, and they have a great deal of protein in them!
Recently I’ve been adding a smoothie to get in my dairy and some more fruit. Smoothies are super easy, and really help me feel more full throughout the morning.
Fruit Smoothie:
Prep Time: 5 mins
Blending Time: 1 min
Points Plus: 1 – 2 pp (depending upon the yogurt you use)
Ingredients:
- Frozen fruits, or veggies of your choosing. My top picks are banana, berries, peaches, mango, pineapple, and spinach
- yogurt
- water
- I mix a cup of water, 6 oz (a small container) of yogurt, and a cup of frozen fruit. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass, and devour! Nom nom.
Smoothies are INCREDIBLY simple to make – and the one thing that I would recommend you do to take it a step further is to always make sure you have frozen fruit ahead of time. Walmart sells big bags of frozen chopped fruit, or you can freeze your own – especially before it goes bad!
The extra beauty of this smoothie is that the only Weight Watchers points plus you need to count is for your yogurt, because WW says the fruit will be worth 0 points plus.
Here’s a quote from the WW website “All fruit is 0 PointsPlus values when it’s fresh, unsweetened frozen, canned in its juice and drained, or with artificial sweeteners. “
I really like Weight Watchers so far because I can honestly eat ANYTHING, I just have to account for it. And they also make some pretty delicious meals, snacks, breakfasts and desserts that already have their points written on the box – which makes them no brainers for brain dead tired breastfeeding moms like myself 😉
I also like to make omelettes in a mug. They are super simple!
Omelette in a Mug
Points Plus = 5
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 slice of Weight Watchers Cheese
Splash of milk
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons of salsa
Just crack two eggs into a mug. Eggs are worth 2 points plus each, so total the eggs are 4 points plus.
Stir them with a splash of milk, some salt, and pepper.
Add some of your favorite veggies, some cut up lunch meat, or my favorite – a couple of scoops of salsa!
Add a slice of cheese, I chose a slice of Weight Watchers cheese since it’s simple for me to figure out the points plus value.
Microwave for one minute, stir, 30 seconds, stir, and then 30 more seconds!
No mess, and all you need to clean is the mug after you’re done eating!
I found the cheese at my Walmart as well, in the dairy aisle!
So here’s hoping I can get a bit closer to my goal with the help of Weight Watchers! Wish me luck 🙂
My omelette in a mug is only 5 points plus, and is chock full of flavor and protein!
Talk soon friends,
If you enjoyed this post, here are some others that you may enjoy from Tall Mom tiny baby!
- Lose Weight Safely While Breastfeeding
- ParentCast – a podcast for new parents, new babies, and their new lives together
- Nuroo Nursing Scarf Review
I always find these breastfeeding friendly articles so interesting. Until one of my best friends had a baby, I had no idea that what women ate affected their breast milk.
I never nursed, but I have always drank smoothies. I love them.
The smoothy looks great! I nursed for about 9 months and then my son decided he was done with it. I never tried a smoothy while I was nursing though. I will tell my SIL about it she might like to try it.
I love this, Mary! I am, like you, often running around when I get to eat myself! And your smoothie tip.. DUH! I always add frozen fruit and ice- totally not needed!
I lvoe the Smart Ones breakfast sandwiches! They are a great way to start my day.
This sounds delish! I love that this breakfast is packed with protein.
That's such a good tip about using fresh fruit in place of ice. I usually add some but ice too. Now I'll just add more fruit!
We use a combination of fresh and frozen fruit in our smoothies. I don't make them often enough. I love Weight Watchers. I learned so much when I was with them but I haven't had a chance to go back in a long time. The Smart Ones are delicious and they have a good variety. Wishing you the best in meeting your weight lose goal.
I think these would be great ideas for any moms! I needed some new easy breakfast ideas!
Smoothies are my favorite for breakfast. I always use frozen fruit. I love the texture it gives the drink. I will have to try this recipe.
Oooh, I love easy breakfast ideas. I tend to be in such a rush I always forget. Thanks for the reminder
Those smart ones breakfast sandwiches are really great. Perfect when you have a new baby!
It's so hard when we have kids to remember that we also need to eat, sleep and be healthy. Smoothies are a great way to eat healthy when we are short on time as a new mom.
That sounds like a great breakfast. I love using frozen fruit in my smoothies!
I love weight watchers. It is so hard when you are nursing to remember to eat as much as you need to and good choices.
I love this. When you are nursing it's so important to remember than you are not eating just for yourself, you are feeding your baby so it's got to be doubly nutritious
This is awesome! I breastfed all three kids and it was hard sometimes to remember what I consumed, they consumed. I think that's why my middle is so obsessed with spicy food, I had SO much of it when pregnant and nursing him!