Remembering that you are pregnant and not fat is the key. If you are putting on weight, you think, ‘Well, who cares anyway?’ But this ain’t so. Repeat after me, ‘I am pregnant and not fat.’ In this way, you can really re-educate the way you think about your body—Louise has learnt to really love her pregnant alter ego this time. She feels sexier and more womanly, with curves in all the right places.
Ask any bloke—most men love pregnant women and curvy women; they look, well, they look like women should. Most blokes also hate our obsession with food and being thin. For most men, trying to be thin doesn’t even begin to cross the screen of what’s important in life, which is why blokes are running the world. They are not using up all that valuable headspace worrying about the size of their butts.
We owe it to our children, therefore, to stop obsessing about our hip and waist measurements and start thinking instead about far more important things—like, for example, how we could do a darned sight better job of running the planet if we were in charge.
Stop looking at yourself (endlessly!)
Don’t spend hours in front of the long mirror in your bedroom, pregnant or not—this is a sure way to get totally paranoid, says Louise. Try to be where you are with your body and not wish your life away dreaming of being thinner or fitter or younger. We spend so much of our time wishing we were something we are not—be where you are now!
Patience
It took Louise much longer than she thought it would to get back her pre-Jasper figure—with a new baby in the house, spending time with her partner and running a house and business, the time to exercise just wasn’t there. This time round, though, she is doing more exercise while pregnant, so that she is altogether in better nick.
* Eating a healthier diet throughout pregnancy is key.
* Change your attitude towards your body—you are pregnant and not fat!
* Be patient—you will take time to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.
* Be kind to yourself.
In the hospital
We all know you are not in the hospital for the food. Get someone to bring you some energy-supporting food for when you have had the baby. I know this sounds like being in the movie Midnight Express, where you have been transported to some dodgy Turkish jail, and have to rely on the kindness of your family to feed you, but you will thank me later when you get out of there. You could ask for:
* Oatcakes
* Fresh fruit
* Almonds
* Seeds—like pumpkin seeds
* Nut butters
* Bottled water
* Cool bag with hummus, salads, guacamole.
The homecoming
Try to plan ahead and organise one of the following for when you get home. You’ll need it.
* Ask someone to fill the fridge with great stuff so that you and the chocolate chip cookie monster stay apart.
* Pay a student/cook to come in and cook simple meals to freeze (or ask your mum).
* Consider a company like www.purepackage.com if you are in London. They will deliver fresh, healthy meals—be sure to tell them you are breastfeeding. (Extra calories needed, honest!)
Start thinking about food
This bit is our gentle stroll into getting your nutritional act together. So relax. Ideally, you would not be reading this when you are desperate to get your body back, you would really have thought about it before giving birth. But let’s face it, there’s a big difference between the ideal world and reality. Right now, escaping out of the hospital and thinking of eating great healthy food is probably the last thing on your mind. Boring but true. All you need to do for now is get organised.
* Pack your freezer with delicious, nutritious foods—or get someone in (your mum?) to cook some stuff for you. This all sounds like a massive schlep but it will pay huge dividends. Freeze enough for a few weeks. Think about: —Stews —Soups —Chicken —Fish pies —Roasted vegetables —Frozen organic veg, such as peas and spinach
* Set up an internet delivery template for your shopping. Can you get your partner to do this?
* Get an organic delivery box stuffed with veggies—great for making simple soups.
* Have a fruit bowl on your kitchen table.
* Snacks—get in hummus and oatcakes together with some nuts and seeds.
* Stock up your cupboards with great stuff (see page 247) and chuck out biscuits and crisps. I am telling you that these will be highly tempting when you are knackered and will be the first thing you reach for—just because they are there.
Think about increasing:
* Veggies and fruit—really obvious!
* Beans and lentils—not everyone’s cup of tea, but lentils are easy to cook and you can get pulses like beans and chickpeas from a tin (organic, naturally)-no need for soaking (which involves an element of planning ahead!).
* Eat fresh fish, poultry and lean meats—organic if you can run to it.
* Eat dairy in moderation—just three times a week. You can get calcium and other important minerals from green leafy vegetables and nuts and seeds.
Focus on breakfast
Don’t try to do everything ‘right’, but if you have a proper breakfast you are much more likely to get off to a good start. Breakfast is tempting to skip—don’t! Your whole day goes out of whack if you don’t get off to a good start. But before I give you some ideas for breakfast, check out your staple ingredients. Make sure you have the following in your home:
* Rice, oat or soya milk or organic bio yoghurt, goat’s milk or sheep’s milk yoghurt, plain tofu or soya yoghurt.
* Raw, unsalted nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, Brazils, walnuts, cashews) and/or seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseeds, container in the fridge to protect their hemp, sesame). Keep these in an airtight
* Dried fruit—only as an emergency measure while you wean yourself off sugar; use dried fruit to sweeten porridge if really necessary.
What makes a healthy breakfast?
A good breakfast could be:
* Scrambled eggs on rye toast
* Poached egg with spinach
* Spanish omelette
* Sardines on rye toast with tomatoes
* Porridge made with rolled oats with berries
* Proper muesli with berries and apples (proper meaning not junk food muesli—real muesli is normally found in a health-food shop)
* Other types of bread, essential oils. like rye and spelt with nut butters, such as cashew nuts
* Yoghurt and berries.
Brilliant breakfasts
The ultimate smoothie
Choose any three of the following fruits:
| Apples |
Figs, fresh if in season; if using dried ones, soak them overnight
|