Naturopathic

I had a little break from my at-home life today. My hubby is home, and took care of the baby for a couple of hours this morning. I know it may sound awful, that I needed a break from my baby! I love her to absolute bits, but it's nice to have some "me" time every now and then.

I had a 40-minute walk in the sunshine (though it was ccccold!), a stop at the drugstore to pick up some vitamins, and a stop at our favourite vegetarian restaurant to pick up lunch.

I also had an appointment with my naturopath this morning - whom I absolutely love. I've never had an appointment with her where it hasn't been useful. I should preface things by stating that I'm not really into homeopathy and Chinese herbs. I started going to her because she gives me a different perspective on my health and nutrition. She's been instrumental to me for the past couple of years, and really helped with my weight loss efforts when I started seeing her. She provides such a balance between conventional and homeopathic medicine, and has always worked with whatever my doctors have prescribed.

I went to see her to discuss post-partum stuff, but mainly to get a "refresh" on my nutritional plan. Since I'm a strict vegetarian and nursing the baby, I just wanted to ensure that I was getting everything I needed. But more importantly, we had a good counselling session about weight loss.

When nursing a baby, you're supposed to eat an extra 500 calories a day. Up until now, I've chosen to be fairly ignorant on exactly how much 500 calories really is. Today, I realized that all it amounts to is a couple of pieces of toast with pb, yogurt, and a fruit. That's all. It does NOT equate to 1/2 a bag of cookies or 2 bars of chocolate. Ooops. Well, ignorance WAS bliss for awhile. Can't do that anymore!

We discussed me staying within 2000 calories a day - she thinks if I can do that, i'll still lose weight. Plus, she thinks that my 5-days-at-the-gym-no-matter-what plan is a little ambitious. She pointed that out quite gently. So, we agreed that I'll do 3 times/week for sure, and anything more will be a bonus. Also interesting, is that any vigorous exercise before 6 months post-pregnancy could prevent the proper healing of my muscles and bones. She said that I wouldn't necessarily feel the impact, but that it would affect me in the long run. My C25K should be fine - but no running or bouncing around.

She also advised me to have a small "treat" each day, as a part of my diet plan. I must have looked surprised when she said this, because she smiled wistfully and said, "Well, if it's not a part of your diet plan, you'll do it anyway, right?". Oh, she could see right through me.

Unfortunately, this daily "treat" is definitely small. It's not a litre of ice-cream. Nor is it a large bag of salt and vinegar chips. Examples she gave me, include: a few small squares of dark chocolate, a healthy cookie, a small healthy muffin, a small bowl of fruit crisp, etc. She also gave me recipes for some healthy treats. I feel good knowing that I can satisfy my sweet tooth everyday, and be healthy at the same time. If it's a part of a "plan", then it's not really a cheat. And then maybe, I won't feel the need to sabotage myself.

The BEST part of the visit was the end. I was putting my coat on, and she said to me, "You are one of the calmest new moms I've ever met - and I deal with a LOT of new moms". I literally froze on the spot - I didn't know how to respond! I've had a lot of struggles with this big life change - things are so topsy-turvy right now.

I said to her, "You don't really mean that - I must have a good facade!". She was totally indignant about her original statement, and said that after spending an hour with me, she could tell a lot from my demeanour. Wow. What an incredible compliment. It made me feel really "together".

So I walked home in the sunshine, feeling really good about myself. But of course, I'm a Type-A kinda gal - so I also made a mental grocery list for my next visit at the health food store.;-)

p.s. Lunch was yummola! A breaded tofu sandwich on a whole-wheat baguette (with lettuce, red peppers, red onion, and tofu mayonaise with dijon), an arugula salad (with chick-peas, hearts of palm, red peppers, and an apple cider vinagrette dressing), and a rasberry-bananna-cranberry fruit smoothie. I'm still reveling in it.:-)