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Pregnant Belly Syndrome?

Ahh thats why I look pregnant!!! Bum and boobs have taken the weight loss!!!!? I hate absolutely hate the kitchen...don't mind eating though lol. Good job OH does the shopping and cooking and takes into account my type2 diabetes. Just as well as I just can't get motivated for cooking or shopping. I would rather do a shift in the coal mine does anyone else have this hatred for cooking??
 

Me, which is probably how I got to this state to start with. I don't think about food until I'm really hungry and then I want it double quick so always quicker to grab a sandwich or some toast. Always have meat and stuff in the freezer but forget to get it out the night before and by the time it's been in the microwave to defrost it's too late to do clever things with it so meals are bland and boring. Usually it was just grab a ready meal (blush)

Since I started LC/HF I've tried to plan ahead more but I'll never be an adventurous cook and still stay out of the kitchen as much as possible.
 

Yeah. Liked your coal mine comment! What a hoot! And understand the feeling - totally.

But I fear T2D complications, and dislike taking medications even more than I dislike cooking. Hence me re-learning to cook, and spending WAY more time in the supermarket than I would really like, not to mention the kitchen. I listen to a lot of music while cooking - makes it more bearable. LOTS of talking to loved ones. And youtube - I don't know where I would be without youtube and a lightweight computer perched on my kitchen bench, listening and looking at health stuff while breaking eggs. Makes it more a head thing, which I like.

You are very lucky having an OH that does the bulk of cooking and shopping. (I am hugely envious! .)

But the food prep has gotten way easier, more than a year post-diagnosis and life transformation. I bulk cook a lot more, have learnt to recycle leftovers in a very organised fashion - that kind of labour saving thing. And having a decent collection of recipes, and lots of aprons. (Yeah! I know what that sounds like!)

But tying it in with bloated bellies - being in charge of my food intake does mean a greatly decreased belly. For me it is relatively simple - mainly no grains! Only pasta on special occasions. Potatoes rarely. (I started eating mainly Paleo a few months after diagnosis - it worked for me.)

But reading Copey's talking about liking processed food made me sad for a moment - I always loved TV dinners! No cooking, brief shopping, chuck out the container. Would even taste good. Sigh. Not to mention dialling for pizzas. Popping in for a burger on the way home from work. Chomping on fries in front of the TV. How did I not know it was going to get me here? But I didn't connect the dots. And I always knew my belly fat that came and went, came and went, was dangerous. But I didn't know what I could do about it, not then, not what I know now.

Yeah - getting back into the kitchen making good food. It's a drag! But the aprons are nice. . (Fit better too now I have a waist again!)
 

Copey - My OH is chief cook in our house, so I know I am very indulged! I would say though, that I have become a more adventurous cook since diagnosis, and now when Mr B and I are apart, I quite enjoy experimenting a bit; mainly with things he either would prefer not to eat, or fish, which he can't eat, without unpleasant consequences.

Cutting to the chase, I sort of have a way of managing the times when I really can't be bothered or have lost inspiration.

Right now, I am in the middle of a period when MrB is overseas, and I am in UK, so I'm in sole charge of catering, on Planet Breathe, UK branch. Initially, I made sure we had created a bit of space in the freezers, by eating them down and not refilling as we might usually have done. Once that had been achieved, I could deploy my cunning plan.

Firstly, I planned a couple of days of cooking. I made a couple of batches of easily freezable stuff - a slow cooker casserole, batches of curry and bolognese, and froze them, aside from that day's main meal, which I ate fresh. Thereafter, if I cooked anything suitable, I would ensure I froze at least one portion, until I felt satisfied I had a decent stock of quick fix meals.

For a while, I had to really apply myself to the discipline, but now I can be confident I can always find something to eat that won't involve a dash to Tesco. Planning, pre-shop, for the following week seems like a chore, but I find it saves me time and frustration. To reiterate, I don't plan as rigidly as to decide pre shopping on Friday that on Monday I will eat x. I merely decide that during the coming week I will eat x, which doesn't seem to regimented when it comes to it. The exception to that is probably Sunday roast.

Do you have a slow cooker? If you do, you could do a couple of vats of casserole and get yourself kicked off. Once you've done that initial cook up, it doesn't take much effort to keep it turning over. It just becomes a habit.
 

I think this answers some of my questions on the "One Month into ..." thread that I just posted on. It's what I needed to know and a plan of action that I will have to work on. I do have a slow cooker so I could well bulk cook but I have to cater for O/H too which is difficult because he would want it too and would finish it up the next day

I need him to go away for a while too then I can have a cook up just for me without feeling selfish.
 
Being a sixty two year old bloke I aint pregnant either!
But the good news is I get sarky comments like .... was it a boy or a girl then?
See you had the baby then.
Which is the closest anyone can get to a compliment around here!
How did I get rid of mine?
Send me a hundred qu .... only joking.
I think .... I think I got rid of mine by cutting out bread all together for months and stopping the Metformin for a while.
No I didn't consult the doc.
More or less all wheat or as near as **** it.
I've now introduced bread back into my life but only the best whole grain types I can ;ay my hands on.
No pizza and very small amounts of pasta noodles etc and wholegrain at that.
I cut the bread more because I have very severe diverticula and pinpointed bread as the thing that made me suffer most.
I also eat a lot of plain full fat live yoghurt again for the divers and have discovered that having a tablespoon of coconut oil a day toward my healthy fat intake and extra v olive oil too results in me having luxury poohs!
Yes you heard right having a pooh is a pleasure these days and I'm convinced that all helped have the baby.
 
Just to add ... I was on three Mets a day cut it two then none and am now happy to have two.
One with breakfast one with evening meal.
 

Yes, been there and done that. No bread, pasta, cereal, even stopped the Lidl High Protein rolls because I felt bloated after half of one, well basically the Low Carb/High Fat diet for 3 months now. Still haven't had the baby, ..lol)
 

Let's think out of the box then.

So, your OH would want to scoff the leftovers before they reached the freezer? Perhaps the amended Cunning Plan; Amended Version could be either:

Load the slow cooker up, and proceed as planned. At the same time, do a conventional oven cooked casserole/curry/chilli or whatever you choose as an alternative and eat a portion of your choice that evening, then freeze the remainder, plus the other. Or, save a meal's worth of each option you have cooked and freeze everything else. On a single day, one can cook loads, and get a whole load frozen.

When I have the BBQ lit, it can feel a bit pathetic grilling my solitary chicken portion, pork chop, or whatever, so I usually do something else too, and save that for the next night. Once something is cooked, provided it's stored appropriately, it can usually last 3 or 4 days (see here: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html), so even cooking something doesn't mean it HAS to be eaten next day. Of course, there comes a point when that chicken breast needs to go!

I'll respond on the other thread tomorrow, as I have something I'd like to say in response to your most recent post, but it's way past my bedtime already tonight!
 

Don't ya just love em? Mine ate my all my Paleo bread while there was normal bread in the bread bin, he won't be doing that again!

Like you, I had a 42" baby, the pregnancy has now reduced itself to 34" in 3 months. I managed this by doing a version of the Newcastle Diet, with fresh veg, fish, meat, dairy. I have to say developing OCD also helped to get me through it. After 60 days of 600 cal, daily consumption is now 1000 -1200 cal. I have a dodgy knee, so exercise is limited to light walking on the treadmill a couple of times a day - I do get the arms to each pump 2.5lb dumbbells while walking. Just ordered a Calanetics video for toning the stomach etc, very much like Pilatis.

What used to be my man sized Jean belt is now my trophy, keepsake reminder, every time I put another hole in it to mark a reduction in waist size it is a real motivation booster.

Food and the tribe. Before going shopping, I know exactly what I need for 3 days of meals. I live in a rural area which makes food planning a bit more of a necessity. My husband, daughter and son are all fridge raiders. To overcome this I will boil up a ham, roast a turkey crown for cold meats, have an extra amount of salad bits, home made soup, bread readily available that they can hack into without compromising the main meal offerings. Also, if I'm feeling unwell, there is an emergency family meal that they can produce from additional prepared food.

Good luck, it isn't an easy path - the rewards are so worth it.
 
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Well done xx Mine just refuses to budge To be honest, I felt so ill yesterday that I started to worry and wonder what I'm doing to myself with such a restricted diet. I don't think it's the diet, probably just my interpretation of it and I don't think I can keep it up (LC/HF) . I want to get off it without seeing my BS go sky high. Seeing the DN on Wednesday so will see what she says. xx
 

Oh hun, hang in there! It sounds like you are trying to be everything to you and your partner, that is a huge demand and task to place upon yourself (sorry if I have misread it, and correct me). You need to focus on you, cook for what you need and can work with for your own satisfaction, accomplishment and health.
How about we strip it all back to basics? What foods do you like, that you think you can eat on a regular, sustainable, achievable level?
If you feel like listing them - perhaps we can find some recipes from on the forum and other lifestyles like Paleo, Atkins, Keto, Joe Cross juice it etc just to give you some hope of finding variety and quick to prepare meals that you might like and feel well on. Hugs x
 
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Hi hun, Thanks for taking an interest x It's me, I know, but after 3 months I just find it all so repetitive now. I've stuck rigidly to what I can and can't have, apart from twice when I succumbed to a bacon sandwich one morning and some breaded scampi one evening. Trouble is, I don't cheat as a rule and if there's nothing I fancy or can have I go without which I know is bad. When I do have breakfast it's usually the full fat yogurt with seeds and berries. Occasionally egg, bacon and tomato, omelette with various fillings like mushroom, etc. I've gone off the Lidl HP rolls which I thought were a lifesaver at first. Dinner is usually meat with caulflower, cabbage, broccoli etc. or stir-fry veg. I've made crustless quiche and casseroles. Had cauliflower rice with a bit of some sort of sauce. I have corned beef, ham, etc. with salad. Have sugar free jelly with cream occasionally.

As I've said before, cooking is not a favourite pastime of mine but I have tried. I'm really missing potatoes and sandwiches. I've just got bored with it all and the fact that my weight has stuck and my belly hasn't shifted is quite disheartening.

Yesterday was the catalyst I think. I felt so ill, pains under my right shoulder, across my back and into my left ribs. I know it's daft but I got to wondering if it was the high fat or that I wasn't getting enough vitamins or something and yet logic told me it was probably unrelated.

I'm sorry to be such a misery. I still don't feel great today. Left ribs still aching. Depressed and fancying a big plate of chips .. lol. I'm too scared to give in and have them though. I think I'm one of the LC/HF failures.

Others have tried to help me on various threads but I just seem to have lost the enthusiasm that I started out with
 

My hubby does 99% of cooking nowadays...

He knows that I won't bother eating by myself so he prepares it for when he works 2-10 shifts on workdays. Ok, I know its mainly fish salads and hot meals at weekends but the fact he does it us much needed for me as I get no hanger pangs and otherwise I wouldn't think about eating my one meal of the day. Weekends are great as he is around and we eat together-but he still does the vast majority.

Even writing a shopping list for me us difficult to be honest. I think shopping lists are best done for normal people after eating and when least hungry. However, having no hunger pangs at all just doesn't enable me to even think about food.

We always sit down together to do a list for following week but I contribute nothing towards it besides non food items.
 

You're just spoiled .. lol Mine hates shopping so I do most of it online and he's quite happy to cook for himself occasionally but as we don't have the same things he leaves me to my own devices or I cook for both of us.
 
@copey399 If that pain continues or you also find pain in your jaw, please pop into the nearest hospital A&E and have a check up - it could be referred pain from something more sinister than your diet.

I must confess, I was far from a domestic goddess before developing diabetes. I have learned to adapt, it also helps that I have enjoyed learning how to cook healthy, along with learning what healing properties herbs & spices have too - I like science, and it certainly comes under that category. My husband wants to know when I am going to learn to start cleaning up after myself - there are some things you can't teach an ageing dog

Whatever you decide to do, it is your decision and I sincerely wish you all the best. Please go to A&E for a check up.
 
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Very very enjoyable to read the compliments about the baby being born, and how much easier it was with the birth with a good gut biome! .

Back in the day I made a few jokes about elephants (that I had one inside my belly, and that was why it was taking so long to gestate - you know - that kind of thing.)

One thing I have started doing is explaining my T2D by saying I am intolerant of carbs - and my belly swells up if I eat too much of them. It is a super-simplistic explanation, and not really what it is about - but who wants to hear about insulin and leptin resistance except us? Phyro nutrients? Grains not wanting to be eaten? (And telling folk I am a diabetic can be SUCH a downer! .) "Carbohydrate intolerance" just gets a knowing nod. And no-one freaks out that I am not eating pasta, bread, or potatoes. Or rice. (Well - you all know the drill!) But the belly thing - and the swelling up - it is kinda true. I can do as many ab exercises as i like, but if I want to keep an unpregnant belly look - I can't eat any kind of grain, alas.
 
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