Breastfeeding and Borderline Underweight - exception to the No-Scale rule?

[KatElla]

Hello all,

I am currently breastfeeding and am 5'5 weighing 110 at the start of my Whole30. My start date was Feb 3rd, and this is my first time trying the Whole30.

Prior to starting the Whole30, my weight would fluctuate a little, but usually stuck around the 108-112 range. (My pre-pregancy weight was 120). I haven't weighed this little since probably before puberty... Anyway, I know that the reason why I lost so much weight post-pregnancy is that I simply was not eating enough calories for myself and my baby. My biggest problem is I get busy and simply forget to eat! If I'm distracted enough, my body doesn't always tell me when I'm hungry, so it's easy for me to miss a  meal and not even notice it. I also tend to fill up really quickly, especially when eating meat, so I typically don't consume large amounts at mealtimes.

Prior to starting the Whole30, I would use my weight to guide my eating habits. If I noticed my weight dropped, I would make a conscious effort in the next few days to not miss any meals, eat bigger meals, and even include snacks if I felt that I needed it until I got my weight back up.

Now that I'm not weighing myself while on the Whole30, I feel anxious that I'm not eating enough calories, especially without the calorie-dense grains that I used to eat. Should I stick with the program as-written, or should I go ahead and use the scale again?

[laura_juggles]

You can have sweet potatoes, white potatoes, or other starchy veg instead of those grains. 

Since you already know you can't trust your body to tell you to eat, set a timer on your phone. Have it repeat every single day so you get an alert every couple hours and eat when the alert goes off. Make yourself a full-sized template meal and eat as much as you can, then wait a little bit and eat some more. Eventually your body *will* start to tell you that you're hungry like it's supposed to. 

[KatElla]

Thanks, laura_juggles, for the help. I have been eating a lot of potatoes, especially sweet potatoes (at least daily). I do feel hungry first thing in the morning and sometimes during the day, just not when I am busy or distracted. I could try the alarm idea, though I find them jarring and stress-inducing. :/

 

[SugarcubeOD]

7 minutes ago, KatElla said:

Thanks, laura_juggles, for the help. I have been eating a lot of potatoes, especially sweet potatoes (at least daily). I do feel hungry first thing in the morning and sometimes during the day, just not when I am busy or distracted. I could try the alarm idea, though I find them jarring and stress-inducing. :/

 

Hi;

First, for breastfeeding women, we recommend at least 4 template meals.  It sounds like maybe your hunger signals are not quite up to speed.  You don't have to have an alarm on your phone sound like an airhorn... a simple light bell might work... or you could just put eating at regular intervals into the 'important not to miss' category of your brain... Being busy and distracted should not prevent you from feeling hungry... again, your hormones are likely out of whack...

How are you feeding a baby when you eat very little and skip meals?  If you're so concerned you're losing so much weight that you need a scale to tell you when to eat, then you should probably speak to your doctor.

[laura_juggles]

Yeah, I was thinking more of a pleasant little jingly tone that would be like "ooh, it's time to have something yummy" rather than 18-wheeler pulling its horn