Thursday, November 25, 2010

Doctor Cheese, My Nemesis!

Happy Turkey Day!
I don't worry too much about Thanksgiving and weight gain because I am not a huge fan of the food.  Turkey is probably one of my least favorite meats, and I don't eat meat anyway, so that fixes a lot.

I discovered something yesterday.  Faye just turned one and as such can now drink milk.  I understand that the fat in whole milk is important for brain development in babies up to the age of two.  Faye, however, refuses to drink the milk.  Which quite honestly doesn't bother me too much.  I have never like the taste of milk, and due to some recent knowledge I have acquired on the topic, I have learned that milk is actually bad for your body.  Something about milk having tons of calcium, but not calcium that our bodies can use.  Cow's milk has such a high acidic level that calcium is actually leached from our bones in order to digest it.  And anyway, we can get just as much calcium as we need from greens.  That is how cows get it in the first place, anyway.
So she refuses milk, and I am okay with it.  I realized that I need to find a way to replace those fats so her brain will still have the nutrients it needs for proper development.  My mother is a calorie counter nazi.  Meaning, any food, she can tell you how many calories it has in it, and is very strict on how many she puts in her body.  I called her yesterday to ask her what foods are rich in fats so I could give them to Faye.  I explained her situation.
The first thing my mother suggested was to give her whole milk  {Sometimes I wonder if she hears what I say}.  I again explained that Faye refuses to drink it, and so she suggested pork.  And meat.  Again, I explained that we are vegetarian.  Meat is not really an option.  Not something I want to give to my kids.  If they want some when they are older, they can have it, but I don't encourage it.  I was so frustrated trying to get her to help me.  I said I am going to give her lots of avocados and olives as I know they are both high in fats.  She said that there is no vegetable/fruit/non animal product that is high in fat.
So I called my mother in law.  She pulled out her book that has the foods listed from least fatty to most fatty, and we were able to figure out what to give my baby.  Nuts (peanut butter is awesome!) and corn, and nuts again.  Also, cheese, which I already knew.  Cheese is one of the foods most high in fat (and yes, I know it is an animal product. I am vegetarian who doesn't like milk.  Not vegan).  But the point of this whole thing is I found my Achilles heel.
Cheese is my weight loss nemesis.  I never realized how much cheese we eat.  Really.  Grilled cheese for lunch (because that is what Faye was having before she could have nuts).  Cheese for a snack.  Cheese is is there in some shape or form in our dinner.  We eat cheese so much!  So, my goal this next week is to cut down on the cheese.  I am going to try having it just once a day, and then eventually once a week.  I need to slowly cut back so I don't go into withdraws and gorge myself on cheesecake (my favorite form of cheese!).
Hopefully I can kick this habit soon.  And then I should see some results a lot quicker.

1 comment:

Trish said...

Nut milks are easy enough to make. See if she'll drink those. I use 1 cup almonds or hemp seeds to 4 cups of water. Then I strain it in a nut milk bag into a jar and when I put some in Parker's sippy cup I add a little stevia and he loves it when he gets thirsty!
Good luck with the cheesy situation! I think you are on the right track there by slowly cutting it down. Only you know what is going to work for you there.