Lose Weight, eat more... and random pictures as usual.

To start off... a picture of my daughter, autumn:

A dietitian I know online asked the general public "what do you find to be your biggest challenge when you are trying to lose weight?" possibly not verbatim, but that was the gist.

and my response was something like "My biggest problem is that I am pretty sure there is something wrong with my body. I eat well most of the time and exercise daily and I am still overweight"

When I had my miscarriage recently I gained more than I think most people can gain if they are TRYING to gain weight, and I continued to exercise daily and didn't eat any differently. When I told my OBGYN about this he suggested reducing my sugar intake, even from natural sources like fruit, and also cutting back on simple carbs. SO, I have cut back on fruit as well as other sweets, and gone back to only using whole grain pasta and brown rice (with the exception of rare special occasions-like getting home made pasta this past weekend) . My body went crazy when I had Autumn too, and I have not understood anything it has done since I got pregnant with her. I have received lots of advice, some good- like keeping a diet and exercise journal, and some VERY bad advice, like skipping meals which most people know is one of the worst things you can do when you are trying to lose weight since it not only slows down your metabolism because it puts your body in starvation mode but it also makes it more likely that you will overeat later in the day. Many people think that the formula is as simple as eat less, and exercise more and you will lose weight. If that were the case I should wear a size 2.

and to be random, a picture of my cat sleeping in some poly-fill:

Anyway, after I sent that to my online friend she asked me if I was eating enough. I generally feel like I eat enough. I told her that currently I am exercising at different intensities but always with an elevated heart rate for about an hour a day and take in between 1100 and 1600 calories, depending on the day. (Probably averaging about 14oo, I cook from scratch so it is hard to be exact). She said that I was not eating nearly enough and that I should be eating a little less than 2000 calories on a day that I am physically active to LOSE weight. Obviously this is very counter intuitive, but it really goes back to how dumb it is to skip meals when you are trying to lose weight. My friend thinks my body is in starvation mode. I am not convinced. I still think that there is something else wrong, BUT the only time I have lost weight since I had my daughter was when I started eating more, and since it was post surgery I was exercising less, too. Anyway, I can't say I am convinced, but I am willing to try to eat a few more healthy snacks through out the day.

Sorry for everyone who is tired of hearing me talk about this struggle, and I have much meaner things to say to those who think that I am overweight because I am lazy or I eat too much... but I wont today. Most people cant understand this sort of thing unless they have gone through it, and I try to keep that in mind.

Have a good day everyone, tomorrow I will bring you some projects from my workbench!

Here's what's new in caustic threads today:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58793276/sugar-skull-tee-hand-dyed-and-printed

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58791936/squirrel-nuts-tee-shirt-hand-dyed-and

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58790455/paper-airplane-tee

♥Erica