Monday, May 26, 2014

The diaper bag dilemma

It is beyond challenging to find a suitable diaper bag when you have twin babies. You want a bag that is light, big and doesn’t take space; sounds like a joke, right? Finding the suitable diaper bag was never easy for me and whenever I settle on one, I later feel that this is not the one and that I have to start searching again to find the perfect bag. You want to go out with milk powder, milk bottles, pacifiers, extra clothes, diapers, wipes, diaper cream, jars, food, and few toys for entertainment enough for two kids. So basically you need a luggage bag to accommodate all this.

I started the maternity journey with a Chico diaper bag; the curvy small one which would can easily hang on the stroller. But few months later I discovered that it is not convenient at all because in order to take all what I need, it gets so cramped and I struggle to get what I need. Because things are on top of each other so when I need the wipes, I might need to empty half the bag to find it. So I decided that I will wash it and keep it aside and look for another bag. I went and bought the biggest diaper bag in the world. At first I was so happy because I could take everything I need. It had so many compartments that made it easier for me to arrange it. It was perfect when I went for house visits because it had everything and anything. But wait this was not the happy ending, the bag was too heavy to go out with; it was a burden on the stroller that it caused a technical problem in its maneuver.

So what to do now? The smallest bag is not enough and the biggest is not convenient. I was left with the only option I haven’t tried yet, the diaper back bag. This one has so many advantages, it is easier when you are on the go, and it is amazing when traveling. It doesn’t take much space and lifts the weight off your shoulder so you don’t feel it is as heavy as the bag on one shoulder feels. I got it but again putting all what I needed inside it was challenging. The day I decide not to take something, is the very same day I need it. Sometimes I used to say no need for extra clothes, on this same day the kids would vomit. Another time I decided not to take the jars, but they refused to eat anything else and I had to run to a supermarket to buy them two jars. So now this is not the ideal solution either.

To cut a long story short I will tell you what I have settled on after so many trials and so many more bags. Now I go out with a small cooler bag that has the milk bottles, the water cups, the milk powder and any food I decide to take. Then in my car there is another bag (one of the old unsuccessful ones) which has an extra flannel, tops and shorts for each kid as well as the diaper change supplies. Now if I am going to a mall or a visit, I only enter with the cooler bag which is more than enough for the food, water and milk. And if I need to change diapers or change clothes I have my emergency kit in the car. I hope you find this post helpful and please feel free to share your insights.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

My diet failure trials

On my very last serious diet attempt, I used to record most of my feelings about food. I came to realize new things everyday so I thought I will write it down to share it with you <3 <3 <3

- Day 1: Never go to the supermarket while you are hungry because you will end up buying all sorts of food (mostly unhealthy and sweets).

- Day 2: Keep everything healthy at home so as not to be tempted even if you get weak; it is much easier not to find a bar of chocolate than to find one and resist eating it.

- Day 3: Eating healthy is easy and filling, it is just boring. There is nothing exciting about it. I wonder about people who eat healthy all the time, don’t you get bored (I am already thinking of someone and I am sure she knows herself)

- Day 4: Why are we obsessed with our bodies although we know that all the bodies in media is fake. It looks like this either by surgery or by Photoshop!

- Day 5: My problem is not food, my real problem is desserts. I can live very well with healthy portions but how am I supposed to live without chocolates and ice-cream!

- Day 6: Healthy food tastes better than junk so the question now is why we do crave junk? It really isn’t that nice.

- Day 7: Why is junk called comfort food while it is really makes so uncomfortable

- Day 8: Ever wondered who is the wicked person who invented fried food and cheese burgers?

- Day 9: A question for healthy people (again you know yourself) when on a diet and you get hit by emotional eating, what do you do?

- Day 10: Emotional eating and dieting don’t mix and is really challenging.

- Day 11: Great news: dark chocolate is healthy and boosts metabolism, so dark chocolate will be an inescapable part of the fridge (no wait, they say maximum one cube a day).

- Day 12: Mustard is zero calories so I can eat more of that. But what am I going to eat it with? Tuna (not a big fan).

- Day 13: This is so funny, healthy people say “binge on cucumber and broccoli” seriously? This is not the definition of binging

- Day 14: Things you never consider as sweet when you are not on a diet suddenly feels so sugary when on a diet.

- Day 15: Wow I started to crave yogurt as a dessert, I am definitely sick (But I put strawberry jam on it whether you like it or not healthy people)

- Day 16: When not on a diet you just eat everything and anything but now that am on a diet I question every single calorie.

- Day 17: Why was I not that picky earlier so I could have saved myself from gaining all those kilos?

- Day 18: I can’t keep ice cream nor chocolate out of my head, it is in my genes. Even my daughter adores them.

- Day 19: Dark chocolate tastes bitter while not on diet but too sweet when on a diet. (I wonder how much I have harmed my body).

- Day 20: Never appreciated veggies that much, I always tend to choose carbs but now veggies are my best friends when I am on a diet

- Day 21: Why don’t I eat healthy all the time, I love the taste of the healthy food. I could have saved myself all the pain and sadness I feel.

- Day 22: No diet; no rules. Now diet: New rules

- Day 23: I hate those people who eat everything and complain that they can’t put on weight

- Day 24: I stood on my new digital balance and it read 0 kilos. Great I disappeared.

- WAIT FOR MORE… TO BE CONTINUED… By the way I guess that I already gained whatever I lost during those 3 weeks because my clothes just feel the same. But I will keep trying to be a better healthier person.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Are we emotionally what we eat?

Being a mother is a lot of stress; unfortunately it is a common practice that we tend to cure that by eating. I am one of those people who has let go to emotional year after year; I am almost 20 kilos overweight. Whenever I try to lose weight I go back to that emotional eating habit the moment I am faced with a stressful situation. Many times it happens that as soon as we feel upset, we go to the fridge and grab a piece of chocolate or feel like eating an ice cream. The way we seem to correlate between sadness, depression and eating is a common practice. Not only do we think about eating but also tend to be more attracted to sweets and comfort foods which it works out temporarily.

To find out that this is not an individual case but rather something that has clear biological and psychological reason, I did a lot of research. It is very essential that one knows and understands the mechanism of emotional eating in order to be able to fight it. With this post I intend to help myself and you to overcome this horrible habit. Emotional eating is a vicious cycle, you feel depressed, you eat, and you gain weight and consequently feel more depressed and so on. Emotional eating is defined to be “the practice of eating large quantities of comfort food (junk food) in response to feelings instead of hunger”.

It is a chosen drug for escaping from all our bad situations and tension. This is not a mere illusion; it has its biological rationale behind it. It is due to the fact that when one eats, the chemicals we gain from food not only affect the appetite but also our brains so the connection between food and mood becomes a bit complex and hard to separate. When we eat, hormones like serotonin, endorphins and dopamine are affected. These are the very same chemicals which affect the mood. They are even sometimes put into anti-depressant medicines.

Emotional eating is not a serious illness; it is a normal common experience in our lives and becomes serious only when we let go to it. Since I am sure that no one would want to have eating as her only resolution or ultimate problem solver. I collected some tips for us and will try to share more in the future =)

1- Hinder yourself from eating if you don’t feel that you are starving. Don’t listen to your body if you feel you just want to eat something. Hunger pain only stays for like 10 minutes.

2- You can always do things like net surfing, reading a book, calling a friend or even go out for a drink when you feel like eating.

3- Do sports and exercises on a regular basis. Not only is sporting healthy in itself; but it puts one in a good mood. Research proved that sporting helps release the happiness hormone in our bodies.