Hi all. I just started back with the program, maintenance phase due to exclusively breastfeeding.
I have found that I cannot stop eating! Nuts, cheese, salad, cold chicken, all of it ok for maintenance, but I've had 1800 calories today and it's only just after noon!
I feel great that I'm not cheating, looking for candy, etc, but I feel that I'm taking in way too many calories!
Is this because I've just started back, and it's all in my mind?
How many calories should I be taking in? I've had 26 carbs today, 6 from fiber.
Any advice?

Are you still nursing? If you are, your body is telling you you need more calories because of all that milk production. I think I read somewhere you need a minimum of 500 extra calories a day when you are nursing. I remember when I was nursing my second child, I could have eaten the paint off the walls I was so hungry all the time (the weight still FELL off me - breastfeeding is great for that). So, it seems to me that at 1800 (so far) calories, you may not be getting enough!

Jen
175/130/120

Thanks for your reply. Yes, breastfeeding about 5 times a day, more sometimes, due to the discomfort of teething
I got up to 194 pregnant, and lost 40lbs almost instantly after my son was born. The baby is 7 months old now, and it's time for me to take off the last 18 lbs.
I just feel that maybe I'm eating too much. Might be great to maintain the 153 I'm at now, but I can't see me losing anything if I'm eating 2500-2700 calories a day!!

I think you are right to keep eating if you are hungry.

You might consider alternating or combining the protein/fat snacks with veggies. For example, in lieu of straight nuts or cheese, have a celery or two stuffed with peanut butter or cream cheese spread. Or, wrap your cold chicken in a leaf or two of romaine lettuce. Or, have a deviled egg for one snack and cut up veggies for the next.

If I feel like I'm eating too much, I continue to eat but I switch foods. Meaning, if I eat some nuts, and still want to eat more, I'll let myself eat something, but it's got to be something else - like veggies dipped in a little sour cream. If I eat the veggies and want more, then I'll eat some celery and cheese instead. Usually, by the 3rd or 4th switch, I'm satisfied and no longer feel the urge to eat. I keep switching so that no one food item gets the better of me (I develop "trigger" foods very easily).

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/133/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

EAT!!! you are nursing a baby and you need to listen to your body, too little food and your milk will dry up, I did that and had to go to formula, my daughter was not a happy camper, she got awful gas from formula and it constipated her. Nursing is for such a short time kick back and enjoy it I wish I would have, instead of obcessing about my weight.
Love,

Jackie