Eating for (more than) two

I have lost 8 or 9 kg since the Small Boy was born, almost a year ago.

I had put on over 10kg in the four years between babies, and it was frustrating me because I couldn't quite work out how.  I know I probably could have exercised a bit more, but it wasn't like I was sitting on my backside all day.  I wasn't eating a lot of junk food or takeaway, but probably snacked a little more than I should have, though not that much more.

After the Small Boy was born, I was less than happy that I'd ended up 3 or 4 kilos heavier than my already-too-much pre-pregnancy weight.  I wasn't ridiculously overweight, but it was enough to be bothersome to me, and the trend was upwards and that was a problem.

A few months after he was born I happened to read an article when I was flipping through a magazine, and I was finally able to recognise my problem.  (The Old Me would have torn out the article and kept it for later, but I just left it in the magazine and changed my way of thinking, and my way of eating.)

This is what I learnt: stop eating for Just In Case.

I have no idea if I took away the message the author had intended, but what I realised was that I was eating for in case I got hungry, not because I was hungry.  I have stopped eating a mid-afternoon snack most days because I'm not actually hungry in the mid-afternoon.   If I don't feel like much lunch, it doesn't matter, I'll just eat something small.  I'm also trying to make just enough for the evening meal, rather than feeling like if I don't make enough we'll be hungry.  If anyone is still hungry after they've eaten, well there is fruit in the fridge!