Don’t you hate it when you wake up one day and you’ve put on around 7 lbs. all of the sudden? In the immortal words of Brittany Spears, “Oops, I did it again!” Yep, I went on a dairy binge around Thanksgiving and it put a nice bit of padding on my frame seemingly overnight.
The last time I did this was 3 years ago when we started up our home delivery service from a high quality, hormone-free local dairy and I remembered why I used to love cottage cheese so much. Turns out, my daughter loves it too, so I started getting it regularly — “for her.” A few months and 15 lbs. later, I was reminded as to why I feel better — and thinner!– when I stay dairy-free.
This time, it started off innocuously with a couple slices of pizza here and there. Nachos at a business lunch. Ice cream with the kids after dinner for a few weeks. Cheese and crackers for a few snacks. Before I knew it, I was eating dairy products almost every day. Then I noticed I was sporting a “cheese baby” — Eeeeks!
My stomach in September, 2008.
I never used to gain weight in my belly until two 50-lb pregnancies left me with some extra skin (imagine that!) and 2 c-sections sliced through all my stomach muscles. Three years of dedicated ab work at Jazzercise usually keeps most of it held in, but a little bit of dairy and the first thing that happens is I get a pooch that resembles a 2nd trimester pregnancy.
Sheesh.
I knew I was playing with fire while I was savoring each bite of melted, gooey cheese, but I also had a hope that this time my digestive enzymes would save me from the weight.
No such luck.
Don’t you sometimes do things that you know are self-sabotaging? I was thinking, “I’m feeling so good and fit and strong and healthy. I can handle a little cheese and not have it show up later.” Obviously, I was a bit delusional. I blame it on the endorphins.
Since we returned from our holiday trip on January 5th, I’ve been sworn off of dairy, am eating more leafy greens, and am back to working out regularly. Less than two weeks later and the dairy belly is just about a distant memory. Phew. Gotta catch these things at the beginning, when the weight is still “on loan” but you don’t really “own it.” It’s much harder to get rid of weight you’ve had hanging on for a while, I think.
See more of my painless weight loss tips in the Weight loss category of this blog.
PS: Can you name the movie with the line: “Are you sure you’re pregnant? Maybe it’s a food baby?”
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Dairy products including milk are essential component of everyone’s diet. They supply fat, protein and carbohydrate-lactose along with minerals and vitamins. The fat and lactose do contribute to the weight gain when consumed in excess and watch your calorie when indulging in dairy products
Elizabeth, thanks for your great column! Re: dairy adding weight to your middle, does that apply to raw dairy as well? What about organic butter and whole, plain yogurt which I’ve been taught are health foods for most of us?
Thanks,
Susan Mead
http://www.SusanEMead.com
[...] which is another good way to get live cultures and probiotics, but as I’ve mentioned before, dairy products go right to my hips and stomach so I try to avoid them whenever possible. Written by Elizabeth on February 4, 2009 at 9:12 am and [...]
Juno = cute movie
Cheese = delicious, but no friend of mine.
Cheese may as well come with Velcro attached so at least you can decide where it will settle
I can either be cheese-free or have the cheese cravings that gnaw at me. I think it must be like smoking – either you are a smoker or you are not, no in-between. There is something there, not terribly good for you, that seems to satisfy something. I have often wondered about this along the path of my dietary life. It is hard to navigate social dining as a vegetarian and not have to fall off of the wagon, and once I do it is a long fall.
The film is Juno (http://cli.gs/zNtGD9). I have never seen it, I’m just a good researcher
Some funny quotes on that site, looks worth a watch sometime.
Juno: I’m pregnant.
Leah: What? Honest to blog? Maybe it’s a food baby, did you have a big lunch?
Juno: This is not a food baby all right? I’ve taken like three pregnancy tests, and I’m forshizz up the spout.