My New Food Philosophy ~ Fat is Good!

Fat is not the enemy. In fact, I'm starting to think that low fat foods are the enemy. One of the major changes I've made in my diet since being pregnant is eating fewer fat free and low fat foods in exchange for more low fat and full fat foods. I've found that my appetite has been much smaller despite needing an additional 300 calories per day for the baby. I associate this with the increased fat I've been eating. I stay full longer and feel more satisfied by my meals. I also associate these things with the increase in protein that seems to come with eating foods higher in fat. Despite not having as much time for exercise and not being able to exercise as hard when I do have time, I'm right in the middle of the ideal weight gain range. I don't think that I've gained any more fat than I should be gaining to sustain the pregnancy.

Of course, I'm trying to eat more fats that come from plants than animals but by no means am I cutting out animal fats. Healthy cheeses, milk, yogurt, and meat in their full fat or 2% form are huge staples in my pregnant diet. But unsaturated plant fats are a larger part of my diet - avocados, nuts, olive oil, olives, flaxseed, and peanut butter, for example.

Two reasons that I think lower fat foods are the enemy: they seem more processed than fuller fat foods and usually contain more sugars. Another huge change in my diet has been how much I've avoided processed foods. The fewer processed foods I eat, the worse they taste when I do eat them. I was so surprised to find that I don't enjoy Girl Scout cookies anymore; they just taste so fake. I'd so much rather bake some cookies myself from scratch. And sugars - I've changed the goal of my eating so that it's geared more towards filling me up and keeping me full. Of course, food is still one of my favorite things and I am still obsessed with cooking and eating, but I'm cooking and eating foods that are much different than what I used to. I prefer fresh or very minimally processed ingredients that generally contain more fat and protein and less sugar. I'm specifically focusing on avoiding corn syrup of any form. I can't say I've cut out all refined sugar; this baby has definitely developed the little bit of a sweet tooth that I had prepregnancy. But I think overall I've done a good job of balancing that with healthy foods. When I do make something sweet like muffins or pancakes, I make them from scratch and use half whole wheat flour and half all purpose.

We'll see how this new food philosophy works for me after the baby comes and I'm trying to get back into prepregnancy shape (or better). I'm still planning on running the Super Bowl Sunday half marathon in February.