Pre-emptive Eating

I've taken to a new pastime: pre-emptive eating.  It's a strange concept, I know, but I have one of those metabolisms that just burns like mad, and I'm breast feeding a big, healthy baby who literally sucks up all the calories I eat.  (I gained 40 pounds with my pregnancy and lost 50 after.)  So every few hours I'm starving and there's always something that needs to be done, of course.  Particularly at night when I know it's time to try and sleep for a while, I stuff myself in order to get a couple more hours of uninterrupted rest.

I eat well most of the time - vegetables, protein, whole grains.  It's not particularly fun because I'm not satisfying any cravings or any hunger, but it seems to work.  It's the only way I have enough energy and milk for the baby whenever the baby happens to need it.  But it means shifting priorities.  Instead of emptying the dishwasher as soon as she's asleep and waiting til I'm inconveniently hungry to eat, I eat as soon as I'm able. 

I've never been one of those people who remembers to eat or who really loves food.  I just ate when I needed it.  But since becoming pregnant, it's become a whole new ball game.  I needed a lot of food while pregnant and I still need large quantities.  I know it will end one of these days as the baby is weaned, but until then, I recommend my new strategy to anyone who wants to give it a try; for anyone nursing and/or with a fast metabolism, it keeps the calories on and the hunger off.