How do I stop eating cake at every bf?

[ButterPie]

I have an 8 week old baby, so spend a good portion of my life with her attached to my boob, but I am ridiculously hungry! I will eat two or three portions of tea (normal meals like curry or pie or whatever) then have a large dessert (ie an entire tin of semolina) then be drinking tea and eating biscuits and cakes all evening. I seem to have got in the habit of eating and drinking at each feed. I can't really exercise much (had bad spd and a section, physio banned me from doing anything for a year other than her exercises, which mainly involve breathing) and am piling on the weight. I have gone up a dress size since the birth, surely it should be the other way round?

Superglue your lips together.

Seriously - I have no advice. I scarfed my own body weight in food with every feed for the first few months.

Sorry - I see that's not helpful. But just to reassure you you're not the only one?

Right, I will now proceed to drink a pint of cordial, then go to bed, and will hopefully wake up and not eat the entire house for breakfast...

and thanks, btw, nice to know I'm not the only one!

Don't buy the bad stuff!!!! I know that sounds easy but if it's not there it will make it easier for you not to eat it.

I would second the comment about drinking enough. You are more than likely thirsty rather than hungry. If you are gaining weight then you don't need all the calories you are taking in to sustain breastfeeding.

Have a great big breakfast. Porridge, followed by fruit and yogurt or wholemeal toast. Boiled eggs and soldiers, omlette etc - something that will really start you off well for the day.

Every time you sit down for a feed have a pint of squash (no added sugar) next to you, a banana and a yogurt, or a fun size chocolate bar, or a cereal bar etc etc. It will take a while to break the habit of cake and biscuits during a feed but this will REALLY help! It's the habit of eating something that you have got into so you need to make sure it is a better choice.

Try making your meals more healthy as well - curry and pie are high in fat and not neccesarily normal "healthy" meals.

Try more pasta based meals with low fat tomato based sauces that will fill you up for longer - roasted veggies and tinned tomatoes, grilled meat or fish with baked potatoes and loads of veggies. Jacket and beans or Beans on toast/eggs on toast for lunch will fill you up. The key is to fill you up with less calories.

Homemade soups are a great one to fill you up and you don't need to spend hours cooking - cook up a huge batch at once that will give you 4-6 portions and then freeze them. You can also freeze the soup in small mug sized portions and blitz in the microwave and have a cup of soup during a feed.

Puddings - a whole tin of semolina will be giving you 335 calories which is quite a lot!!
Try and have yogurts and fruit for pudding - maybe save the naughtier stuff for the weekends.

Swap high fat spreads for lower fat ones and eat wholemeal bread instead of white. These changes will really help I promise!

I know it's tough when you feel hungry all the time but it doesn't have to be "bad" food. Lots of water and fruit and veg will be great for your skin and make sure that your milk is great quality as well!

Go for it - you can do it!

When I had DS1 I ate entire pizzas for dinner from Pizza Express for the first couple of months after having him - didnt make the same mistake after DS2... Its fine to have treats in the house but try to make sure you dont eat them all the time. Make sure you stay well hydrated - lots of drinks of water, herbal tea and cordial - and if you are snacking try fruit for a sweet hit or something like oatcakes or pitta bread and houmous (good one handed food so you can even eat it while bfing) - the mix of protein and carbs will keep you going for longer. With DS2, I bought little bars of chocolate as treats rather than having whole packs of biscuits/cake in the house - and steered clear of Pizza Express - so the bf munchies didnt take total hold this time round...