Now that my baby is almost 11 months old, I'm getting medieval on these last 10 pounds. I just saw a photo of Heidi Klum six weeks after giving birth, and it made me simultaneously curse my genes and decide to fight them tooth and nail. So I started in the most obvious place: calorie counting. I went online and started looking up calorie counts for some of the things I'm eating on a regular basis. Which is how I came to the realization that us moms need a calorie counting chart all our own. I mean, when was the last time you consumed a lunch of "grilled chicken and salad"? Or "salmon on a bed of cous cous"? So here. I've done the research. And it's come to this: the (first-ever?) guide to calorie counting for moms.
Crusts of PB&J sandwich: 100 calories (+/- 20 cal. depending on just how much of the good stuff is oozing into them)
Two (very large) spoonfuls of mac and cheese lunch just "to taste": 50 calories
String cheese that I put in my bag for the kids but got hungry and ate: 80 calories
3-4 waffle bites left on the breakfast plate (with butter and syrup): 35 calories
1 slice of mozzarella quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla, because it's "too big" to serve: 125 calories
Hot dogs: 15 calories per "slice" if I cut the hot dog into 10 slices
Evil, evil Pirate's Booty: 50 calories a handful (I can get a lot in my hand)
Handful of almonds (probably my most regular lunch): 400 (!!!) calories
Wine, wine, and more wine once they go to bed: 125 calories a glass
So here's how it's going to go. More grilled chicken rather than in its nugget state, less cheese, less almonds as a meal replacement, more steering clear of peanut butter, and, as much as it kills me, less glasses of wine.
Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go eat a slab of cheese with peanut butter and down it with a half bottle of chardonnay.