What I Eat in a Week: Postpartum
Hi, friend! We are back in action with What I Eat in a Week and I couldn’t be more excited to open up my fridge and show you exactly what I’m eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday through Sunday (plus snacks and dessert, of course).
In case you missed it, I shared my last “What I Eat in a Week” post in January during my second trimester of pregnancy, and previously in May after I had gotten my hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease diagnosis.
These type of “What I Eat in a Day” posts always come highly requested via Instagram and, to be honest, I totally get it. I love taking a peek inside other people’s pantries, seeing their meal plan written out for the week, and watching a good ole’ influencer haul. It’s intriguing, PLUS it gives me great ideas for what to pick up at the grocery store next.
Since I am now officially 11 weeks postpartum and have gotten the all-clear from my Doctor to go ahead and try to lose some of that extra baby weight, not surprisingly, my diet has shifted. It’s important to note that I am exclusively breastfeeding and I plan to continue for as long as possible (or until I get pregnant again).
As a result of this, restricting calories or going on some trendy diet aren’t exactly options to help me lose the weight as I don’t want any change to negatively effect my milk supply. If you’ve been following along for awhile however, you know that really isn’t my style anyway. I tried out my fair share of trendy diets while I was in high school and I’m happy to leave them in my past.
DISCLOSURE: Please keep in mind that everyone’s body and digestion is unique. The food and lifestyle that helps me feel my best may not be the same for you. By no means do I intend for this post to be something that you feel you should follow line by line. In short, take what works for you and leave the rest.
During my pregnancy, I gained 40lbs and felt incredibly healthy, energized, and happy with my overall diet in order to support and grow our sweet baby boy. Since having him in April, I have lost a total of 27lbs (so I’m 13lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight).
My postpartum weight loss has been slow and steady and I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far. I have been jotting down notes throughout my journey and I’m planning on sharing a FULL blog post with the subtle, but important shifts I’ve made once I reach my goal weight.
Today’s post is more focused on food than anything else and can be used as inspiration whether you are trying to lose weight or not. So, let’s get into it then, shall we?
Below, I’m sharing my weekly grocery list along with an example of what I’m eating Monday through Sunday for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert (recipes linked). I’ve also included my free grocery list and meal plan printables to help streamline this process for you.
Hopefully this guide can serve as inspiration if you looking for snack and meal ideas!
GROCERY LIST
Fresh Produce:
Mixed herbs
Iceberg lettuce
Baby spinach
Lemons
Bananas
Cherries
White potatoes
White onion
Avocados
Heirloom tomato
Green bell peppers
Celery
Sliced baby bella mushrooms
Green onions
Cilantro
Guacamole (premade)
Hummus (original)
Meat:
Peeled and deveined shrimp
Chicken thighs
Chicken chorizo
Ground beef
Beverages and Dairy Alternatives:
Unsweetened Macadamia milk
Unsweetened Coconut milk
Pantry:
GoMacro bars (blueberry, peanut butter, and peanut butter chocolate chip)
Hippea chickpea puffs (nacho)
Food Should Taste Good sweet potato chips
Quinn Creamy peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets
Dark chocolate sea salt caramel bar
Stubb’s BBQ sauce
Organic extra virgin olive oil
Organic chicken broth
10oz canned diced tomatoes
15oz canned black beans
Canned green chiles
Canned full-fat coconut milk
Frozen:
Antioxidant berry blend
Alexia Truffle fries or waffle cut fries
MONDAY
Breakfast: 8oz Black coffee, 16oz water
Lunch: Peanut butter Go Macro Bar, 8oz coffee with 1 heaping spoonful of Dose & Co dairy-free vanilla collagen creamer
Dinner: Shrimp avocado quinoa bowl (recipe linked here; substituted the avocado for guacamole)
Dessert: 1 Better Bites chocolate cookie dough bite, 1/2 bag of grain-free peanut butter pretzels
TUESDAY
Breakfast: 8oz Black coffee, 16oz water
Lunch: Green smoothie (handful of fresh spinach, 2 cups frozen antioxidant berry blend, 1 frozen banana, spoonful of chia seeds, spoonful of Dose & Co collagen powder, 1 pitted date, 1 cup unsweetened macadamia milk), 1/2 bag of Nacho Hippea Puffs
Dinner: 1 Avocado stuffed with 2 shredded pan-seared chicken thighs and chopped sautéed onion
Dessert: 1 scoop macadamia milk vanilla ice cream, 1/2 slice flourless chocolate cake
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: 8oz Black coffee, 16oz water
Lunch: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Go Macro Bar, 1/2 bag of Nacho Hippea Puffs, handful of cherries
Dinner: Chicken chorizo stuffed bell peppers (recipe linked here)
Dessert: 1 Better Bites chocolate cookie dough bite
THURSDAY
Breakfast: 8oz Black coffee, 16oz water
Lunch: 12oz Iced chai latte with oat milk (local cafe), Green smoothie (local cafe)
Dinner: Iceberg lettuce wrap grilled beef burger with sautéed mushrooms, 1/2 heirloom tomato, and barbecue sauce with truffle fries (usually I add 1/2 avocado sliced and some sliced white onion but we were out)
Dessert: 2 pieces of salted caramel dark chocolate bar
FRIDAY
Breakfast: 12oz Iced brown sugar oat milk espresso (Starbucks)
Lunch: Green smoothie (handful of fresh spinach, 2 cups frozen antioxidant berry blend, 1 frozen banana, spoonful of chia seeds, spoonful of Dose & Co collagen powder, 1 pitted date, 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk), Hummus and a handful of sweet potato chips
Dinner: Instant pot gluten-free chicken pot pie soup (recipe linked here; skipped the carrots)
SATURDAY
Lunch: 8oz Black coffee, 16oz water
Dinner: Loaded cheese fries, Caesar salad (take-out)
Dessert: 1/2 bag of grain-free peanut butter pretzels
SUNDAY
Lunch: Blueberry Go Macro bar, 8oz coffee with 1 heaping spoonful of Dose & Co dairy-free vanilla collagen creamer
Dinner: 1/2 order Indian chicken tikka masala, 1/2 order lamb saag, 2 pieces garlic naan (take-out)
So, as you can see here, I certainly am not starving myself or making any foods “off-limits” (even foods that I am sensitive too). I realized awhile back that if I tell myself that a certain food or food group is not “allowed”, I only want it more, eventually leading to binge-eating.
Instead, I eat clean, whole foods that my body digests easily during the week and give myself at least 2 days (usually Saturday and Sunday) to get take-out or eat at a restaurant with Sam and order whatever I want. I also eat dessert regularly during the week, but only need 1 or 2 bites generally to get my “sugar fix”.
Lastly, you may notice that I skip breakfast aside from black coffee daily. I am going to dive into this more in my full weight loss blog post, but I do intermittent fasting from 8pm-12pm most days. My commitment to IF is very flexible and if I am hungry before 12pm, I eat; simple as that. However, it’s very easy for me to go until 12pm with only black coffee because I was used to intermittent fasting for longer periods of time before I got pregnant and I find that I have much better focus and energy in the mornings before I eat.
As long as I get the necessary amount of calories in during lunch, dinner, and dessert (which I do), my milk supply is not negatively effected.
Anyway - a topic for another post, but figured I would add in a quick note about that here!
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xo Anna Elizabeth