How To Avoid Replacing Sleep With Food

Being a new mum can be exhausting, add in being sleep deprived and it can feel like torture. Do you have no idea what the phrase ‘sleeping like a baby’ means? Then this one’s for you.

For me, good days were defined by if and when bub slept. “How was your day” was always met with a run down of how many precious minutes of naptime I had managed to coax out of my little ‘wakeful’ bundle of joy. I would call to make a doctor or child health appointment and I was always completely confused by one simple question. “What time would suit you? When does he nap?” When does he nap? You tell me? I was clueless. The less I slept, the more I ate, generally high sugar, high calorie foods that could easily be eaten with one hand. Did anyone say chocolate? And what goes well with exhaustion and chocolate? A nice cup of coffee, albeit one that has gone cold.

The problem with this little strategy is that you can’t replace sleep with food. Food is for nourishment and sleep is for healing and restoring energy levels. Also known as motherhood essentials. Whilst the sugar and caffeine will give you a quick energy hit, they will also give you a big energy crash, which will leave you feeling worse than you did before.  Which means you’ll eat more chocolate and drink more coffee. Basically you are sending your already stressed out system on a cortisol, adrenaline, insulin, roller coaster. The side affect of all this, is likely to be weight gain.

The calories you are taking in are empty of nutrition but high in sugar and fat. Your body will release insulin to deal with the extra sugar in your system but this will inhibit your ability to burn fat, which means your body will store it.

Cortisol, also known as the ‘stress hormone’ is released with the insulin to help with the sugar clean up. The problem with cortisol is that it is also associated with fat storage. So what to do? Break the cycle by drinking tones of water instead of coffee, it will be tough at first but in the long term it will make you feel a million times better. It will be much better for breastfeeding mums who need to keep their hydration up for a good milk supply. I know you are tired but you are likely to be tired whatever you do, so you may as well do something good for you!

Exercise can energize and is good for your mood. Pop bub in a pram and head out for a walk, you never know, the little one might even sleep. If you can leave bub with someone, even better. Having some time out will help you clear your head and give you a bit of perspective. Surround yourself with fresh fruit and veggies and get someone to chop them up and leave them in the fridge so they are just as easy and convenient as chocolate.

Make mindful choices about how you are fueling your body. Investigate local post-natal exercise classes and find something that works for you, so you’ll stick at it. Build a social support network of mums, which will be able to provide advice. Above all, make a plan and stick with it, this is just a stage and it will pass. The happy update from my house is that my five year old now sleeps all night, every night and my second child is a sleep machine. Your sweet dreams are out there.

Jess Schmidt is a fitness trainer, writer and a mum to two crazy wonderful boys. When not wrestling tigers, tripping over Lego and sword fighting she enjoys running (away) and yoga.