Having kids is wonderful, fulfilling, glorious--and fattening. Here are nine ways the pounds can sneak up on you, and how to fight 'em off.
Fat Trap No. 1
You polish off your kid's fries/scrape the last spoonful of chocolate pudding/lick the peanut butter off the knife.
Skinny Solutions
Don't overload your child. In one sitting a typical toddler will eat just one-quarter to one-half the amount of food a grown-up will. If you keep servings age appropriate, that means fewer leftovers for you to pig out on. Your kid can always ask for seconds.
Graze on grown-up goodies. If you feed the kids separately (because who wants dinner at 5 p.m.?), have something healthy and filling to munch on while they eat, like a handful of almonds, hummus and baked pita chips, or edamame (in the pods, so you have to take time to pop 'em out). Bonus: All of these snacks are high in the monounsatured fats that help melt belly flab.
Waste not. A triangle of PB&J, a couple of untouched chicken nuggets, even a handful of veggie chips can be saved for your kid's snack the next day. Serve with fruit and some milk or yogurt, says Lisa Drayer, R. D., a Women's Health nutrition advisor.
Fat Trap No. 2
You are sleep-deprived beyond belief.
Study after study has turned up a link between too little sleep (typically fewer than seven or eight hours) and obesity.
Skinny Solutions
Screw the laundry. Get to bed. You can fold towels/unload the dishwasher/catch up on True Blood/pay bills tomorrow.
Indulge in a daytime siesta. A 20-minute nap can give you an energy boost, Drayer says--and besides, she adds, "If you're snoozing, you can't be eating!"
Graze. On days you know that you'll be up for at least 18 hours straight, try to eat six mini meals (one every three hours) rather than three big meals. It'll keep your energy up and stoke your metabolism so that your body's burning calories constantly.
Fat Trap No. 3
You cook to please your tot's picky palate--which means a regular diet of starch plus dairy (mac 'n' cheese, grilled cheese, cheese pizza...).
Skinny Solutions
Get rough(age): Use whole-wheat pasta, whole-grain breads, brown rice: They have more fiber, which speeds weight loss by binding with other foods and escorting them out of the body. It also helps you feel full longer.
Be a cheese whiz. Opt for fat-free or low-fat in sandwiches, on burgers, in mac 'n' cheese.
Go halfsies. Make two versions of a dish--one they'll eat, and one you'll like. Serve your grilled chicken on a bed of steamed spinach; the kids can have theirs sliced with baby carrots and honey mustard for dipping. Or pimp your pasta with lots of veggies.
Fat Trap No. 4
All your local takeout joints are on speed dial--it's pizza or Chinese (or Mexican or Thai) at least a couple nights a week.
Skinny Solutions
Play pat-a-pie. That oil slick on top of your pizza isn't a complimentary topping. Blot off the extra fat and calories with a paper towel.
Order smart. A thin-crust pizza has one gram less fat and 40 fewer calories per slice than a deep-dish pie; a side salad with that pizza will make it easier to stick to just one piece; veggie versions of just about anything, from burritos to dumplings, will be lower in calories and higher in nutrients and fiber.
Get steamed. Order your Chinese or Thai entrees steamed, with the sauce on the side, says Tracy Olgeaty Gensler, R. D., a nutritionist in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Unload it. Dump oily or mayo-heavy salads into a colander to drain off excess dressing.
Fat Trap No. 5
You eat out a lot--most often at places that have a mascot and pass out crayons with the menu.
Skinny Solutions
Google before you go. Kid-friendly restaurants have some of the most fat-and calorie-laden menus around. Preview the offerings on the restaurant's website and decide what to order prior to loading up the minivan and heading out.
Research on the run. If you have an iPhone, $2.99 will buy you the Fast Food Calorie Counter app, with nutrition info for more than 60 national chains. Or stash a copy of Eat This, Not That! in your diaper bag.
Be the first to order. That way you won't be tempted to can your grilled fish plan when you hear someone ask for the cheese fries.
Know your fat-food vocab. Let your eyes cruise on by anything that's "crispy," "creamy," or "buttery" (not to mention served with aioli, bearnaise, or alfredo sauce).
Skip the entrees. Opt for two appetizers, Drayer says-- one protein-based, one veggie-based (grilled chicken skewers and a salad, say, or shrimp cocktail and roasted vegetables).
You're on the soccer mom (or mall rat) diet: constantly caught empty-bellied and forced to succumb to the snack stand or food court.
A recent study in the journal Obesity found that dieters consumed an average of 36 percent of their weekly calories on Saturdays.
Skinny Solutions
Be prepared! Keep a stash of snacks on hand: a mix of almonds and dried apricots in a mini plastic bag, Drayer suggests, or an energy bar with less than 200 calories.
Walk. Fast. Along the sidelines at the soccer game, or from Baby Gap to Sephora.
Go for the lesser food-court evils. If you find yourself peckish and snackless, hold your breath as you go past Cinnabon and head for one of these less egregious options, Gensler says: at Auntie Anne's, a plain pretzel with no butter; at Dunkin' Donuts, the Egg-White Turkey Sausage Flatbread sandwich; a slice of thin-crust pizza and a salad from Sbarro; Mickey D's Fruit and Yogurt Parfait; two Fresco Crunchy Tacos from Taco Bell.
Fat Trap No. 7
You barely have time to take a shower in the morning, much less shovel down breakfast.
If you regularly skip your a. m. meal, you might as well send excess pounds an engraved invitation to take up residence on your butt. Researchers know that morning fasters are more likely to be fat than morning eaters.
Skinny Solutions
Eat. Hey, it doesn't have to be an elaborate sit-down affair. You wouldn't be the first mom to bring an energy bar into the bathroom while you put on your makeup.
Prep in the p.m. Fill your cereal bowl (the kids' too) in the evening and cover with plastic wrap. The next morning all you have to do is add milk. Or make yourself a peanut butter sandwich with sliced banana while you make school lunches at night.
Have some egg with that toast. Or peanut butter with that bagel half. An all-carb (or very low-carb) diet will increase your carb craving and slow your metabolism, research has found, so be sure your morning meal includes a lean protein.
Suck down some moo. A new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition advises: Drink skim milk instead of fruit juice at breakfast and you'll feel full longer and be less likely to overindulge when lunchtime comes.
Fat Trap No. 8
Your grocery store cart runneth over with junk.
Skinny Solutions
Make a list and stick to it. Period. Include one treat per trip, Drayer suggests.
Don't shop when hungry. You're more likely to buy fattening crap.
Peruse the periphery. That's where you'll find produce, dairy foods, lean meats, and fish. The stuff in the middle is mostly highly processed (read: packed with calories and salt).
Shop online. The store employee who puts together your order will not toss in a bag of Chips Ahoy! unless it's on your list.
Fat Trap No. 9
Your pantry is stocked with kid-pleasers like cookies, chips, and soda.
Skinny Solutions
Stash that stuff where you can't see it. "Out of sight, out of mind" really works.
Keep your own treats. If you know you have a little something special hidden behind the spices or the frozen peas, you won't be as tempted to dig into the kids' Doritos. Limit decadent calories to around 150 a day, Drayer says: for example, seven Hershey's kisses (choose dark chocolate, for its cocoa flavanols); 3/4 cup of Edy's Slow-Churned Butter Pecan ice cream; or a single serving bag of Baked! Lay's potato crisps.
Back off the bubbly. New research from Johns Hopkins University says you can lose more weight by cutting out just one can of soda per day than by cutting out an equal number of calories from food. That's a good trade-off.
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