I finally called in the big guns. It was seriously overdue. Tonight, at 7:30 p.m., a private nutritionists will be coming to our home to get us on the right path to a healthier lifestyle. I found Jennifer on Janglo, a fabulous resource for Anglo’s living in Jerusalem, and she was really professional and understood our needs. I thought she would balk at the task since we are not an easy family.
Here’s the rundown:
1) Hipstermom – I’m thank g-d pregnant, finishing up my fourth month, and have already put on 6 kilo’s since I conceived the baby. That’s a heck of a lot of weight to put on in a short amount of time. And, since I’m already overweight, it’s just not healthy for me to be so big so early on in the pregnancy. In fact, when I asked the Dr. how much weight I should gain this pregnancy, he looked at me and said “don’t”. Ha. Spoken like a man who has never been pregnant. So, I need a nutritionist to make sure that I keep the rest of the weight gain to an absolute minimum.
2) DH – My husband needs to lose 4 kilo’s to be at his goal weight. However, he has a family history of diabetes (my mother-in-law) and he has genetic high cholesterol. The guy is 36 years old and already taking cholesterol medicine. Plus, he just feels lousy about himself carrying around the extra 4 kilo’s, and I really want to help him feel good about how he looks (even though I think he’s hot stuff!).
3) Baby J – You wouldn’t think a toddler would need a nutritionist, especially not one who is 25 percentile weight and 50 percentile height. However, Baby J is allergic to all milk and any products that contain milk and milk proteins. That makes life challenging, especially since I worry that she’s not getting enough calcium and iron into her diet. In fact, before we discovered the allergy and I was feeding her yogurts and cheeses and the like, she slipped down below the 10th percentile in weight. That was very scary for us, and fortunately she is much better now that we are feeding her the right foods, but I still worry about her (will worry about her for the rest of my life).
Now, don’t think we didn’t attempt to make a go out of it with the Kupah (health insurance) nutritionist. We made an appointment to see one immediately after the Jewish holidays ended last month. However, she was the pits! I’ve never met with someone so unprofessional, who basically gave us a “plan” that wouldn’t help a soul, and told us to come back in 6 weeks. That’s what you get when you pay 20 shekel for a meeting.
I’m not gonna lie, Jennifer is pricey. At 250 shekel an hour, that’s a big financial investment for us. But, it is worth every single agurah if we can all figure out how to eat so that Baby J is getting enough calcium, DH is keeping his cholesterol levels normal and feeling good about himself, and I’m not blowing up like a big pregnant lady because I made Susie Fishbein’s apple kugel recipe for Shabbos and then spent three days devouring the leftovers by myself (which I just did this weekend).
I have high hopes for Jennifer, let’s just hope she doesn’t let me down!
Have you met with a nutritionist in Jerusalem? What was your experience? Let me know!
Hannah @A Mother in Israel says
Once I was in the store at the checkout, when I realized my daughter had taken my credit card out of my wallet! Fortunately I was with a friend who lent me the money.
ken says
my daughter is going to go to school in jerusalem in Jan.I need a nutrionist to laison with the school about her food sensitivities.
Please can you supply with a name and phone number.
holylandhipstermom says
I’m sorry I never saw this post! Were you able to find a nutritionist in Jerusalem to help your daughter?