Being Kendra_ Cribs, Cocktails, and Getting My Sexy Back - Kendra Wilkinson [44]
I’ve learned a lot about nutrition, healthy eating, and recipes since I got married. I had pretty bad eating habits growing up, and then when I was living in the Playboy Mansion I had cooks at all hours of the day who would whip me up whatever I wanted: chocolate sundaes, greasy hamburgers, and pizza at three A.M. You might remember from The Girls Next Door that I ate a lot of chicken fingers and fried foods and gained some weight as a result. Even though I learned some bad habits there, I also picked up some cooking tips by watching the cooks prepare food. Subconsciously I knew how to prepare delicious salads and veggie options—I just wasn’t acting on it! And, of course, living in Los Angeles gives you the ability to pretty much stop off anywhere and get fresh fruit, a salad, or a smoothie. The world was openly ready for me to get healthy, it was just going to take a lot of willpower.
Ever since then Hank and I have been on the same diet. Even when I was pregnant, Hank was on the same eating plan as me. If I was craving pickles with mashed potatoes, Hank would eat pickles and mashed potatoes. He loved it when I was pregnant; he thought it was a great excuse to chow down! Unfortunately, that’s when we both ditched our new diet plan. It was a junk food fest and he put on the “daddy fifteen pounds” before the baby was even born!
Hank and I love to spend time together, but when I was pregnant we’d be like two girls with the same mood swings, as if he had my menstrual cycle. Our energy was the same and a lot of that came from us sharing in a lot of bad eating habits. Pregnancy was my time to forget about dieting. I had spent the last four to five years trying to look a certain way and maintain an image that said “Playboy,” and whenever I got fat it was evident I should slow down on the eating. There were times at the mansion where I knew I was putting on the pounds, but it was a lot easier to take care of that problem then.
Pregnancy was a whole different ball game. I told myself I was allowed to get fat! I thought, “If I’m going to do this for the next nine months, I’m going to at least eat whatever I want.” I cared about avoiding caffeine and liquor, and I was very careful to make sure the baby got his nutrients, but I ate pretty much everything I wanted. Hank did too because he was always with me, so we were eating like there was no tomorrow. My stomach popped and I got big. And I couldn’t wear my sexy outfits anymore. But I loved being pregnant! I felt sexy even if I wasn’t. It’s all a mind-set, because during my pregnancy I felt like I glowed and Hank wanted me just as much as ever.
I’d eat batches of brownies in one sitting, literally a whole cake pan. I ate a lot at night. My stash of junk food was in my nightstand drawer. I pretty much moved the kitchen cabinet into my bedroom so I could access it quickly. I always had a huge box of Nutter Butters close by and I’d go through the whole box in one sitting. I was addicted to white cheddar popcorn—something about the salt and cheese—and I would devour it by the bag and then top it off with a whole bag of pistachios. I was obsessed with pistachios, although I guess you could technically say I was obsessed with everything. So we ended up having to separate and stay in different rooms—Hank slept on the couch for a lot of my pregnancy because otherwise he’d have been up all night snacking with me or, even worse, waking up at four A.M. to have some brownies. It was bad enough I was doing that; I certainly didn’t need him joining in. We were both ballooning and soon there’d be no room in bed for the both of us.
Caught! My cravings were kicking in, yet again.
Once Hank moved to the couch, it got even worse because I had free rein. Hank would sleep, and now I could chomp and chew all night without worrying about waking him. Plus I was up all night peeing and eating; it was a nightmare.
I didn’t want Hank to be on my pregnancy eating plan, especially since he (like me) makes a living out of being in shape. So eventually he got back on track, but I