Fit Readers is a group/challenge run by Felicia @ Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and Jen @ That’s What I’m Talking About, designed to support and encourage each other on our health and fitness goals. In years past I’ve participated but just done quick updates on my Sunday Post. This year, I want my goals to be a top priority, so I’m going to share my updates in a separate, more detailed weekly post. The day it appears will probably fluctuate, though, so just keep your eyes out for it 🙂
If you missed it, I’m pregnant!
I announced a couple weeks ago that I’m pregnant. As of Saturday (3/23) I’m 15 weeks! SQUEE! After several slow weeks where I kept it a secret and crossed my fingers that nothing would go wrong in the most delicate 1st Trimester, suddenly it feels like time is flying ahead and Dante (it’s a boy and we’re naming him Dante) will be here before we know it.
As you can imagine, this news has drastically changed my health goals and priorities – and made things a bit tricky. So here’s a recap on March and my goals for the upcoming week. Next Monday I’ll share my goals for April and recommit 🙂
Emotional Health Goals
I started the year pulling myself out of a bout of depression – crazily enough in part because I was giving up on the possibility of ever having a baby! What’s super crazy about that is while I was saying, “Okay, I give up. Time to come to terms with it.” I was actually pregnant and it was just too soon to tell. Isn’t life crazy?
Anyway, I really think it’s EVEN MORE important that I take care of my emotional health this year. Depression during pregnancy and after are very real concerns because of all the hormone changes and life changes and body changes… you get it. Changes!
My big goal this month was to get back into my Miracle Morning routine – something that really fell off with pregnancy exhaustion. This past week I’ve really pulled it back together – doing my miracle morning every day, even over the weekend (well I”m writing this on Saturday, so hopefully Sunday happens to).
My big emotional challenge has been accepting weight gain. Y’all this is HUGE for me. After spending the past 8 years losing 350 pounds, I don’t exactly have the healthiest relationship with the scale. Acknowledging a problem is the first step, right? Well, now that scale is moving up. And thanks to pregnancy bloat – sometimes as much as 5 pounds in a night. And I also know how much I’m supposed to gain over the entire pregnancy – 20 pounds – and as of March 1st (3 months) I’d already gained 6! My doctor said I was doing good, but y’all I’m freaked. And stressed. I have to find someway to balance accepting healthy weight gain with making sure I don’t gain 60 pounds over this pregnancy. I honestly have no answers. I’ve been told to think about how I’m nurturing my body and Dante. And that I’ll put on for a year and then lose for a year. And that nursing will make it come off. I hear ya, but in one ear out the other because I don’t have a problem understanding. It accepting that’s the problem. So yeah, gotta get over that hurtle and I’m not sure how.
Fitness Goals
Well about the same time I got that first positive pregnancy test (there were 4 over a period of a week because disbelief) my gym was offering sign-ups for spin instructor training. And my doctor told me I could definitely do it, since I’ve already been working out hard for a year +. And I started thinking that after baby comes, I want something that will have me committed to getting back to the gym. Plus, if not now, when will I ever have time again? With an infant? a toddler? probably not! So I went for it. And it’s been intense y’all. I’ve probably spent 12-15 hours on the bike every weekend for the past two months.
This week I have my one on one with my instructor buddy. Basically I’ll teach the class to her and then she’ll give me feedback. I’m so nervous and also excited. After that, it’s time to schedule my mock class, where people will come and actually take a class with me. So that’s my big fitness goal right now.
I’ve also been trying to get in at least 3 days of pregnancy yoga a week. So far, pretty good. It may be challenging this week because of duty at work, meaning I have to leave my house 30 minutes early (yoga is 20 minutes). So we’ll see how it goes.
Eating Goals
Well this is the most important and also the most challenging because OMG CRAVINGS y’all. CRAVINGS!!! Like right now, I’m thinking that I seriously want to order a pizza. And I’m literally typing a post about being healthy. Ugh!
Beyond cravings, a couple other challenges have come up:
- water
- veggies
- blood sugar
So water. Y’all I had been good at it. Then I got pregnant and I have to pee ALL THE TIME. And I”m a teacher. Not easy. And I think I subconsciously stopped drinking water to stop peeing, which didn’t actually work BTW. So I got this app on my phone and it reminds me every hour to drink and the notification goes to my fitbit. If I ignore it, it keeps bugging me. So I’ve been doing better, but there’s room to grow. This week, I just want to get to 64 oz every day fingers crossed
So veggies have been an eternal struggle, but since being pregnant, my standard veggie snack has not been working for me. I no longer like it. shrugs My nutritionist suggested I try smoothies and/or salads. I thought salads would be the winner because drinking veggies just does not sound good to me and I HATE the sound of a blender. Well, jokes on me. I made my first smoothie Tuesday morning and holy shit, I loved it. And I’m getting used to the blender. I had 4 smoothies this past week and I plan to have one every day next week. I’m going to alternate the recipe I’ve been doing (spinach – protein powder – strawberries – coconut milk – almond milk) and a new recipe (kale – protein powder – avocado – pineapple – blueberries) so that I don’t get bored. I’m nervous about the kale, but I’m open to trying it based on the surprise from the strawberry smoothie. And I’m getting in my veggies, major win.
Y’all blood sugar was the shock I did not see coming. I expected high blood sugar because – fat. I know, I know, I’m apparently not fat anymore. But I do still have weight to lose and my brain still sees the 550 lb girl. I swear, the brain is the hardest part of weight loss. Anyway, I thought I might be told I had high blood sugar. But instead my test results came back and my blood sugar was seriously low. It should be about 78 and mine was 45! And after finding that out I discovered I’ve been having low blood sugar attacks! I get a cold sweat, dizzy, pulse up — and what fixes it is orange juice and/or saltines. Sugar! After talking to my nutritionist we figured out these attacks were happening after I had something with a lot of protein but low carb and low fat. Which is like my entire diet. She explained that people who eat a lot of protein like I do often get very good at processing that protein and turning it into sugar… which results in a sugar spike as bad as if I’d had a freaking doughnut! And then after that spike, I crash hard. And to come out of it, I have sugar which sends me on another spike and the roller coaster is on. So to solve that, I have to be sure to pair my protein with healthy carbs (like veggies) or healthy fats (coconut milk, avocados, nuts). My smoothies have been great for that. I’ve also started drinking 2% milk instead of skim (taste adjustment big time) and adding nuts to my greek yogurt. So I’m working on it and have avoided attacks for the most part. So that’s on the agenda this week. Keep the blood sugar stable.
So that’s where I’m at for finishing out March. I do have a goal of not gaining anymore weight this week and MAYBE even losing a few pounds that I really think were too much for this point in the pregnancy. For those that don’t know already, I try to check in each morning and each night on Instagram so be sure to follow me there. I’m @berlssc.
Veggies have been a struggle for me too. I’ve been mixing them in with some other stuff. Hiding under sauces and even mixed into muffins (Allrecipes has a great zucchini, carrot apple muffin recipe), I make a batch and freeze some. I eat a muffin a day. Not a full serving of veggies, but helps. I also like some of the different V8 juices (avoid V8 splash because of the corn syrup). I love the Strawberry banana flavor.
I’m happy for you. I’m sure you’ll get through this challenge of staying healthy while pregnant. Working on the depression will help for sure. {{hugs}}
Congratulations!
Sweetie… It sounds like you have a handle on your health, and even though it’s a tough mental game for you, you are doing the right things for you and Dante. I’m not going to repeat what you already know, but rather just let you know I’m here to listen and support you. If you keep doing what you have been doing and follow your plan, all will be good. And exercise, as long as the doctor approves, is great for both delivery and post-pregnancy health. You got this! *HUGS*
Congratulations Berls.