Gaining Weight is Hard to Do

Having a baby is such a wonderful experience and being pregnant goes along with that.  Physically, emotionally and mentally I'm not an ideal candidate for pregnancy.  I like feeling my best, I like being in tip-top shape, I like water skiing, riding roller coasters and running 10 miles with my running partner.  So, I'm selfish.  I don't like being helpless and feeling so badly I can't keep my house the way I like it.  So, I'm selfish.  And I know there are so many women out there who love being pregnant.  And my heart just breaks for the women who want to be pregnant and aren't.  So when I'm feeling selfish and wish this process would hurry up, I think about how blessed I am because for so long I was that woman who wanted to be pregnant and wasn't.

Aside from all the mixed feelings about pregnancy, it's hard to see the scale go up.  I've managed to maintain my pre-pregnancy weight with exercise, food aversions from first trimester nausea, food journaling and the fear of gaining 50 pounds because of the blood, sweat and tears that went along with losing it all the last time.  I don't want to do that again.  First of all, 50 pounds was too much to gain.  Doctors and books tell me 25 is my number.  So when I got on the scale last Thursday for my weekly weigh-in, why was I surprised that the scale finally went up?  Did I think I would go the last 24 weeks and not gain anything?  That all my running, yoga, strength training and food journaling would subside the weight gain?  No, I'm pretty sure I didn't think that but at the same time it's never easy to see the number increase. 

Now the scale will start climbing.  It's going to start climbing because that baby inside my belly is going to grow from the 4 inches long and 3 ounces it is now to much bigger and that's what I want.  The trick for me is to get that baby to grow without my booty growing along with it!  So I think exercise is the magic formula for me, especially when I know how good it is for the baby. Plus I feel amazing emotionally and mentally when I'm doing it.  Pushing myself to get up and going really helped with morning sickness and I think it'll help to keep me feeling better through the rest of the pregnancy and into a drug-free delivery.

The moral of the story is that gaining weight is really hard to do the right way. I think exercise is the trick to keep the weight gain slow and steady. We'll see though, I'm determined to be my own guinea pig and stick it out with a pretty structured workout plan for the rest of this pregnancy.  Oh and definitely keeping an eye on those sweets.  Gosh, it seems like lately all I can think about are candy bars and cookies.  Ugh, hormones!

Heathy Cookies

Just because I've been craving something sweet and carby....

Ingredients:


Dry ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour (a pinch more depending on the moisture of the mix)

1 1/2 cups of Large Flake Rolled Oats (smaller flake is ok too)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Cinnamon (can use about 3 Tbsp--got to love cinnamon)

1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional)

Wet ingredients

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup oil (corn, grapeseed or olive) * you can also use some applesauce to replace some of the oil if you wish

1 Tablespoon Molasses

1 egg (beat with 1 Tbsp Water)

1 tsp Vanilla

Preparation:

In a large bowl, mix all the dry 1. ingredients together.

In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Hint: when measuring

out the honey, spray the measuring cup with oil or baking spray--your honey

won't stick).

2. Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix. If the

mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. If it isn't binding together very well,

you may wish to add an egg white.

3. COOL the mix for 20 minutes in the fridge.

4. Preheat the oven to 335 degrees (lower temperature due to the honey in the

recipe which will burn more easily).

5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your baking sheet (I recommend lining the baking

sheet with parchment paper). Press down with a fork to ensure even cooking.

6. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until golden on the bottom of the cookie. The

cookies freeze very well and make a great snack! Enjoy.

Motivation Monday: Exercise!

Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.
-Edward Stanley

Make it a rule to exercise. Don't give yourself the option of exercising or not.  It should be a daily habit just like brushing your teeth.  (Change your Body Change your Brain, p 122)


Need a reason to make exercise a part of your everyday routine?
Brain Benefits of Exercise
-Encourages the growth of new brain cells
-Physical activity enhances cognitive ability at all ages
-Exercise enhances mood
-Exercise helps alleviate depression
-Exercise calms worry and anxiety
-Exercise helps prevent, delay, and lessen the effects of dementia and Alzheimer's disease
-Exercise eases symptoms of ADD
-Physical fitness sparks better behavior in adolescents
-Peopel who exercise regularly sleep better
-Exercise helps women cope with hormonal changes
(Change your Body Change your Brain, p 109-115)

2nd Installment of the Book Club

We're meeting next Monday, July 26th at 7pm at Pinnacle Physical Therapy to discuss Chapters 5-10. Topics we'll cover are Exercise, Skin, Hormones, Heart, Energy and Sleep. These are some of my favorite chapters. Hope to see you there!

Motivation Monday: Rebalace

From Jillian Michael's book, Master Your Metabolism. This information is from Chapter 7, the rebalancing stage in her plan.  She's referring to rebalancing your hormones.  Here's her guidelines.  They're guidelines I've preached for years, not rocket science, but great ways to keep or get your metabolism working for you. 

1. Eat Every 4 hours-no excuses!
2. Eat Breakfast-Always!
3. You must not eat after 9pm-and especially never eat carbs before bed. period.

I have a few ladies that read my online food journal.  They are always amazed at how I will turn the day around.  That I will eat something really high in carbs or sweets by lunch time but then finish the day strong with good choices.  I'm not bragging on myself but rather stating I eat crappy too some days.  But I try to eat the crappy carbs early in the day versus late at night.  I figure I have more time to burn it off throughout the afternoon and evening.  It's the opposite of the all or nothing mentality.

Mid-Way Goal Review

Halfway through the year means an assessment on the goal list.  How have I done? 

So far I'm on track to complete 10 races baring no future complications with this pregnancy I'll complete 4 more races by the end of the year.  I'm still truckin' along running 12 miles per week and feeling good with that.  Hopefully it'll last.  Of course my minute per mile pace is really starting to lengthen I'm okay with it because my goal is just one of total mileage.

Sweets.  Hmmm.  So this is just going.  I'll be honest, rarely am I making my once per week goal.  I've got to look at this as an improvement despite not technically meeting my goal.  I'm probably eating two or three sweets at most in a week but it's a major improvement from two years ago.  I'm in this journey for the long haul so if I'm slipping up a bit I'm not going to worry.  I'm still going to try for one each week and I know it's better than one per day like I used to practice.

Sadly, I didn't hit my goal of 10 books in 6 months. Isn't that ridiculous!? Although I didn't miss it by much...one book. I'm okay with that and hope to make it up the rest of the year.  For some reason in the past month I've had no desire to pick up a book.  I'd rather just lay around and be lazy.  It's so silly I know but luckily I'm a goal-oriented person and knew that books needed to be on my goal list otherwise I wouldn't be reading.  The goal has gotten me to read regularly.  It's just going to be a process for me.

I'd rather not look at the goals as pass/fail but rather a guideline for where I've been and need to go.  Goals motivate me so I'm hoping for a strong finish in 2010.

Book 9: The Shack

Before reading this book, I'd heard many opinions.  Some liked the book and others didn't at all. I'll admit I listened to this one on CD in my car over the course of a month.  I couldn't bring myself to actually read the book for some odd reason but I could mostly listen to it when commuting. 

About the book, it's theological fiction.  There are so many layers to the book but the main plot is about a man named Mac and the journey he took towards spiritual freedom from a huge event in his life that left tons of baggage.  It's about a man who comes to grips with losing a child-one of the hardest things any parent would ever go through.

I really like getting perspective and I feel that I really got that from this book.  If anything else I'd take away a different outlook on Christianity and the stereotypes humans put with it.  It seemed like a long read but throughout the book I took away some good thoughts.  

Book 8: Master Your Metabolism

I really liked this book and for many reasons.  The first reason is she shared her story of weight up and downs and how she ate crap but counted her calories and got nowhere.  She explains how our metabolism works and how to get it running efficiently.  I've always preached that's the secret to long term success; getting your metabolism working FOR you.  It's a great book if you have thyroid issues because she does too!  I also like her list of power foods.  For those of you who enjoy lists, this will be a good one for you.  Although I like to limit my meat and dairy, I take from the list what I'll can.  

 

1.Legumes (peas and beans)

2.Alliums (onions, leeks, shallots)

3.Berries

4.Meat and eggs (this group also includes fatty fish like salmon)

5.Colorful fruits and vegetables

6.Cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower)

7.Dark green, leafy veggies

8.Nuts and seeds

9.Organic, low-fat dairy

10.Whole grains

Growing...

I do feel like I've been out of touch a bit. There's a good reason too. It has to do with the little person growing inside my belly. Yup, I'm pregnant with my second child and due January 11th. We're really excited as it's taken a lot longer than we expected to be here. Although, I preach that everything's a process right? I've been forced to listen to my own advice for longer than I'd like. At any rate, I'm doing well. Nausea is still hanging around but hopefully will be bye-bye soon enough since I've just entered the second trimester. As for training plans, my intention is to train through mid-December. I'll take a little break and then be back by March.

Motivation Monday: Not Optional

I look at exercise like brushing my teeth.  It's just not an option.  Brushing my teeth is good oral maintenance and exercise is good body maintenance.  When you stop looking at exercise as an option versus the realization that it's something you'll need to do forever (like brushing your teeth) it becomes much easier to accept that it will be a way of life each and every day.  Exercise is my reality and I've accepted that.  There's no way around it and no way of cheating.  Our bodies crave a challenge.  All we need sometimes is a little mind-shift.

Motivation Monday: Shoulders!

I've been obsessed with working shoulders as of late.  My motivation this week comes in the form of an exercise recommendation for the deltoids.  That nice curve over the shoulder.

To really focus in on the shoulders, perform 3 sets of bent arm raises.  Start with a lighter weight and with no rest between sets, increase your weight and begin another set.  It will burn out the shoulders and challenge them in new ways. That is the key to change!