Fit Friday: March 14, 2014

I'm not feeling terribly fit right now.  This week has been hard.  I got in a couple of Ttapp workouts but have been mostly feeling worn and nauseas and not wanting to move at all. 

I step on the scale during the week and it has me hovering between 158 and 159 most every day.  Then, today, it's bouncing all around in the lower 150's. I finally got some consistent readings at 154.  It doesn't make sense to me to see the scale dip so low like that and then jump back up the next several days by a few pounds.  However, I know my hormones are going all sorts of different directions and I have been struggling to eat much of anything in the last few days.

I don't really feel like I can count on a number for my weight for sure, though.  It's fluctuating so much.  What I can feel good about right now is that I haven't gained into the next decade.  A few weeks into this pregnancy and I haven't eaten myself forward. That's a good thing. Especially with the lack of activity I have right now.

I'm working hard to get those folate foods down.  It's not been easy. The texture and smell of the legumes is really making me ill.  I've been reaching for bland and textured foods that comfort me like rice and toast. Not the best for nutrition but still far better than the boxed and canned foods I've relied on in the past. 

I need to get groceries today.  That will be a challenge. 

The children have done well keeping up with making meals for themselves and for me.  I feel terrible that I am so repulsed by the kitchen, but also grateful for the skills they've acquired to keep us afloat.

I went out with David on Wednesday this week and caved into a craving for a buffalo chicken wrap. It tasted lovely on the way down and my stomach enjoyed feeling full with something of substance.  I thought, well...I guess meat is okay for me.  A few hours later I was feeling quite ill and yesterday was my worst day of sickness yet.  I also struggled with loose bowels all day.  Now, that could all be coincidence, I'm not sure.  But, it sure did seem that my system had something in it that it wasn't used to having in there.

I think I'm seeing a tiny bit of difference in my hips, thighs, and waist using ttapp.  I hope to be able to keep getting it in each day to work on those improvements. 

Saturday Set-Up - March 8, 2014

This week's Set-Up has a brand new purpose to it.  That's because I just walked into my 6th week of pregnancy and the morning sickness has begun!

I'm only getting it in waves right now, so it's already better than my past pregnancies. This morning, though, I felt awful for a time and I knew I had to get some foods prepped to get me through the coming week.

Seeing how quickly I can go from fine to Vomit Ready, I know my appetite is going to drop off a lot this week.  My focus right now is to get in enough foods to meet the folate requirements this baby needs to grow and develop safely.  Using this chart, I found that's not hard to do in any way when I'm eating normally with the 6 week plan as my base.  But, when my stomach is starting to turn at just the smell of fresh greens, I know I need a plan for getting the basic necessities down.

Survive the Green Plan

Folate Goal:  600 mcg

Green Smoothie  = 115 to 150 mcg folate
1 cup of lentils   =  358  mcg folate
1 PB ball  =  100 mcg folate

If I only get these three items in each day, I am very close to my goal of 600 mcg of folate daily.  If you consider that the lentils I eat are prepared with onion, mushrooms, and cooked greens, I'm even closer if not fully over the daily need.

And, Lord willing, I'll be able to add in another bowl of beans, steamed broccoli, or even a roasted beet which will put me well over my daily goal. 

So, today, after my ginger tea got me feeling better, I packed up some freezer bags filled with fruits and veggies for green smoothies. I was inspired by the tutorial at this link.

 

I used 1 cup of cantaloupe, 1 cup of strawberries, and 1/2 cup of blueberries for the fruit...

 

I had a mix of beet greens, kale, and bok choy for the greens. I firmly packed a heaping two cups into the bags.  I added a palm of walnuts and a palm of a mixture of sliced almonds and raw pumpkin seeds.

 

These pretty little bags are all tucked in my freezer now. I'll add a TBS of chia seeds and water to the blender to mix these up for my daily smoothie.  I may end up decreasing the fruit as I move along this pregnancy so as to keep my sugars low, but for now, I want to make sure I like this taste while I'm dealing with the nausea.

 

I also made some protein rich power bits for the freezer. One of these each day will give me 100 mcg of folate and enough protein to help my stomach stay busy and, hopefully, more settled during the day.

 

 

Another quick treat my daughter made for me today was a pan of roasted chickpeas.  These are a little too good to resist, though.  The first pan was gone before the day was out and I didn't even have one! We made a second pan for our dinner salad tonight. It's a good thing these are easy to make, so I can still rely on them for a high folate food that is easy to get down.

 

 

1 large can of garbanzo beans, rinsed, sprinkled with Mrs. Dash seasoning and roasted at 400 degrees until crispy. 1 cup = 282 mcg folate. 

 

I'm feeling confident about this plan.  Even at my worst, I'm pretty sure I can keep this minimum food down. It will be in texture that soothes my stomach and is easy to digest. 

 

Now, I can sit back, welcome the green, and enjoy this gift of a first trimester knowing that this little one is being fed the best I know how.

Monday Motivation - 3.3.14

I've got some new motivation that has me more focused than usual.  I'll share what that is soon.

In the meantime, I'll list some goals for this week and get moving on my day.

1.  Morning worship
2.  Morning Ttapp BWP
3.  Hoe-downs after each meal
4.  Stair climbing, increasing by one each day
5.  Eat using 6-week plan plus increasing/targeting folate foods and fats
6.  Afternoon rest - 30 minutes
7.  Evening pilates
8.  Bedtime worship
9.  Sleep by 9pm
10. Vitamins daily