Pregnancy: 2nd Trimester Update

It’s been a while since I’ve done a pregnancy update–aka I haven’t done one since I announced I was pregnant on the blog at the end of my first trimester.  Ha!

2nd trimester was much better than the 1st tri.  My dizziness went away completely by the time I hit 20 weeks, and by 23ish weeks my fatigue was a lot better, too.  I was able to pick up my workouts again and stay active, which has been so nice.  I need that movement for my sanity!  We found out we are having a little girl, which is very exciting.  I’m still dealing with all the pregnancy yuck of hormones, an achy back, and general fatigue, but I’m feeling much better compared to my first trimester AND to how I felt when I was pregnant with Liam.

Utilizing my resources this time around with my workouts, trying to eat healthy, going to therapy, and staying on my medicine (with my doctor’s approval) has made a huge difference for me. I’ve been drinking my Shakeology every day since I started my second trimester and got over all the nausea I was having, and it has been helping my pregnancy digestion issues, my energy, and getting good nutrition in.  Such a lifesaver!  I vividly remember how depressed and insane I felt during my pregnancy 5 years ago and I am very thankful to not be feeling that way right now!

All that being said, I am making some changes during my third trimester.  I have been making much more of an effort to be healthy this pregnancy, but I didn’t eat as healthfully as I could have/should have during my 2nd trimester and gained more weight than I wanted to.  Now, I am a short lady with a tiny torso, so there’s not much room for baby girl to grow except OUT, and I held on to a TON of water when I was pregnant with Liam: I recognize that my body is probably just going to hold on to weight regardless of what I do.  But I also recognize that I could be doing a lot more to help slow that weight gain down.  I’m being more intentional about my food and focusing on veggies more and not eating fried things (sorry Joella’s and Chick-Fil-A–I still love you).  At the beginning of this trimester I had a goal of gaining 10 lbs during this 12 weeks, so we’ll see if my body cooperates with my efforts!

I’m still staying active–I’ve got some amazing 20 minute workouts lined up for the end of my trimester.  I’m planning on modifying all the things and just keeping it moving, taking rest days when I need to, as long as my doctor is still okay with it. I worked as a teacher up until the day I went into labor with my son, so I feel comfortable with continuing my workouts up until labor too!

I’m excited to give you my final pregnancy update–because then I won’t be pregnant anymore and will have a new baby to share!

I’m also working on a pregnancy guide, so stay tuned for that!

Merry Christmas!

Whatever you celebrate, have a wonderful holiday!

Holiday Tips + How to Start 2019 Strong!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  It’s also super busy, kind of stressful, and full of tempting treats all around.

For some people, thinking about their health during this time of year seems weird, but for me it’s the time of year when I decided to get serious about my health 4 years ago.  It’s also the time of year that I gained the most weight during my pregnancy with Liam.  I didn’t feel good in my clothes, I felt like I needed to hide myself in family photos, and I had a hard time enjoying the holidays–even though it was my son’s first Christmas–because I was tired, uncomfortable, and self-conscious.

Maybe you are feeling the same way.  Here are a few tips to get through the holiday season without completely giving up on your health goals.

• First, relax.  You are allowed to enjoy the holidays guilt-free.  Whatever you decide to do with your health and fitness, OWN IT.  Don’t wish you did something different.  Really be honest with yourself about what you want, and go for it!
• Drink your water!  Stay away from sodas and cocktails as much as possible–save those for your parties.  Drink up with your water to stay hydrated and keep your body working the way it’s supposed to.
• Eat healthfully throughout the week!  You don’t have to deprive yourself of your traditional holiday foods that you look forward to, but you also don’t have to eat crap all day every day.  Keep plenty of veggies handy, and make it a point to eat mostly veggies throughout your day.  Keep satisfied with lean proteins and be careful about what carbs you want to have so you don’t overdo it.
• Stay moving!  Keep up with a fitness routine throughout the holidays.  If you’ll be traveling on Christmas Day, plan for that to be a rest day and schedule in your workouts for the rest of the week.  For me, working out on the holiday makes me feel more energized and less guilty about indulging!
• Plan ahead.  Not just for your workouts, but for your food!  Do what you can to make sure you have a healthy options, whether that means grabbing some hummus and baby carrots at the store when you’re on the road, making a healthy option to take to your family gathering, or planning out what you’re going to indulge in beforehand so you feel prepared and confident in your choices.

And you need to plan ahead for 2019, too!  January 1st will be here before we know it, and whether or not you’re ready to tackle your health.  I’ve already got my plan of attack for 2019: obviously I’ll be finishing up my pregnancy and then taking a hiatus from fitness, but I already have a new program lined up to get me to delivery!  20 minutes a day and no equipment?  I think I can handle that!  Plus, that is very manageable for after the baby as well once I’m cleared to work out again.  I’ll also be following the same eating plan I’m currently doing–no measuring any portions to make sure I’m eating enough for baby now and for breastfeeding later, but focusing on the quality of nutrition that I’m eating to stay as healthy as possible.

If 20 minute workouts without any required equipment sounds up your alley, click this link and we can chat! I’m hosting a test group for this new program and I have room for 10 new clients–don’t miss out!

 

And just like that, I’m a Food Allergy Mom

A few weeks ago, Robbie was out of town and Liam and I went to dinner with my parents.  They had some little brownie bites (the size of a mini muffin) that I used to bribe him to use the bathroom before we left to drive home.  I have no shame in that bribing game.  Once we were in the car and driving, he took one or two little bites of the brownie and said it made his tongue and mouth feel weird.  I took a bite of mine and realized there were chopped walnuts in it.  It concerned me, for sure, but I also kind of thought that since he doesn’t like nuts, that Liam was just making an excuse to not eat it.  I actually drove with the interior lights on because it was dark out and I wanted to be sure I could see him if he got hives or something.  He didn’t, everything was good, and then I forgot about it.

Cut to a few weeks later: we went to Liam’s already-scheduled allergy appointment to check on the progress with the allergy drops we started with him this year.  I mentioned the brownie incident, we had a skin test, and long story short: Liam is allergic to tree nuts.

We were kind of shocked at the diagnosis.  He doesn’t like nuts in general and just doesn’t eat them, so thank God he’s never had a severe reaction.  In fact, we don’t even know if he’s had a reaction at all before the brownie, but I’m thinking that he has been reacting mildly and just didn’t know how to express it.  He has eaten some things that he described as “spicy” that shouldn’t have been at all, and it’s likely that it was something I cooked with almond flour or almond milk.  In fact, some of the recipes I’ve shared on this blog that use almond flour (like blueberry muffins) he suddenly said he didn’t like anymore.  I thought he was just being picky, but now I wonder if he was having reactions and just couldn’t tell me.

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks doing all the research I can about tree nut allergies, and let me tell you, it is some scary stuff.  I cannot tell you how thankful I am that Liam hasn’t gone into anaphylaxis or had severe reactions before we knew he was allergic.  I am so thankful that the only allergy we have so far is tree nuts and not more of the top 8 allergens.  And I’m thankful that as of now, we don’t have to worry about “shared lines” or products that may be processed in a plant that also processes tree nuts.  But, we still had to make a few changes.

• I actually had some chopped walnuts and pecans from some dishes I made at Thanksgiving (dishes that thankfully Liam didn’t eat), so I threw that out.  Walnuts were the tree nut that Liam had the biggest reaction to.
• I had some treats in the freezer that I had made with almond flour that I threw out.
• I had some almond milk in the fridge that I threw out.  I’m basically the only person who drinks it, but when we run out of dairy milk we use my almond milk for cereal and French toast.  It’s best to just not have it in the house!
• I threw out the raw almonds and almond flour from the pantry.
• I checked all the labels of the crackers and snacks that we have in the pantry, and the sauces we have in the fridge, to make sure it was all nut-free and good to go.

So I cleaned everything out of the house, and got a couple of substitutions for what I got rid of.

• I already had regular flour and gluten-free flour at home, so I’ll use those instead of almond flour.
• I got some coconut milk to replace the almond milk, but APPARENTLY coconuts count as a tree nut even though they are a fruit.  Insert eyeroll here.
• So now I am trying flax milk.  The jury is still out as to whether it’s a hit.

We are definitely still learning–a day after his diagnosis we went to the store and got Honey Nut Cheerios, not thinking a thing of it.  It wasn’t until a couple of hours later (before Liam had a chance to eat any) that I realized DUH THERE ARE ALMONDS IN THIS CEREAL.  It’s even in the name!  But we’re learning.

Stay tuned for some nut-free treats and meals as we continue to navigate this new part of our lives!

**Just in case you need to do some research about food allergies yourself, you can check out American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology or Food Allergy Research & Education.

Healthier Beef and Broccoli

I LOVE all types of Asian foods–takeout, sushi, egg rolls, pad Thai: it’s all amazing to me!  When I saw this recipe for a healthy version of beef and broccoli, I was PUMPED.  I’m always looking for healthier versions of unhealthy foods I love.

Right off the bat, I knew this recipe would be really simple to modify if I wanted to.  I’m honestly not the biggest fan of cooked broccoli and my boys don’t love it either, so I knew that if I were going to make this and have a shot at it being successful with the whole family that I needed to substitute a different veggie.  I opted for coleslaw mix and it worked really well!  I used 4 cups of slaw mix and since cabbage cooks down and shrinks, it didn’t make 4 full servings like the recipe says.  Next time I’ll add in some more slaw mix so there are 4 full servings after cooking.

Another really simple modification you can make is the protein: not everyone loves steak (I’m usually one of them!).  It can be really chewy and dry if you overcook it, especially when cut into pieces.  You can make this with chicken, shrimp, ground turkey, or any other protein you like.  As long as you’ve got the sauce, it will be good!

You can also add some brown rice to add a little more volume to your meal or to add some carbs if you wanted to eat this as a lunch.  Carbs are your friend for lunch to give you energy to get through the rest of the day!

Enjoy!

Healthier Beef and Broccoli (from Ilana Muhlstein)

¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

6 Tbsp. water, divided use

2 Tbsp. corn starch, divided use

1 Tbsp. raw honey

1 lb. raw top sirloin beef, trimmed of fat and sliced into ½-inch thick pieces

1 tsp. coconut oil

4 cups broccoli florets

2 medium bell peppers, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 thin slice fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger

 

Combine soy sauce, 4 Tbsp. water, 1 Tbsp. corn starch, and honey in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.

Combine remaining 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water in a large bowl; mix well. Add beef. Toss gently to coat.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Add beef; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from skillet, keep warm.

Add broccoli, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes. Place broccoli mixture in beef bowl.

Add soy sauce mixture to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 30 seconds, or until thickened.

Return beef and broccoli mixture to skillet; cook, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until well mixed and heated through.  Serve immediately.