The never ending finish line

Changes with my body with this pregnancy have been the scariest thing to me.  I know baby is going to wake me up every 2 hours, I’m going to have a hard time getting an hour of sleep, let a long a 30minute HITT workout in.  Yet I’m still determined that I will get by body back to where it was, pre-pregnancy.  I’m not someone who shows off their body but I was taking some pictures when I was at my fittest (not my thinnest) but the body I liked to rock out at the gym at a solid 135-140 lbs.  Not my skinny fat body of 128lbs.  Looking back at the pictures, I’m pretty sad that I didn’t appreciate my body and all it did for me until I saw it starting to add lbs because of my pregnancy (I won’t even get on the scale right now, although I know I’m not huge, I feel a the difference and don’t want to give myself any harder of a time then I already am). Pregnancy was always something amazing and beautiful to me when I would watch other people go through it.   I think pregnant people are glowing and beautiful yet I can’t seem to feel that way about myself (at all), but that isn’t anything new (as I just recognized) as looking back at my pictures of my pretty rocking body, I wasn’t satisfied. 

God is giving me the opportunity to appreciate my body for what it can do, yet I kept punishing myself instead of giving myself credit.  I knew it could play basketball and recover from ACL surgery and return pounding the pavement years later, to run a marathon (and several races/and training before that!).  I knew I could kick ass in 5k’s and lift with better form then the “meat head” boys at my gym.  I knew that my flexibility was pretty amazing and my fellow yogis would complement me on being a “natural” yet I wasn’t satisfied.  I really did have endurance, strength and flexibility, yet still I didn’t give myself credit, I just always felt I could be better.  It is OK to not be satisfied but you should appreciate your body, and give yourself credit for your hard work.  I mean I did lose about 40 lbs a few years ago and kept it off until this new little journey. 

Now God is telling me, you did all that, now watch what an amazing natural thing your body is MEANT to do.  I need to view this as another marathon.  The training is about the same, because I can tell (energy wise) my body is working and working hard to make my little nudger a happy healthy baby and just like in training I need to excersize and eat well to keep my son and myself healthy.  It also is going to take a decent amount of time for my body and my son (Evan) to be where he needs to be on D day (training for a marathon, is like a job and so is growing a baby!). Even further related is the recovery after a marathon (just as important as the training) and the back to running after brief break.  Really, that is how I’m viewing this experience.  Training, marathon day, recovery & getting back on the horse, the harder and more dedicated you are now, in training, the easier the next steps are because your body is ready.   Sure, getting back my body will take some time, but I have to give myself credit for where I am now.  I need to be proud of where I am and accept the compliments that my belly is getting bigger, because THAT IS WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED to do, and I am going to keep doing what I’m doing because most of my pre-prego pants still fit (well they don’t button of course, haha) and just keep reminding myself when I want extra chocolate that I don’t need it.  Evan is perfectly happy with what I eat, and to those who tell me “Oh go ahead, have a burger, some fries and a cookie” I’ll tell you what… you GO AHEAD and HAVE A BURGER, I’ll have a salad beast (www.fitnessista.com) instead, thanks.  After all, my baby eats what I eat, and he should become a fan of healthy eating because pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and (will be) post-pregnancy – what I have in my house is healthy eats (and dark chocolate blueberry/acai berries from Costco).  Not to mention, I plan to breast feed AND make home-made baby food.

So today, I’m taking my second love (Hector the Hubby is my first) Oso (god I love my dog) for a walk/jog combo and some at home weights, followed by some healthy eats that I plan to share, along with my pre-prego bod, my current prego bod and hopefully a review on my new Pilates DVD (realistically that may come later).

The Future: <3

Hey, hey! Hope your day is wonderful.  Just a couple quick things:  One.  I miss my hardcore workouts more than ever.  I’m totally bummed about it, because my energy level doesn’t let me rock it out like I used to.  HOWEVER, that doesn’t stop me for making arrangements for post baby workout plans!  Because I want to be that hot, “Oh my goodness, you just had a baby?!” Momma, I plan on staying pretty fit this pregnancy and not adding too much unnecessary weight my goal is no more than 30lbs. 

So I’ve already hinted to my sister that I want to borrow Insanity or maybe do it with her! This would most likely to start in like September, because you need to be in some sort of shape to start that program, it is not for beginners, not that I am one but I want to make sure to prevent injuries.  I’ve also looked into Zumba (looks fun!) for just after baby and the bodyrock website to get back into shape after baby.  For now, I’m sticking to cardio at the gym, weight training and my prenatal yoga and pilates DVDs.

Two.  Food.  I’ve always been a food junkie, but I thought I’d introduce some more food to my site! Healthy and the not so healthy (everything is OK in moderation, I just tend to like the healthy stuff anyway, so it is typically win/win) – So I thought I’d end with a festive skinny smoothie option (which I’ll be trying out at home this weekend… or maybe tonight haha) 

PREVENTION SKINNY SHAMROCK SMOOTHIE

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 10 MINUTES SERVINGS: 2

1 c baby spinach 

½ c frozen Kefir or low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt

1 kiwi, peeled and chopped

½ banana, chopped

½ c honeydew chunks

½ c fresh orange or tangerine juice

¼ c fresh mint leaves + sprigs for garnish

COMBINE all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses. Garnish each with a mint sprig if desired.

NUTRITION (per serving) 143 calories, 4 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 1 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 60 mg sodium - 

Since I started my new job, and now have a full time 9-5 and a part-time nights and weekends job.  I know that now, more then ever, it is important for me to watch what I eat.  No, I’m not on a diet, I don’t need to loose any weight. However, I need all the energy I can get.  Therefore, I’m going to stay away from overly processed foods.  I do a pretty good job with this now, but I’m going to make the effort to work a little harder (some of those Mojo cliff bars are so EASY to eat, but have no whole grains…) to make sure I eat the best things for me.  My weakness is sugary things like chocolate.  With Halloween gone, and the Holidays rapidly approaching, I’m going to stay away from sweet treats (and come up wit fun substitutes like PEANUT BUTTER AND APPLES!  YUM!!!) so that indulging here and there near Turkey Day and Xmas season doesn’t seem as tempting (as soon as you keep something away for about 2-3 weeks, you don’t CRAVE it anymore).  Lets see how this goes, bring on the challenge.  I want to see what my body is senstive to, and this should let me know.  Happy eating!!

P.S. - I downloaded this awesome app (AND IT IS FREE!!) called Fooducate, it is great because it grades things and gives you BETTER alternatives, try it out!! <3

HAPPY MONDAY!