Monday

DIET:
protein shake - 275
cheerios - 100
ZONE protein bar - 190
cliff bar fruit stick - 70
some of Emma's fries - 60?
cookies - 320
total so far: 1015

WATER:
35 ounces so far

EXERCISE:
ran 1.5 miles
hour weights class

Two things blew the diet for me today... I terrible fall that made me mad/sad and want to indulge in more cookies to make me feel better (totally stupid, I know) and Kolby's birthday and the red velvet cake I made for it! Oh, and I ate past 8pm. I guess it's better that I started my day right rather than have it go bad the entire day. I will guess how I ended with calories for the sake of honesty and reporting...

total from above: 1015
3 more cookies - 440 (why do homemade have so many calories?)
parmesan chicken - 200?
caesar salad - 150?
garlic bread - 150?
red velvet cake - 400?
milk - 110
fruit loops (late at night) - 350
TOTAL - 2815!
(what an embarrassment!)

Sunday's Report

Okay, I am going to be VERY honest with this blog (it's the only way I can honestly account for my goals, even though I am embarrassed to admit some things!) From everything I've read, I should have gained an average of 5-7 pounds by now in my pregnancy. I have gained 11! I would be fine with the weight gain if I knew I had been eating smart, but I have given in to JUNK way too much. The best way for me to be sure to get the "NUTRITIOUS" foods is to eliminate the overall calories, because then I know I have to make them count! So, I am going to try to stay around 2000 a day this next week. Since I DO feel more hungry being pregnant, I am going to have to be very careful about eating good whole grain carbs and protein. I read an entire article talking about what foods make you feel full and satisfied the longest. Some people think that carbs in general will help you "feel" full; but that is not good enough, they have to to be 'WHOLE GRAIN." The other key for me is to NOT eat past 8pm. So, I am going to report on how I do with that each day along with my diet, water and exercise.

The biggest problem today was the fact that we have NOT given up our traditional Sunday baking with the kids that started during Christmas. It is so hard when they get so excited about it. Jaxson talks all the time about how HE is going to do the same thing with HIS kids when he is a dad! Man, I need to build up my willpower!

DIET:
protein shake - 350
open face tuna sandwich with cheese - 320
chips - 100?
edemame - 100?
5 chocolate chips cookies - 640!!!
milk - 110
turkey meatloaf - 140
risotto - 100
peas - 80
chocolate chip cookie - 160
milk - 110
TOTAL: 2300

Ignoring BAD advice and recommiting to "the diet!"

I just have to share my opinion on something I have really struggled with. In a previous post, I mentioned how I am trying to keep my heart rate under 140 (because that is what everyone/everything seems to say you should do). Well, after a couple weeks of doing that and feeling like my body was going to POT because I was NOT getting the kind of workout I was used to, I realized that, "you know what? I am going to continue doing what I've been doing before ever getting pregnant!" I know if my mother-in-law reads this, she will flip! (She is an aerobics instructor and says I need to keep my heart rate under 134! Sorry, but I'm not feeling much that low!) My doctor says I am find to keep doing what I've been doing and bottom line, I am really tired of people placing all these restrictions on pregnant women! I felt strongly about this before, and then I found this post by my friend Marilyn who reconfirmed that my thoughts are not selfish and let me know that I am not alone in these feelings. I hope she doesn't mind, but she said it all so well, I am going to "quote" her:

...I have been getting annoyed with some of the old school thinking of what a pregnant woman should or should not do. I am appalled at some of the unrealistic reports that are still out there... some of the myths out there about exercising while pregnant are disturbing and they are from supposedly "credible" websites.

I was researching exercising while pregnant because I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing trying to keep active and maintaining my fitness routine. My doctor has already reassured me a couple of times. I have asked him fitness-related questions the last few visits, just to make sure I was on the safe side. I am a little paranoid I guess and don't want to do any harm to the baby of course! So, I was doing further research for myself.

Here is what upset me... Associate Professor of OB from Babycenter.com said and I quote "you generally shouldn't raise your heart rate over 140 beats per minute while pregnant" and "You'll know you've probably gotten too hot if you break a sweat and continue sweating." Luckily, all of the posts beneath the article were very plainly disappointed and had very supportive evidence to prove the article wrong. It made me feel better that I wasn't the only one to recognize the falsity and ridiculousness of the report.

Pregnant women should exercise just as everyone should. It helps strengthen the body and build endurance to prepare for birth, steadies and greatly minimizes emotional stress, encourages healthier eating (at least for me) which supports the growing fetus, and allows one to bounce back into shape after the baby is born. It is healthy to break a sweat otherwise the "workouts" would be extremely limited. Plus, you have to push yourself to feel satisfied and have your workout time be productive. The advice to not push yourself is very disturbing to me. I know I shouldn't go overboard and I need to be careful but I get sick of reading how the only exercise you can do is yoga! That is a lie and is only promoting the excessive weight gain that is occurring for pregnant women in our society.

Basically every comment made after the article had a similar stance as myself and it was very refreshing to seem some reality! There are so many restrictions out there for what a pregnant woman should or should not do that it gets a little discouraging!!! What are we supposed to do then? Sit in a cocoon for nine months? Nine months is a long time and I am sorry but women have been having healthy babies for hundreds of years without this advice. They say the health-risks out there now are so many times smaller than what they were in the past with all the technology, healthcare, and research available. I am not going to worry.

Here are a couple of the other posts after the article....

I'm VERY disappointed that an assoc prof of OB would still be following this outdated report. I'm an exercise physiologist and did my masters work in exercise and pregnancy. I have read >70 studies and there is clearly NO evidence to suggest that you shouldn't get your HR over 140. It is an arbitrary #. Dr. Artal wrote a good book, Dr.James Clapp wrote an even better book, check it out (Exercising through your pregnancy)that is based on RESEARCH, not guesses. About monitoring your core temp, you would literally have to use two probes, one that goes down your esophagus and one that goes up your rectum. This is not really feasible or comfortable. The best thing to do is exercise indoors during the summer, listen to how your body feels, drink fluids, and use a fan. Sweating is good... it cools you. But if you feel like you might be getting too hot, then bring your intensity down a few notches. Also, if you're already fit, your circulatory system is efficient and will get sufficient blood flow to the baby.

I'm a faithful exerciser in my first trimester. I'm still running regularly. I drink a lot of water and if I feel the slightest that I'm pushing myself, I stop to walk. My HR usually hovers around 155 and I usually slow down if it goes over 160. I think that each person is unique and it's hard to say that NO ONE should go over 140...I'd be very limited in my workouts if I couldn't go over 140...

There were many more comments I did not post here that proved the article wrong. This morning in my weights class, I asked my instructor about how long I could continue the weight lifting (trust me, there is plenty of "advice" out there about this as well!). She said that she TAUGHT the class up until the day before she went into labor. Also, a spinning instructor of mine taught well into her pregnancy. She says I am fine if I stay below 165. I think the best thing is for me to LISTEN to my body. When I am running, there are times I feel like I need to slow down to a walk. I don't let my heart rate get above 160-165 and I am being very careful to stay hydrated. So, that is that!

As far as my "reporting..." My workouts have been going well and that is probably the easiest part of trying to stay healthy with this pregnancy. Eating, on the other hand, is another story. I have really struggled with BAD sugar cravings and I have given in WAY too many times (I have been eating donuts! What the heck? I have never liked donuts!) Anyway, after a week of very poor eating choices, I have realized that the best thing I can do for my baby is take the 5 minutes it takes each day to REPORT IN on this blog! So, I am recommitting! It does NOT take time to track my calories; and when I do, I make smarter choices. So, although it may seem inconvenient when I want to reach for those chewy sweet tarts, I will always make the wiser choice if I know I have to record the calories... so I REALLY am back to DAILY REPORTING! This time, for REAL!

So, here it is!
DIET:
protein shake - 350
go lean cereal and yogurt - 350
chips - 150
raisins - 50
lentil soup - 400?
fruit bar - 130
chicken stir fry and rice - 500?
ice cream - 200
edemame - 100
cereal - 200
TOTAL: 2430

WATER:
65 ounces (so far)

EXERCISE:
hour long weights class

I think my confidence is BACK...!?

Yesterday was such a good day for me. It was Emma's birthday so I did give in on the junk and probably went over calorie-wise, but for whatever reason I finally feel that my confidence is back. Having gained eight pounds in a matter of 6 weeks or so was a very discouraging for me. It is crazy how much it can affect you mentally, even though I know I'm pregnant and it should be okay to gain weight. I think it's because I KNOW I haven't been making as healthy of eating choices as I have the last several months; the gain was NOT entirely because of pregnancy, it was because of MY POOR CHOICES! Anyway, it has been a mental struggle for me and has dampened the joy I usually feel from working out.

Today, I got on the treadmill and ran 3 miles. I didn't push myself too hard, but I was encouraged by how easy and most important, how FUN it was. You have to understand that I LOVE to work out! So to have that joy gone for the last several weeks has been hard. Today I felt encouraged that I CAN DO THIS! I can be pregnant and still enjoy this hobby. Even if the weight bar on my "row" lifts in weights class touches my belly much sooner than it did before! I shouldn't care that I have a pooch so early on in my pregnancy!... it's not affecting my abiblity to stay active! I am going to stop feeling sorry for myself and take control again! I am going to LOVE my work outs like I did before!

I think I have been most discouraged by the inch I've gained back on my thighs and the 1.5 inches I've gained on my hips! Oh and did I mention the 4% I've gained back in body fat! Okay, that is the one that probably hurts the most! If I can ever get back to 15% body fat after this baby, I will have reached my goal! Regardless of what the scale says!

All that said, I have to admit that I feel selfish how much time I give to going to the gym each day. Because of the big chuck of time I sacrifice, it affects my whole day. I usually don't get home from the gym until noon. It's not that I spent HOURS working out, it just takes awhile to drive, get Emma dropped off and all of that. After lunch and preschool drop off, I only have 1.5 hours before I get Jax which is usually spent running errands or whatever (that is if I had time to shower before dropping Emma off). Needless to say, this means that my HOUSE (laundry, cleaning, budgeting, projects, etc, etc, ) gets neglected! I am trying to figure out a better balance. If anyone has any ideas, let me know! (I think now that it's getting warmer, I need to hit the gym EARLY, but that means I can't do the classes that I LOVE).

So, now that Emma's birthday is over, I can start working to control the sugar intake again! I did okay last week, but I never really wrote my calories down and that makes a huge difference. So, I will try to track for the rest of today and for sure will start writing it down tomorrow and I'll report back. I had to babysit kids this morning, so no gym. I am going to try to go before dinner tonight.

Until next time...

Wednesday... back to the daily reporting!

Alright, back to the accountability thing... here is run down of my calories so far today:

DIET:
Go Lean Cereal (this has just started to taste good to me again, so it has been about 2 months since I've eaten it) - 200
Yogurt - 120
milk - 30
2 oatmeal cookies (bad I know) - 200
graham crackers - 120
pretzels - 120
banana - 100
2 hard boiled eggs - 120
protein bar - 200
pop tart - 200

total so far: 1480

EXERCISE:
45 minutes on elliptical
20 minutes legs (weights)
ran 1 mile on track

WATER:
35 ounces so far

Ode to Hawaii

Well, since Hawaii was such a great motivation for me to lose weight and get into shape, I feel a desire to give tribute to the wonderful place we enjoyed for a week.

Dear Kuaui,
Thank you for keeping me focused on my goals for so many months. There were so many times that I reached for that oh-so-tempting dessert and turned it down because of you. Because of you motivating me to be in shape, I was able to enjoy your rugged beauty. I had the strength to kayak the Wailea River with ease. Hiking up the muddy trails to Secret Falls offered a challenge I was able to tackle while keeping my head up to enjoy the beauty. I had the strength to hold onto that rope swing at Kipu Falls and experience an exuberant adrenaline rush. So, thank you Kuaui! Thank you being there to help me reach my goals and enjoy memories that will last a life time!

Until Next Time...
Alison

Well, with that, I thought I'd post a few pictures. I didn't get any cute bathing suit shots like Natalie did on her trip to Mexico (you seriously look like a model Natalie!) But, here are a few good ones that I do have...Kolby and I on our hike up to Secret Falls
Me at my favorite beach (with a soaking wet skirt... I obviously got a little too deep in the waves)
Kolby and I at a Luau
Enjoying the sound of the water below the nets of the Catamaran that took us out a whale watching excursion. Being pregnant, I was lucky to get sick only ONCE (which was NOT the case for many other tourists aboard!)
Me at Secret Falls

The "Exclusive" Inside Scoop

I am feeling a great desire to "explain myself" on my slacking with this blog. So, in this post, I will offer my confessions and my re commitment goals... but most important, I will share some BIG news! Hmmm, I'm not sure anything can say it better than a little conversation that took place between Carrie and Jaxson (the kids got to spend some time with them while in Utah)....

Jax: "When my mom's tummy gets bigger I have a secret. But I can't tell."
Carrie: "Oh really? so when your mom's tummy is bigger you have a secret, huh?"
Jax: "Yeah."
Carrie: "So is your mom going to have a baby?"
Jax: "It's a secret so I can't tell."

Ha! So much for having the kids "keep a secret!" It's a good thing we waited until right before our trip to Hawaii to tell them! Emma has leaked the "secret" as well. So... that is the GOOD NEWS! I am 12 weeks and VERY excited! I am not sure I want to announce it to EVERYONE yet, so for you who read this... keep it on the down low for a couple weeks. Actually, that leads to my confessions... you may NOT need to keep it a secret for too much longer because I have been SO BAD and gained way too much weight so far! Hence the reason why I am feeling a GREAT desire to reconnect with this blog. I want to account for my health choices with this pregnancy to be sure I am being smart and making smart choices for my baby. So far, I have given into pregnancy cravings that I have NEVER felt with either of my previous two pregnancies (namely sugar, Sugar and SUGAR!!). I have been a little irresponsible, I think.

From the time I started this blog, I knew I would probably meet my health goals in just enough time to turn around and gain it all back with a pregnancy. Yeah, I wish I could have enjoyed the size 4 pants a little longer, but having reached those goals and feeling the difference in my life, I am now all the more committed to losing the weight quickly after baby number 3 (and not waiting 3 1/2 years!) I am also more committed to staying active through this entire pregnancy, to make healthy eating choices, and do as much as I can for my baby! So, there you have it! Now, for the goals (keep in mind, I know a lot of this is more for ME than for anyone else. In other words, this will make for pretty boring reading)...

I was NOT active with either of my last two pregnancies. I did not track my eating and ended up gaining around 35 pounds (I think almost 40 with Emma). I know that's not a TON, but it took me a long time to lose it. I just lost 17 of the last 20 pounds this past fall/winter with our little fitness forum. After my research on what is "healthy weight gain," I would like to aim for 25 pounds. My mom and sister never gained a pound over 20, but I'm not sure that is realistic for me (especially considering how much I've already gained). Average weight gain for the first trimester is 2-3 pounds. After that you should gain 3-4 pounds a month. In the last three months, I should have only consumed 150-200 calories extra a day. I FAR surpassed that. In the coming months, I should add an extra 300 calories to my daily diet. Here is a break down of where my weight should go:

• Baby: 7 to 8 pounds
• Larger breasts: 1 to 3 pounds
• Larger uterus: 2 pounds
• Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds
• Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
• Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds
• Increased fluid volume: 2 to 3 pounds
• Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds

The good news for me is that my appetite is finally starting to get under CONTROL. I am feeling a little more normal (not violently STARVING when I first wake up in the morning). My girlfriend's doctor is keeping her on a very strict diet to control weight gain during her pregnancy and has often had her drop 100-200 calories below her "maintenance caloric intake" level. So, for the next few weeks, I am going to try it. I'd like to maintain my current weight until I'm 16-18 weeks (I am going to be flexible with time goals for now). The important thing for me is to make good food choices and eliminate the JUNK (hard to do after a hardy Christmas and Hawaii trip which consisted to rich desserts EVERY freakin' night! I will just figure that I've filled my bucket on treats for awhile and hope that mindset will give me a little willpower).

I have to laugh at myself while typing all this as I am finishing off my 4th oatmeal cookie for the afternoon. We have gotten into an old habit/tradition of baking on Sunday afternoons with the kids. They will be sad if I put an end to that, so we'll see... maybe I can withstand the temptations and let them bake anyway (I am highly doubting it... I should prepare myself for tears!)

Okay, so starting TOMORROW (you've got to LOVE a new week!) I am making the goal of
1. NO treats, and
2. Maintain a calorie consuption of 2000 calories. (my maintenance intake is 2185).

So, hold me to it girls! I am going to keep my goals centered around EATING for now and keep it simple. Exercise has not been an issue for me (it is my mental therapy amidst this cold winter weather!) In fact I just got a pilates matt and a heart rate monitor for my birthday which I am very excited for! I have a hard time keeping my heart rate as low as I should now (especially in spinning) and don't want to get too high for the baby; as you may know, the fetus can't cool down, and you should never go above 135-140. I easily get up in the 170's with spinning! So, I'm trying to be smart and track it better.

I guess I will mention ONE fitness goal and that is that I want to run a 10K with my friends, Hollie and Sarah in April. I am little nervous and excited about it; but I just keep thinking of Carrie, who ran a half marathon when she was 20+ weeks and feel like I CAN DO IT! I'll just have to go slow! So, I'll keep you apprised on how THAT is going! (I guess I should start running again, eh?)