Tag Archives: Healthy eating

Food Aversions

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This third baby is taking a toll on my diet. I swear I can’t eat anything without getting nauseous. With my second baby I was sick for maybe a month and it went away. But this time around it’s stretching a lot longer.

Strangely enough, the only things that don’t make me sick are: Ice cream, a tortilla with peanut butter, avocado toast, milk, pizza, cheese and vanilla cheerios. You’d think milk products wouldn’t be easy on the stomach and would make me sick. But weirdly enough they don’t bother it!

One strange food aversion I’m having that I had with our second baby is with chicken. I can’t eat chicken cooked at someone’s house. It literally makes me start gagging. I can’t even cook it myself without feeling sick. But I can eat chicken from a restaurant! There’s something about the smell of it cooking in the house that makes me sick. Since I can’t smell the chicken being cooked in the restaurant, it doesn’t bother me.

The first three months I was really battling with food. But now I’ve found a few items I can eat regularly with no major issue. So every day, I eat pretty much the exact same thing. I actually don’t mind it much because I’m a creature of habit and love schedules. I’ve always had my meals planned out days in advance so I’m not doing too much different than my usual other than being limited on foods.

This is definitely proof that every pregnancy is different! I’m learning as I go with each one!

Zucchini Brownies

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I’m not a baker. Never have been. I actually have ruined 95% of the things I’ve tried baking over the years. I can cook decently well but me and baking just can seem to mesh

However, I did successfully bake the best zucchini brownies ever! And I’m not a brownie person! I actually very much dislike brownies, cookies, cake, etc. But these were pretty good! Would I crave them again? No. But that’s because I’m not a brownie person. If I was I’d be making these every week!

I think what I liked about them was that they didn’t have that oily texture. I hate that so many baking items require an oil base. Zucchini replaced the oil in this case. So instead of an oily feel, it was just very moist and soft. None of that greasy feel when you picked them up. I also didn’t feel as guilty having one because I was like well, there is zucchini so I’m getting a hint of a veggie!

Ingredients:

•2 cups flour (I used rice flour)

•1 cup grated zucchini

•1/2 cup cocoa powder

•1 cup granulated sugar

•1/2 cup skim milk

•2 eggs

•1 cup chocolate chips

•2 tsp baking soda

•2 tsp vanilla extract

•pinch of salt

Frosting:

•8 tbsp cocoa powder

•8 tbsp water

•4 tbsp sugar

•1 tsp vanilla extract

Recipe:

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees

•Spray 9×9 pan with cooking spray

•Combine all ingredients (minus the ingredients for frosting) into a bowl and mix until smooth

•Pour batter into pan

•Bake 25 minutes

•Combine ingredients for frosting and mix till smooth

•Once brownies are done and cooled, top with icing

Diet pains

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Ever gone on a diet and felt achy during it? Sort of those body aches you get just before you actually get sick? Well, that’s not uncommon. So what causes it?……

When you eat unhealthy foods for a while, your body builds “immunity” to these junk foods. That’s why you don’t feel any major discomfort after having eaten them for weeks, months or years. Once you remove these foods from your diet, your body can actually go through withdrawals. Your body became addicted to these foods so it’s a shock to it when you remove them. Symptoms can include body aches, anxiety, exhaustion, irritability, jitteriness, and tiredness.

A lot of people who get these symptoms while dieting feel like their diet isn’t working due to the symptoms they experience. What they fail to remember is that dieting isn’t easy at first. You have to get your body into a routine. They often feel this discomfort, get discouraged and immediately want to feel comfort. They remember how junk food was a comfort feeling for some of them, so they go right back to eating it.

Don’t get me wrong, I eat my fair share of junk food. However, I eat it in moderation. I may eat a burger and fries for dinner one night. But all my meals before that are healthy. I don’t do an entire day of eating terrible. If I do eat terrible one entire day, my body goes into a shock and I actually get an achy, tired and uncomfortable feel. It’s one I can actually feel in my muscles and stomach.

There is what I call the “diet hump.” For me it’s always around week 3 or 4 of my diet. I start to feel achy and I get tired and discouraged. I think to myself how much I hate this feeling and I just want to lay on the sofa with a box of pizza and Chinese food. But once I push past those thoughts and a few days of the achy, tiredness passes, I feel better. Things get easier after that hump. My diet becomes more of a routine and easy to follow. I don’t crave unhealthy foods as much. My body actually feels stronger after.

Diet and weight loss is not easy. It honestly takes a lot more mental work than people realize. It’s not 100% physical when going on a diet. You have to keep yourself on track and not let what may be withdrawal symptoms, set you back if they come on. For me a lot of “self talk” is involved. I tell myself regularly “I can do this.” It’s a lot of mental pushing. But it’s worth it on the end. Especially to wake up feeling better every day. Having my stomach feel clear and not heavy and bloated. To not have my joints an muscles ache when I try to get up or sit down. With two kids under 3, I need all the strength and energy I can get from this body!

Summer slim down

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I started my “summer slim down.” This year I have a good friend helping hold me accountable. I’m a week in and I’ve done pretty good! I’m someone who does better with a goal. I’m less likely to cheat on a diet or get lazy with workouts if I set a goal to work towards. I think it’s the competitive side of me that kicks in. I don’t like to lose. Plus, having a friend give me that little push tends to help.

I’m not doing an extreme diet or anything. I’m simply cutting out a few items that I regularly grab while grazing or boredom eating. So less cheese, less milk (I drink a crazy amount), less sugar, less carbs and less alcohol. I still consume a good amount of carbs. I need them to fuel my body. But I’m aiming to add in more complex carbs and reduce my simple carb intake.

The word diet doesn’t mean you’re going on some strict meal plan. A diet by definition is “the kinds of foods that a person habitually eats.” So I’m making little adjustments to my regular eating habits.

My overall goal is less snacking. I’m someone who goes to the fridge to eat just because I’m bored. So I’ll grab a snack when I’m not even hungry. I’m attempting to cut out these extra unnecessary snacks/meals.

9 months post baby #2

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9 months pregnant on the left and 9 months post delivery on the right. I worked harder this second time around because I had a good handful of people tell me I’d never get by body back after the second baby. Or that it would be harder to get back into shape after the second baby. 🤔

I took those comments as a challenge. When someone tells me I can’t or won’t be able to do something, it makes me what to prove them wrong. So I pushed really hard this time.

I’m not 100% back to my pre pregnancy size. But almost all my clothes are back to fitting and that’s all I really wanted. I honestly haven’t weighed myself in a few months so I don’t even know my own weight. I’ve never been one to care about a number on a scale. I just kept a goal in my head to fit back into my clothes. Why? Because I hate shopping for clothes. I am not a person who enjoys going to the mall. If I have to shop I do it online so I can try things on in the comfort of my own home. But even so, I still hate clothes shopping. So, to avoid having to go out and buy new clothes, I just had to get myself back into my own clothes! And I did!

To the negative Nancy’s who told me I’d never get my body back after baby #2…… challenge accepted and won. What else ya got? 😉🤷🏼‍♀️

Cardio vs Weights

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Pretty proud of the progress in these pics. The one on the left is from 2014. I did two hours of cardio a day (one in the gym and one walking the dog), little to no weights and was super restrictive with my diet. I weighed my food, counted calories and avoided oils, salts, sugar, etc.

The picture on the right is current. I do all weights, very little cardio (used as a cool down) and eat what I want (within reason.) Plus add in taking care of an infant and chasing around a toddler as my extra exercise. My diet consists of lots of protein, veggies, fruit, carbs, etc. I don’t avoid anything. I have something sweet maybe twice a week. I don’t drink sodas or juice like drinks, but honestly I’ve never been a fan of them so that makes it a bit easier.

My degree is in Sports Sciences. I took nutrition and biomechanics classes for years. I knew better than to do two hours of cardio and diet restrict. But I still did it. When I was in my 20’s I was impatient. I wanted quick results. Now at 34, I’ve learned when it comes to health and fitness you have to be patient. I’m finally taking my own advice. The advice I gave to people for years but ignored myself. Better late than never! Lol

Chia Seed Pudding

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My new obsession…..chia seeds! Specifically chia seed pudding. Yes it’s pronounced the same way as the chia pets you saw on tv as a kid. That’s because it’s the same seeds! Sounds super weird when you think about eating the seeds that make a chia pet. 😂

Chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber, iron and calcium. Eating chia seeds once a day can provide 18% of your daily calcium need! 💪🏻

Chia seed pudding is actually super easy to make and tastes great! I eat it in the evening as desert! Some people eat it in the morning because it can be very filling.

To make chia seed pudding, I use one cup of silk coconut milk, 2 1/2 tbsp chia seeds, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix together until seeds are incorporated into the milk. Wait a few minutes for the pudding to settle, then mix again. Put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I like to top mine with shredded coconut, strawberries, blueberries and sometimes granola! It’s a perfect snack or night time dessert! 🍨

Glucose Test

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I passed my glucose test!!! Sounds ridiculous to be excited about something like that, but I seriously am. I’m a healthy eater but those things can be so easily thrown off. I failed it with Ryder the first time because I drank milk the night before 🤦🏼‍♀️ So I got stuck doing the 4 hour test after that, which I passed, but it was absolutely miserable! You literally have to sit in the doctors office for 4 hours! To make matters worse my doctor at the time had no WiFi or extra plug outlets in her waiting room. (First world problems I know!)🤷🏼‍♀️

This time around I asked lots of questions and made sure to do a little research. I made myself a 3 day meal plan and stuck to it. I avoided simple carbs, dairy and sugars. I ate only meat, eggs, and veggies. I avoided fruit the day before just to be safe. I also drank more water than normal. It worked because I passed this time around! Whoohooo!

I was seriously dreading sitting in the doctors office with a 1 1/2 year old for 4 hours. 😩 One less stress to worry about!!! It’s smooth sailing from here now! ⛵️

Finding out about food allergies

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A question I get asked often…..How did you find out you were allergic to flour/wheat? 🌾

Soooo over a period of a few months I noticed some weird, irregular things happening with my body. After eating, I would get this unbearable itch in my right leg to the left of my shin. It would itch so bad I would sometimes scratch till it bled. Crazy I know! 😳

Other times I would get severe stomach pains that felt like my stomach was trying to rip itself out of my body. Sometimes that was followed by the runs. Or other times I would start to turn red and splotchy, get red bumps all over my body, start to feel really hot and itch a bit. As some people like to call it…..hot hives! 😩

I went to the doctor and they told me it was anxiety. It didn’t make sense. I don’t get anxiety after eating. I feel happy and content after I eat. So I brushed off that doctor and tried another. Who told he he had no idea what it was and maybe it would go away in its own. 🤦🏼‍♀️

It took me going to 4 doctors to finally have one tell me it’s possibly a food allergy. So he told me to fast for a full 24 hours to get everything out of my system. Then try one thing at a time and see the reaction. I started with fruits, then veggies, then meats, then cheeses and nothing was happening. One day I made a sandwich and BAM! Stomach pains and the runs. The only thing new I’d eaten was the bread on the sandwich! So I figured that was it! After a few more trial and errors I learned that I have a wheat/flour allergy. I tell people it’s a gluten allergy because it’s just easier to explain and I get less questions since gluten allergies are like a “thing” now. But for me it’s wheat and flour. Different types of wheat/flour affect me differently. Hence one time I’ll get hives, and another the runs. 🍴

My food allergy and my auto immune run hand in hand. They each affect each other. Turns out the itching in my leg is due to inflammation of the skin and tissue caused by eating wheat/flour. My body becomes inflamed, doesn’t understand what’s happening and goes on the attack. Therefore causing an itching reaction. It’s crazy but makes sense how one thing affects another.

I’m not missing out too much in life. People always give me the poor pitiful you look and ask what I can eat. Well I can eat pretty much what I want within reason…..fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, etc. Instead of flour tortillas I do corn, when at a Mexican restaurant. I have always hated pasta so there was no loss there. They make gluten free bread/wraps and gluten free pizza crust so I can still enjoy a good sandwich or pizza when I want. I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. Going wheat/flour free hasn’t changed my life other than ridden me of stomach pain, itching, etc. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Cravings

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I’m 18 weeks pregnant this week! I feel like my belly is getting bigger by the minute. 😂 I’ve put on 10lbs so far. My doctor tells me that’s the perfect amount for someone my size and age. 💪🏻

I’ve been careful about my weight gain. You don’t want to gain too much, but you also don’t want to not gain enough. While I do monitor how much I’m gaining, I have been enjoying myself. I keep up with my workouts but I don’t deprive myself of any food I may be craving at the moment.🍔

I’m not one who gets a consistent craving. I sort of wish I was. I always wanted to get one of those weird cravings some women get. A friend of mine craved cucumbers her whole pregnancy. She would literally eat a cucumber like a corn on the cob. Another craved pickles and peanut butter. I have a new craving every day. It’s never anything crazy. It’s things like an apple with peanut butter, popcorn, ice cream, avocado toast, eggs, sandwich, etc.🍦

I still have 22 weeks left, so there’s still hope for a crazy craving! 🍩