The science behind why dieting doesn't work

Living in California definitely has its pros and cons. One pro I was thinking about recently is that nearly everyone here is concerned about being healthy and fit. At any given morning in the local parks, you will find a few exercise classes going on, as well as one-on-one personal training. I never saw anything like that in Texas! However, this attempt to be healthy has a closely related con: dieting fads. When marketers for dieting products look for the ideal audience, California has got to be #1 on their list. Since moving here, I've met the all-protein-no-carb dieter, the all-juice dieter, the all-greens dieter, and the list goes on.

If you've read my first post ever (Setting goals like a boss), you probably already guessed that I am not a fan of dieting. The reasoning I gave in that post was based on my own logic- that if you adhere yourself to an impossible diet, your body in 3 weeks will have said "enough!" and in half an hour, that gallon of ice cream in your freezer is gone. But lately, I have done a lot of research and studying about the human fat cell and weight gain/loss. And with all that research, I've learned the actual science behind why dieting doesn't work, not just my own logic. When I was reading these studies, I was absolutely astounded (again!) at how amazing/annoying our bodies are. I think you'll be amazed as well at just how much sense it all makes. I'm so excited, I can't wait to tell you everything I've learned.

But...before getting into all that, I want to make one thing clear (and you'll see why in a minute). Although exercise is essential to weight loss, I truly believe that being "healthy" involves good nutrition in addition to exercise. Your healthiness is not dependent on your BMI, but on how you treat your body.

Ok, so let's jump right into the facts, starting with our body's resilience. I introduce to you "The Set Point Theory". Do you know that most people who start out on a weight loss journey, though successful initially, will return to their pre-weightloss weight within 2 years? Why on earth would our bodies do that to us? Well, basically, our bodies are programmed to run within a specific range of values. If we get outside of those values, our body takes drastic actions to get us back to the original range, or "set point". Example- our body is set to operate around temperatures of 98.6. So if our body temperature gets too high or too low, we  go through drastic changes to get it back to the set point (sweating, chills, lethargy, etc). Like every other aspect of our body, our body weight and body fat also have set points. If we lose or gain too much, our body deems it "abnormal" and takes measures into its own hands to get us back to the original range.This is why a 130 lb female can participate in an ice cream eating contest one night and still resume her normal weight later on. This is also why a 210 lb woman can diet like crazy, lose weight, and return to 210 lbs two years later.

HOWEVER, there is a very unfair catch to all of this. If our body does adjust to a new weight, it tends to increase weight much easier than decrease weight. Let's go back to the ice cream contest example. The 130 lb woman's body will not increase her weight or fat content just from one night of splurging. Her body will kick up her metabolism, decrease her appetite and make other adjustments to make up for the ice cream intake. However, if our female friend eats in an ice-cream contest every night, her body will slowly adjust her weight upward. Remember, our body tries to adjust to be normal. So if this woman is consuming a 500 calories more every night, her body begins to think THAT is the norm. And so she begins to put on weight (could this be why some women don't lose baby weight after pregnancy?). And yet, if a woman diets on a 1,600 calorie diet for a year and loses weight, her body does NOT adjust to her lower weight but rather puts those pounds back on within 24 months. WHYYYYYY?!?! It seems so unfair, right?

You have to understand the fat cell to grasp this concept. When our body increases our normal weight (aka when we put on the pounds), it does this by adding fat cells. Why? Well, because when we are eating more calories, our body needs a place to store it all and so into the fat cells it goes. When a fat cell gets too full and cannot store anymore, our body adds a new fat cell to take on the extra load. Once added, we CANNOT get rid of those fat cells. There is no delete, remove, or subtraction button for fat cells. Like I said, unfair huh? The only thing we can do is decrease the size of those cells. And that is the theory behind dieting- that you decrease your number of calories, carbs, fats, etc to shrink those cells down as low as they can go. But there's a problem with that. Once those fat cells start shrinking, alarms start going off in your body because...why? Because it's not "normal". Our body says, "Our fat cells are shriveling away into nothingness, we are in starvation mode!" You can yell at your brain all you want and say, "No, but this is what I WANT, don't stop it" and it's not going to work. People have tried.

So how does our body make up for the shrinking fat cells? It does everything it can to get them back up to size, which includes kicking up our appetite hormones (so we feel hungry all. the. time) and slowing down our metabolism (decreases our energy so we don't feel like doing anything). If you ignore the hunger pains repeatedly, your body's cues become completely disorganized and incorrectly placed. Dieters lose the ability to determine whether they are hungry, bored, or tired. They also lose the ability to determine when they are "full", which often leads to eating far beyond their satiety level. And if you've ever felt sluggish while dieting, it's because your body has slowed down your metabolism to the lowest possible level that can still maintain life. It does everything it can to "save" you.

So you can understand now why you can try a no-carb, all-juice, or 1500 calorie diet, lose a ton of weight, and then be right back to where you started weeks or months later. It also answers the question as to why yo-yo dieting actually ends up putting pounds on instead of taking them off. Does this seem depressing yet? Feel totally helpless? Well, actually there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel.

The fact is, people DO lose weight and keep it off. There are success stories out there. There have been several studies done to analyze those people and find a common pattern to their success. What have they all done right? The answer is this- exercise. Daily exercise. One study found that successful weight losers maintained a routine of 80 minutes moderate exercise or 35 minutes vigorous exercise daily. One study found that some dieters maintained a low cal diet (women 1300 cal, men 1700 cal) and were successful-- but they also exercised daily. This is why you cannot have lose weight with just a healthy diet. You must must must have the exercise component with it.

And there you have it- why I am not a fan of trendy diets. The best way I know to be healthy is to exercise daily and eat right. And there is a difference between eating right and dieting. Eating right is getting lots of fruits and veggies into your body and eating correct portions at mealtimes. You can eat dessert and still have a healthy diet. Eating right is eating all things in moderation. Dieting is restricting a certain food group or just food altogether. There is a reason your body needs carbs. There is a reason your body needs fats, proteins, calories, substance. If you completely eliminate one of those groups, your body senses something is wrong and tries desperately to fix it. And sometimes when our body does repairs, it can be more damaging than helpful.

Someone's idea of a low-cal diet. Indeed, it made me laugh

Phew, that was a long one! Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hoped you all learned as much as I did!

Prevent the sugar addiction like a boss

This is somewhat of a followup to the childhood obesity post I wrote a few weeks ago.

It's hard to break a habit, whether it's biting your nails or eating junk food every day. It takes self-determination, will power, and time. If you think it's hard for adults, it's even harder for kids. They don't have the same self-determination adults do and time is the enemy of all children. What 5-year-old is going to make a goal to keep his hand out of the cookie jar? And for many children, the only concept of time they understand is the present. Seeing how bad habits will affect their future is not exactly a strong-suit of theirs. While it might sound like I'm bashing children, I'm just explaining characteristics that make them kids. And it's not always a bad thing. I can't imagine what I would do if my already-trouble-making toddler suddenly got a super burst of extra willpower. My point is that if you think as an adult it's hard to break a habit, it's going to be even harder for a child to do it alone.

So what should parents do? We prevent the bad habit from forming.

The bad habit I'm referring to is sugar addiction. I'm not a parenting expert (if that were so, I'm sure I wouldn't have woken up to a cup of red Gatorade spilled on my floor this morning). I'm not judging other parents. I simply have some experiences with healthy eating and children that I want to share with you all. Maybe it works for you, maybe it doesn't. All I know is that the steps I took with my child to prevent him from becoming addicted to sugar has made a profound difference in our lives.

I started worrying about sugar addiction before Cage was even born. That's really saying something, since I was eating ice cream every night during his pregnancy. It started one day at church. I was in my third trimester. And with our church meetings being 3 hours long, it meant I was using the bathroom at least 6 times. On one of these bathroom trips, I saw a parent in the hall with their toddler. The child was screaming, "I WANT A DOUGHNUT! GIMME A DOUGHNUT!" Oddly enough, it wasn't the yelling or rudeness of the child that bothered me. It was the content of his yelling. Kid was going ballistic because he needed a doughnut. And the mother just sighed and handed over a bag of doughnuts she had brought with her. Now, maybe I just caught these two on a bad day. But regardless, that scene had a lasting impression on me. When I returned to the church pew, I couldn't stop thinking that I didn't want my child to be that way. I didn't want to bring bags of sugar-filled treats with me everywhere. And I most certainly did not want my child so addicted to sugar that he couldn't go a few hours without it. So Dave and I started doing some serious thinking.

Then we remembered our friends Matt and Diane from Florida. They had an unusual rule for each of their children- no sugar until they were 2. Dave and I kind of though that was crazy at first, until we spent more time with their family. Their 2 boys preferred bananas over cookies. When they tasted soda, it was so sugary they didn't want to drink it. They were constantly asking for apples as a snack- not Twinkies! It didn't take long before we decided that we wanted our boy to have the same experience. So we set the rule. Cage would not have sugar until he turned 2. Now, I realize that there's pretty much "sugar" in everything- fruit, breads, cereals, etc. And we weren't going to stop the kid from having things like pasta. By "sugar", we mean any kind of sweet treat or dessert that was mostly processed, refined sugar. No cookies, no cake, no ice cream, no soda, no chocolate pudding, you get the picture.

I will tell you that we were mocked RELENTLESSLY for having this rule. We heard every possible negative statement- "That's ridiculous" "Do you really think you can keep that up for 2 years?" "Having sugar is just part of being a kid", etc. But guess what? We did it. Yup, the whole two years. Let me tell you about the results.

Cage has now been allowed to eat sugar for 6 months. He eats more produce than any other kid I know. When we visited my family for Christmas, he sat down with a bowl of carrots while we all had popcorn. By his own choice. He loves green beans so much that we use them as bribery so he'll eat his dinner. He will eat apples and oranges all day long if I let him. At his second birthday party, he wanted watermelon instead of cake. We have a shelf full of water bottles in our fridge and he, on his own, will drink 1-2 of those a day. I'll let you be the judge-- was it worth it? Absolutely. Are we going to do it again with our second kid? You bet.

My boy is down with some celery and peanut butter

Now, does Cage even like sugar? Oh yes. He's a boy after my own heart. In fact this morning he asked me to make cookies (instead I made oatmeal). But is he addicted to sugar? No. He doesn't ask for candy all day long. He won't throw a hissy-fit if I tell him "no" when it comes to ice cream. In fact, he'll gladly take the strawberries instead, even prefers them sometimes. Part of it could be that I just have a really easy going kid. Part of it could be that it's in his genes to like healthier foods. But you know what? Part of it could be that he didn't eat sugar for two years.

But we didn't just hit sugar mode full-on once he turned 2. His sugar content is still moderated and limited, like ours.He gets dessert twice a week with me and Dave, no more. We don't keep sugary junk food in our house, so those options aren't even there to tempt him. He eats pretzels and celery sticks for snacks. And when he does get something sweet, he sees it for what it should be-- a special treat that you get to have every once in a while. Not something Mom carries around in her purse everyday.

Ok, so you might be thinking that I really am crazy for depriving my child of sugar for 2 years. Let me remind you that this is simply the road I chose to take with my child. You don't have to have the same rule I did. It's the principle that matters- do something to prevent your children from becoming addicted to sugar. I started from birth with Cage because it's easier to limit a 1 year old's sugar content than a 10 year old who's had a soda a day since he was 5. And I truly do think that there is an addictive quality to processed sugared foods. If your children become used to the taste of sugary foods when they're little, they aren't going to want less sugar, but only more. Because that's what they're taste buds register as normal. If all their taste buds know are fruits and veggies, that's what they'll want and a cupcake will be overload!

You can take simple steps to prevent a sugar addiction before it gets bad- don't keep junk food in the house, have plenty of fruits and veggies on hand, limit dessert nights at your home. My sister-in-law has 6 children and I haven't once seen a cookie jar at her house. All her jars contain nuts and goldfish, and she has always has a bowl of apples on the table that her children eat at will. She didn't have a "no sugar" rule like I did, and yet, she taught her children good habits by giving them healthy options for snacking.

I think prevent our children from having a sugar addiction not only encourages them to eat healthier younger, but it gives them a huge advantage over childhood obesity. I hope that my experiences haven't irritated you, but have encouraged you to make a change in your home for your kids. And there is a wonderful thing that happens when you throw out the soda and zebra cakes-- your kids change their habits and you do too!

Do it for your kids like a boss

This subject is very near and dear to my heart. When I did nursing clinicals in the hospital, 90% of the adult patients I saw were there for a problem related to their obesity. I saw Type II diabetes, strokes, malignant hypertension, foot ulcers, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks etc. All these conditions have a preventable factor and that is obesity. Seeing those people in the hospital suffering and knowing that something could have been done to prevent their pain is heart-breaking to me. But what breaks my heart even more is when we see it happening to a 5, 10, or 18 year-old.

1/3 of the children in this country are overweight or obese. They're catching up to the adults (7 in 10 obese) in that statistic, and it's downright terrifying. Who is to blame? Most people say the parents. That's partly true, but partly not. What truly loving parent would intentionally put their adult child in the hospital or on medication by creating bad lifestyle habits for them as kids? Not one. Parents want what is best for their child and will do anything to keep them from being in danger. But while teaching your kids to "look both ways before crossing the street" is critical, saving their life by teaching them healthy habits is just as important. You heard me right- you are SAVING THEIR LIFE. But we've established that parents wouldn't intentionally harm their children, so why is childhood obesity grow worse and worse every year? Two big reasons:
Reason #1)  Parents don't know what healthy habits are. In most cases, this isn't their fault. No one has taught them the right habits. Most parents don't even know that there's anything wrong with the way they cook or eat. So how can they fix the problem if they don't even know there is one?!
Reason #2) There have been several studies shown that 75% of parents don't know that their child is overweight. Once again, you heard me right. Seventy-five freakin percent. But can you honestly blame the parents for this? Since the moment our children are born, we love them unconditionally and are blinded by this love (as we should be, by the way). But blinded by love means that, once again, parents don't see a problem to be fixed.

So the most criminal offender is really us, as a society. We don't talk about obesity openly. It's a "sensitive subject" and who really wants to tell their friend, "Hey, you and your kid look like you should hit the gym"? The only people we hear it from are doctors. And honestly, how many of you do exactly what your doctor says? The time has to come to be honest, because we are potentially saving a life. Let's teach parents healthy habits that they will in turn teach their kids. And parents, when you learn what good habits are, don't just sit on the couch and tell your kid to go run a mile. Get up and run it with them. Don't make pies in the kitchen, but tell your child to eat the salad in the fridge. Make it family salad night! Children look up to their parents and if they don't see you making a change, they won't either. Plus, as they get older, kids have a natural tendency to be rebellious, so if they sense any hypocrisy on your side, you can bet they won't listen to what you say.

I'm a big fan of the Biggest Loser. I don't always agree with their methods (let's face it, working out for 6 hours a day isn't practical for most of us), but I do love to see the medical results. I don't care as much for how fit they look or how many pounds they've lost. I love to see the doctors tell them, "You're no longer a Type II diabetic" or "Your hypertension is GONE". Every time they say that, I want to jump up and punch the air because, are you freakin kidding me? They got rid of a chronic disease through exercise and eating right. It wasn't the Metformin and Lopressor medications that helped. It was changing their habits and lifestyle. Do you understand now why I want to be a healthy lifestyle coach? Instead of giving out drugs, let's give out good habits!

So anyway, this year on the Biggest Loser, they are focusing on childhood obesity awareness. They chose 3 kids (all teenagers actually) to work with. They didn't do ridiculous workouts with them or put them on a juice-only diet. They simply taught the kids and their parents how to exercise, cook, and eat right.These kids had all sorts of problems before they started this regimen, besides their obesity. One girl had high levels of cholesterol at only 16 years old. The 13-year-old girl they worked with had pre-diabetes when she started. See what I mean? These are conditions already present in children that could've landed them in the hospital in 20 years. But by the end of the season...the high cholesterol and pre-diabetes were gone. One of the boys lost 25% of his body weight. And this all happened because they threw all the junk food out of their house, started eating more produce, and started exercising every day. That's it! That's all it took and these kids just saved their lives! Would you be willing to do that to save your child's life? One of the moms on the show did the right thing and took the challenge with her child. She's lost several pounds and she didn't even have to visit the Biggest Loser Ranch! That's what I'm talking about- doing it FOR your kids and doing it WITH your kids. And let me ask you something- do you think her son was more willing or less willing to change because of her actions? I'll let you ponder on that...

So my diatribe is mostly finished, the problem has been stated, but no solution has really been given. How do we, first of all, get parents to recognize their child's current health problem and then, how do we help them to fix it.

As nurses, we recognize obesity from a simple BMI chart, which is what I would suggest to get started. You simply enter in your child's height and weight to see if they are overweight or not. I have put the link to a child's BMI chart here. So plug in the numbers and wait for the results. On the results page, it will tell you whether your child is of normal weight, overweight or obese. It will then tell you what that really means for your child's health and how you can help him/her. Another simple test that I do is merely through observation. Have your child participate in a physical activity for 30 minutes (a game like basketball or flag football). Is your child unable to complete the activity? Are they out-of-breath only 10 minutes into it? These are indicators that your child may be overweight, or if not, just quite frankly be out of shape.

So once you've recognized that your child is overweight, what are the next steps? Well, being a nursing student, of course I'm going to tell you, "Go see a doctor". Overweight children have a higher risk of developing health problems. Doctors can do simple bloodwork and other tests to see if your child is in danger of any immediate health problems (like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood fat levels, etc). Wouldn't you want to know if this was the case? So get them checked out and follow the doctor's recommendations.

Lastly, how do you teach your children healthy habits? Well, this question isn't easy to answer and it's not a quick fix. In fact, the answers are in my blog, but spread out over several posts and articles. I'll try to keep it simple though.

1st- Get them eating the right proportions of food via the plate plan.

2nd- Replace their junk food snacks with healthier snack options.

3rd- Get them exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, every day. Get them involved in activities they enjoy.

4th- Get involved yourself. Your child doesn't want you to end up in a hospital or on medication either. They want you to be able to dance, swim, run with them! Those aren't activities easily done on the couch (I swear, if someone makes a smart-aleck comment about WiiFitness here...). And if you think that they won't eat brownies you made simply because you told them not to... well, you'd better invest in a brownie safety vault.

There is a wonderful article about understanding childhood obesity. I have put the link to that article here and hope it is helpful to some parent out there who needs it. Like I said, most childhood obesity cases occur because the parents honest to goodness don't know any better. We haven't been teaching what they need to hear. And sadly, the chances are that the people who really need to read this article, aren't going to. So that's where we needs others (you!) to help them along the way. No parent would intentionally put their child in danger, so let's stop spreading around blame and start helping each other. If you know someone who really needs to read what I or others have said about childhood obesity, I hope you will guide them to the resources I've given you. I hope I haven't said anything too harsh or offensive, but I do try to be honest about these things. This is something I'm incredibly passionate about. And frankly, I think more people need to be passionate about it too.

Cage's grandpa teaching my little boy baseball. What a good example of an active grandparent!

Pasta Bean Soup recipe

Of all seasons, winter is my least favorite. For someone who gets cold in just a 73 degree house, weather down in the 50s is not my idea of fun. And I don't have much room to complain either, especially since my relatives in Utah got down in the negatives this winter. Bbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrr! I was meant to live in the south.

If you're anything like me, you do whatever you can to heat up your house and stay warm during the winter. And often, baking in the kitchen with that oven at a nice toasty 350, seems like a good way to go. In college, I'm sure I ate more cookies in the wintertime than any other time. Also, winter just happens to be an excuse for several eating holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, President's Day, Valentine's Day, MLK Jr Day. So all the more reason to indulge in the baked goods right?

Robin and I were discussing this issue one day and she told me the secret to her saving grace during winter- eating lots of soup. Soups that warm you from the minute they enter your mouth right down to your very soul. So I have taken her advice and tried a few varieties of soups this winter. I try using water-based or broth-based soups. Cream based soups are added fats, salts, and calories. I add plenty of vegetables. And I sit and read a book right next to the hot stove that is heating my soup and house. I stay warm and dinner gets made. Done. Oh and did I mention the irresistible smell that fills my house while it's cooking? Mmmmmmmhmmm

Here is one of my favorite soups this winter. I got the recipe from http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2010/1/2/sausage-and-bean-soup-with-pasta.html, however I made a few adjustments to make it slightly healthier. It has pasta and beans for your carbs, ground turkey for your protein, and lots and lots of veggies! Here is the recipe, altered by yours truly:

1 15-ounce can of cannellini, drained
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, cut

3 tablespoons olive oil 
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes 
6 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water / 3 cups chicken broth to lower the salt content)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper 

Spinach, cut

1 cup ditalini pasta, or any small pasta

Brown turkey, remove from the pot. Remove fat from the pot as well. Sautee carrots, celery, and onion in the pot with the olive oil for a few minutes. Add garlic and sautee for another minute. Add beans and all other ingredients except for the pasta. Cover and cook for an hour on low heat. After an hour, add the uncooked pasta and cut spinach. Cook for about another 20 minutes uncovered or until the pasta is soft and done.

Mmmm, just look at that goodness waiting to be eaten!

Folks, that is it! It's super hard to mess up a soup recipe. Basically, you're just adding ingredients until it looks good to you. This soup was so good and it made a huge pot, so we ate it the left overs for almost a week. It's the kind of soup that just fills you with warmth and yumminess, you can't get enough. Feel free to go back for seconds; it's mostly just vegetables in water! 

Exercising in the 1st trimester like a boss

Heeeeerrrrre it is! Part 2 of my 1st trimester post, focusing on exercise. I have done a lot of researching and reading on this particular topic. I am very concerned about this little baby, so I wanted to ensure what kinds of activities are safe to pursue in pregnancy. After many articles (which basically all said the same thing), there are basically 2 rules to exercising in pregnancy. 1) Whatever fitness level you were at before, you may maintain that level throughout pregnancy, if possible. 2) Walking, dancing and yoga are almost always safe in any trimester of pregnancy. The only exception would be an extreme maternal condition where you'd have to be on bedrest.

Walking:
Even if you've never exercised in your life before, this is something you can pick up easily in pregnancy. Most of you know that I am a runner. However, soon after I discovered I was pregnant, I developed a sharp pelvic pain while running. Normally I run through pain, but I panicked that something was wrong with the baby. So for the first month of being pregnant, I took up walking. An average person walks a 20 minute mile. Brisk walking is considered a mild-moderate exercise. Health experts recommend you get 2 1/2 hours of mild-moderate exercise per week. So my goal was to take a brisk 2 mile walk every day, which meant that I walked 12 miles a week. Holy cow, that seems like a lot! It generally took me about 35 minutes to walk 2 miles, for a total of 3 1/2 hours of exercise. It was pain (and sweat!) free. And it was something that I could do with Cage, since I pushed him in a stroller. I highly recommend walking to any pregnant woman. It is a cardio exercise that almost anyone can do and is perfect if you haven't exercised before. It was all the exercise I did for a month and I felt great doing it.

Dancing: 
Surprisingly, every article I researched suggested dancing as a safe form of exercise in pregnancy. Unless you are literally leaping across the ballroom, any kind of dance is recommended. And the only reason they don't want you leaping is because you could lose your balance, fall, and hurt the baby. Since I'm not much of a ballerina, that wasn't a hard rule for me to live by. I had decided at the beginning of this year that I needed to have a more rounded exercise regimen, so I took up ZUMBA. I've just been doing it at home, mostly following ZUMBA instructors on YouTube. It's a great workout and tons of fun. So I kept up the ZUMBA dancing once my pelvic pain subsided.

Yoga:
Do the phrases "sciatic nerve pain" and "round ligament pain" sound familiar to you? If not, that probably means you haven't been pregnant yet. And while I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, they are just some of the pregnancy pains you have to look forward to. I have both of these particular pains this pregnancy and yoga is the only thing that alleviates them. If you're thinking of taking up yoga, you'll want to get into a pre-natal yoga class. I guess regular yoga classes have some poses in them that could constrict blood flow to the baby (not necessarily good). Once again, this poor college student turned to YouTube and found a pre-natal yoga routine that I really enjoy. Sometimes the instructor is annoying with all her "dance with the baby" talk, but you deal with it. For the link to that yoga video, click here.

Running:
Because I've been running for a few years now, the doctor gave me the okay to keep up the routine. But actually I've been reading that you can begin to take up jogging in your first trimester, even if you hadn't been doing it before. Just take it slow and listen to your body. Now, my husband and I set up some personal limits to make sure that I didn't overdo it. I guess I'm the kind of person who has an over-doing it tendency? So the rule is that I can't run for more than 30 minutes or more than 3 miles. Like I said, that's just our personal rule and not necessarily one to live by. You decide what your body can handle.
As I stated before, I was having some pelvic pain that first month of pregnancy, so I quit cold turkey on the running until I hit pregnancy week 10. I cautiously starting running again and found that whatever weird pain I'd had before was gone. Even so, when I'm running now, I don't push myself to get a certain time or mileage. I run for 30 minutes and I run as fast as I feel like. Nowadays, I get anywhere from 2.5 to 3 miles in a 30 minute run. I'm not trying to beat a time here, just trying to stay in shape. And I think my body (and the baby!) will appreciate that.

My greatest obstacle for exercising this trimester was fatigue. I mean, this baby is sucking the energy from every part of me. It is really hard some days to get off the couch. But I thought about how in nursing school, we deal with chemo patients who are constantly exhausted from the treatment. But we have to tell them that the only way to cure the fatigue is to take a walk. And it works, it's just so hard to get up! But I consistently found an increase in my energy levels and my mood if I got off the couch to exercise. The other obstacle was morning sickness. But in talking to many other women, I find that morning sickness also has a routine it follows. Mine came every night at about 4:30. So I knew that if I wanted to exercise, it was going to have to be some time before then. Mornings worked out great for me. So figure out what your morning sickness schedule is and work around it. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So in total, here is how a typical week of exercising goes for me:
Running: 2x/week
ZUMBA: 2x/week
Yoga: 1x/week
I also walk everywhere I can, especially if my destination is less than a mile away.

I also promised some pregnancy stat comparisons, so here goes:
Energy level:
       With Cage- hardly could stay awake during class
       Baby #2- Still tired often, but most days I don't even need a nap
Feeling:
       Cage- I described feeling "blah" most days
       Baby #2- I generally feel great and pretty happy
Bodily appearance:
       Cage- At this point, I looked like I did pre-pregnancy (except for the little belly)
       Baby #2- No swelling yet, looking like I did pre-pregnancy
Weight:
       Cage- At my 12 week appointment, had gained 10 lbs
       Baby #2- At my 12 week appointment, had gained 1.5 lbs

By the way, in case you were wondering how I remember Cage's pregnancy so easily, I kept a very accurate weekly journal with him. It's called "The Belly Book". :-) Go ahead, say it..."awwwwwww"

Here's what I looked like at the beginning of my 2nd trimester. Look at my little belly starting to poke out! I can't wait to meet this kid.

Eating in the 1st trimester like a boss

I cannot emphasize enough how happy I am my first trimester is OVER!!!! Ugh, it's such a pain because we didn't tell people we were pregnant until we were 12 weeks along. And I feel like those are the worst 12 weeks of pregnancy and the time you need help the most! With all the sickness, weakness, mood swings, fatigue, AND having to chase my incredibly energetic toddler around...well, you get the idea. It's not always a party.

But we're not here to talk about my crying spells or lack of energy...or are we? You better believe it, I have discovered that pretty much all pregnancy symptoms played a huge roll in how I maintained a healthy lifestyle. Because I have so much information to share about the 1st trimester, I've divided it into 2 posts- this one about diet, and the next one, which will be about exercise. My stats for this pregnancy will be listed at the end of the exercise post. Let's get started, I'm so excited to share what I've learned with you!

Morning sickness/food aversions
I figured I'd start off with the worst part of being pregnant and then get happier from there. I have to say that I have not vomited once with this baby (please don't hate me). However, I did get incredibly painful stomach-aches that would leave me helpless on the couch for hours. And they would usually result from a particular food I'd had that day. Also, food aversions tend to be burdensome in pregnancy. The smell of a certain food would make me feel like running to the bathroom and puking. Unfortunately, the food I came to hate most was vegetables. The thought of a salad in the house would make me want to head for the hills. Cooked green beans is another favorite in our house and I couldn't stand that either. I was so upset when I found out my body was rejecting food that I actually needed and was good for me. How could I maintain my healthy lifestyle if I couldn't get the nutrients I needed from vegetables?

Then I read an article stating that most pregnant women find they have an odd aversion to vegetables in the first trimester. Well, I was relieved to know that I wasn't alone in my veggie-dislike state. But that didn't solve my problem quite yet. The article suggested to invest in a vegetable juice, which I'm going to recommend. Something like V8 would be fine, just make sure it states on the label that a glass will give you one serving of vegetables. Normally, I don't drink juice, nor would I recommend it. There's a ton of added sugar, plus water is just generally better for you. However, I wasn't going to throw up juice, so the benefits strongly outweighed the costs there. Also, I found that my stomach could keep down carrots and didn't mind doing so. Needless to say, there have been loads of baby carrots in our fridge this pregnancy. Also, I still stick to my morning smoothies, where I throw in spinach. That was a life-saver because my stomach/nose/taste buds couldn't distinguish the veggie from all the other fruit in the smoothie.

 In pregnancy, you have to work with what your body gives you. Don't eat something you're just going to throw up (that's completely pointless because then you lose it in the toilet anyway). Find the healthy things your stomach will handle and work from there. Also, I found that by eating a lot of fruit, I was getting most of the nutrients I needed there, since veggies weren't going to work 100% of the time.

Water vs other drinks
I've always heard that if you have morning sickness, soda and other carbonated beverages will help settle your stomach. Well, I tried that. Not only did the carbonation NOT help, but I felt bloated and gassy. So I went back to drinking water instead. And surprise! Water settled my stomach way more than soda did! And there's no bloating, no feeling gassy, no indigestion. And did I mention water is so much healthier for you?! But I do have to admit that my water consumption has gone down since I became pregnant. Remember how my bladder was the size of a pea BEFORE this baby came along? Well, now it's even smaller. If I drink 2 liters of water a day, like previously done, I am in the bathroom every 15 minutes. I swear, I'm not exaggerating. You can ask Dave, it's the honest truth. So I am currently only drinking about 1 liter/day.

Cravings
I've read some articles (written by women who have clearly never been pregnant) that say to curb your cravings. "Control your cravings, don't get that ice cream" is what they say. But I know the truth. I know how when you have a true craving, your body will make you sick and miserable until you have it. I know how it feels to NEED that cupcake. Well, that's because with cravings, your body really is trying to tell you what it needs. Sometimes that is manifest in sweet or fatty foods, and sometimes it is manifest in a turkey sandwich. Here's how I handled it. If the food craving was healthy for me and baby, I ate it. Strawberries have been a particular favorite with this baby, so we buy in bulk. But, if it's something like brownies, I defer to my standard dessert rule which is: 2 desserts a week. I saved those desserts per week for a rainy day. Sometimes I would go almost a whole week without eating dessert, but then on a random Saturday, I would CRAVE chocolate chip cookies. It was worth not eating sweet treats on a day when I didn't need them, just so I could have it when my body screamed for it.

 Also, portion control is important with cravings. Often, you'll satisfy your craving with just as much with one cookie as you would with six. And cookie dough freezes quite well, so no need to worry about wasting the batch. :-) When you have a craving for a less-healthy food, ask yourself if it's a true craving or if you really can go without. Usually, when you want something sweet, you can satisfy yourself with yogurt, a smoothie, fruit, or a piece of toast. If you want something fatty and salty, try nuts, pretzels, or crackers and cheese. Try these options before resorting to use up one of your precious weekly desserts.

Extra calories

For my daily meals, I was still eating according to the my plate plan. However, I know that while pregnant, I should be consuming 200-300 more calories than I was before. So I found a slew of foods and snacks that would help me reach that goal. They're pretty darn tasty too! As I was grocery shopping this week, I snapped pictures of the snacks that I've been eating this pregnancy. Let me just say first that I hate calorie counting and food weighing/measuring. Even in pregnancy, I'm not doing it. But for the sake of being accurate, I have included the calories and amount for each of these foods. They are all 200-300 calories. 

3-4 apples or 1 apple sliced with peanut butter spread 

2 of these yogurts, or 1 with 1/4 cup of granola

1 of these

About 1/2 cup unpopped kernels (use little salt to flavor)

1/3 cup nuts

1/2 cup raisins

2 slices of whole grain bread or 1 slice with peanut butter spread

4 of these

2 oz (2 slices) of cheese with 4 crackers

2 granola bars

3/4 cup uncooked oats

That should be enough suggestions to get you started. Stay tuned for the exercise portion!

Setting goals (pregnancy version) like a boss

August 11, 2013. That's the day I'll be looking forward to all year, because that's the day Baby #2 is going to join our family! Happy happy day :-)

So if you've read the introduction to this blog, you know that my pregnancy with Cage wasn't so great. Not because of morning sickness, sciatic pain or the general "blah" feeling I had for 9 months. Because I gained 50 pounds and it didn't come off. Because I didn't really take care of myself while I was cookin' that little bun. So I determined that the next time I got pregnant, I would do everything in my power to do it right. To eat healthy, not stuff my face with extra brownies, and exercise (basically, everything I didn't do with Cage). Because I have to be healthy for not only the baby, but myself too! My hope is that because I have already implemented these virtues in my life, it will be easier for me to continue them for the next 9 months.

There is another reason I'm making these changes for pregnancy #2. When I got pregnancy with Cage, I blamed everything on my body. I truly believed that if my body was going to gain 50 lbs, there was nothing I could do about it. That's genetics and that's my body. I thought the same thing when my sister gained only 14 lbs her whole pregnancy and hated her for it. I scoffed and said, "Well, that's just her body." And while there is some truth to that theory, in the sense that everyone has different bodies that react differently to pregnancy and weight, I don't think it's entirely correct. *gasp* Did I just say I was wrong?! I think that to an extent, we can control our bodies in pregnancy. We have powers over certain elements that will keep us (and the baby!) healthy. So here's my new theory: That by maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy, we will not gain an excessive amount of weight and it will be easier to return to post-preggo weight afterwards.

So you guys now have a duty! To follow my pregnancy posts and judge for yourselves if my new theory ends up being right. If I'm wrong, you can totally rub it in my face (as much as is possible in cyberspace). We all know that a health plan requires goal setting at the beginning. So I'm going to use this post to set goals for my pregnancy (besides the goal of trying to have this baby in July, haha). Every trimester, I will compare Cage's pregnancy to my current one, to evaluate how my methods are doing. And then the hope is that you can use these same goals for your own maternal benefit. So here they are:

WEIGHT: Now, in pregnancy your weight goals are the exact opposite of what your previous weight goals were. To gain, not lose! It's a whole new mindset, one that's not easy to get use to (especially since women in our society base their self-esteem on what the bathroom scale tells them). So obviously, my goal here is to gain. But how much? Is all weight gain good or is there a point where it becomes excessive? I knew my 50 lb gain had been excessive, even while in denial. And it turns out that there is a goal for weight gain in pregnancy: For someone with a normal weight and BMI (19-25), you should gain 25-35 lbs. If you were underweight, 28-40 and overweight, 15-25. So by the end of my pregnancy, I should be in that 25-35 range. And remember, these are just general guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Like I said, my sister gained only 14 lbs and her little girl came out perfectly healthy!

BODILY APPEARANCE: I think as women, when we want to analyze how good we look, we start with the stomach. Is it nice and flat or do I need to run a little more? Obviously, that doesn't apply in pregnancy so I'm going to keep an eye on the other areas of my body. I remember with Cage that I was swollen everywhere! Particularly in my face, arms, and legs. So will a healthy lifestyle keep me from looking like a balloon? We'll find out!

DIET: My Cage pregnancy diet comprised of whatever the heck I wanted to eat. No rules, no limitations. I could eat whatever I want and as much of it as I want. You always hear about "eating for two". That is such a lie. During pregnancy, you are supposed to only eat an extra 200-300 calories per day. For crying out loud, I wish my doctor had told me that with Cage. I feel like so many pregnant women are under the misconception that you eat twice as much when you're pregnant and it's perfectly acceptable. So my diet goals are to eat that extra 200-300 cals, continue to eat according to the my plate plan, consuming plenty of produce.

EXERCISE: As I previously stated, my exercise regimen was non-existent with Cage. So my goal is to exercise 5-6 times a week this time around.

I'm putting a picture here of what I looked like at 8.5 months pregnant with Cage. I will take a similar picture at my 8.5 month mark with baby #2. Being healthy is not based on what you look like really, but how you feel and what you can do. But a picture does provide a nice comparison, so that's the reason I'm showing it. So we'll see if there is a difference in appearance this time and, if so, what it is. If you guys have any tips about staying healthy throughout a pregnancy, I would LOVE to hear your ideas.

8.5 months