So Easy a Cavewoman Could Do It

I gotta tell you guys, this pregnancy thing: PIECE OF CAKE! :) I can't tell you how fortunate and grateful I am to have such a wonderful and easy pregnancy (SO FAR). I am SO blessed. WE are so blessed because my wonderful hubby doesn't have to deal with the ramifications of me having a bad pregnancy....which is good for BOTH of us! :) I am 16.5 weeks...so we are almost half way there...in just three short weeks, it will be halfway over! How crazy is that?

Well, I'm not going to bore you with how wonderful my pregnancy is....so let's move on to things perhaps more relevant to all of you! :) I LOVE feeling as strong as I am right now....my energy level is through the roof still and I feel absolutely amazing during and after my workouts. By splitting my cardio and doing it in the mornings, separate from my weights workouts and changing to full body weights (the pic above is from Cathe Freidrich's Body Max DVD which is basically Body Pump on DVD - she is an amazing mother of two!), I can absolutely tell a difference in the quality of my workouts. I think we all get stuck in a rut and ultimately our bodies plateau. The change in my workouts has caused a reaction in my body for the first time in a long time. I am sharing this because I think we all adapt, I think each of our bodies are different and react differently to different stimulus. That's why it is so important to TRY different things - SHOCK your body - make it grow and change because you are forcing it to do something different.

I remember reading an article about Jen Hendershott and she said all of her workouts are different...she never does the same workout. She mixes and matches and does a variety of moves - each time. It's like Cross Fit - constantly shocking the body. And even though I know my body fat hasn't changed, my arms feel more toned, my legs tighter and more conditioned.

The other thing that has changed for me with pregnancy is I am eating more whole foods. I might have one serving of protein powder every other day and that is usually in my milk with cereal. I am eating lots of fruits and veggies and lots more dairy - like three servings a day - cottage cheese, yogurt, string cheese and then other types of proteins come from lean ground beef, chicken, fish. The point here is that my body is humming like a well oiled machine. For whatever reason, I strayed from dairy products (I probably read some article about how they bloat people....and I am sure some people have that reaction) and I found it more "convenient" to eat protein powders or meal replacements. With the baby, I have put nutrition at the top of my list and consequently me at the top of my list and what a difference it has made.

Two points I wanted to make with this post:

1. Asses what you are doing for your workouts. Ask yourself some critical questions: How long have you been doing the same thing? Have you seen the results you want? How do you feel after you workout? Do you feel your body changing? Are you energized and do you feel powerful?
2. Asses what you have been eating. Ask yourself MORE critical questions: Do you feel energized by what you eat? Are you eating a lot of processed food? Why? Are you eating fresh vegetables and fruit? How do you feel when you eat? Good? Bad?

I was chatting with Jody the other day and he was asking about whole foods...etc. I told him I group food into three categories A, B and C:

• A: 100% natural, unprocessed foods: fruits, vegetables, oats, brown rice, chicken, yogurt, olive oil.
• B: Those foods that are somewhat processed: Ezekiel bread, canned tomatoes, string cheese, lunch meat.
• C: Foods that are highly processed: white flour, cookies, chips, hot dogs.

I try to eat 80% of my foods out of the A food group, 15% from food group B and only 5% from C. This is what works for me.

Do you know what works for you? :)

Have a great weekend guys! Love you all!
Jess

Baby Bump Pics Week 16 and Weekly Recap!

Hey y'all! I FOUND MY SHORTS!! YEAH! So, here are updated baby bump pics...which really don't look that different to me than week 13. But I am definitely FEELING the bump more...like meaning clothes are still getting tighter (DUH!!!). And my hubby said it looks like I am getting thicker through middle but not more of a bump, bump. Does that make sense? I am sure one of these days I will start poking out with a real little critter in there.

Here is a pic of Carla Sanchez at 17 weeks:

Pregger Update:
I have gained 5lbs total and have my next doc appointment in two weeks so we will see what I put on during those two weeks. I am officially into the fourth month (14 to 17 weeks) and actually only have two more weeks in my fourth month. And in FOUR weeks (20 weeks) I will be HALFWAY there. How crazy is that??? I have not felt the baby yet but am anticipating feeling my little peanut in the next couple weeks! Can't WAIT!

Weekly Recap:

• Monday: Light cardio, 30 minutes
• Tuesday: 45 minute treadmill @10% incline 4.4 MPH AM; Body Pump 70 minutes + 15 minutes of abs PM
• Wednesday: Missed AM cardio so 25 minute shoulder workout followed by 45 minute treadmill @ 12% incline 4.4 MPH LUNCH; 45 minute spin, PM
• Thursday: OFF
• Friday: 30 minutes cardio AM
• Saturday: Body Pump + Abs - 70 minutes followed by 45 minutes cardio
• Sunday: Shoulders & core work - 60 minutes followed by 45 minutes cardio
  

Summary:

• 7 cardio sessions (really only 5 - those half hour sessions were really light)
• 4 lifting sessions - two Body Pump and two lifting sessions
• Eating was about 87% compliance so I had about 6 off plan meals. Which is ok...not good, but ok. The extra day off work with MLK day threw me off!
  

I am pretty happy with my workouts but I got derailed on a couple Body Pump sessions of my own accord. I allowed what was happening with my cherubs schedule to dictate my own. Going forward, I have to get my workouts in - no matter what.

Here is my plan...continue to workout like this as long as I can...I cannot tell you how many women have told me that because they worked out while pregnant, they had much easier deliveries and recoveries. I KNOW I won't always feel the way I do today with energy and mobility, but while I do, I am going to use it to my advantage. My goal is FOUR Body Pump (or similar total body circuit workouts) a week and two lifting sessions (arms and shoulders) along with 5-6 cardio sessions. Again, the goal being total body strength and general fitness. My cardio sessions are uphill treadmill walking or elliptical so low intensity, low impact.

We are getting pummeled by an ice storm here in Arkansas. Our driveway was pure ice last night...couldn't even get the car up the driveway. I did get to the grocery store ahead of time and made a huge batch of my low carb, healthy lasagna. YUMMY! Hubby and I are snuggled in at home...I love ice days...as long as the power stays on! :) South of us they have lost power so that is not good. If you are experiencing the same weather, be careful! Take care of YOU! Here is a pic outside our front door of the tree in our front yard. HOLY ICE!


I wanted to say a couple things about using POSITIVE LANGUAGE WITH YOURSELF. I cannot tell you how detrimental this is to your progress when your inner dialogue is negative. How many times do you look in the mirror and frown at your love handles or hips? STOP TODAY! Start focusing on the new tone in your arms and the definition starting to show in your quads! Focus on what you are DOING not what you haven't done or what you don't like. Focus on what you like...what looks good. There is so much power in your own mind and being kind and generous to yourself is one of the best motivators in the world because you continue to encourage yourself towards the positive - NOT the negative. Even if it is your eyes or your hairstyle...focus on the positive!

Be patient, be consistent, be good to you.

Love you guys!
Jess

Super Shorty (No, Not My Height :))

Hey guys...I am SUPER bummed because I can't find my blue paisley shorts that I used for the last two baby bump pics...and now it is time for a progress pic and I can't find them!! AHHHHHH!!!!

A couple things I will have for you tomorrow:
1. Baby bump progress pic (possibly in the grubby green shorts bleh)
2. Weekly recap and weekly goals
3. Some general ramblings about life. :)

Sorry I haven't posted much this week - it was a crazy end of week and weekend. We went and saw Brian Regan tonight and I LOVE that guy. Check out his skit on going to the emergency room. He was so friggin funny tonight...my face hurt from laughing so much...and I am sure the baby loved the laugh ride! :)



Love you guys have a great Monday!
Jess

Everything Happens for a Reason.....and Great Pregnancy Info!

Carla Sanchez, IFBB Pro, Mother and Owner of Performance Ready - how awesome does she look???? That is her at 35 weeks pregnant!! Amazing. And she looks GREAT post baby as well and because of how healthy she was during pregnancy she had a super fast return to her pre-baby bod! Go Carla!

I am a BIG believer that everything happens for a reason. I have always felt that way...always believed in it. This week a few things happened that further solidified that belief. For some reason I was drawn to the Performance Ready website...Carla always features a "Hot Mama" which is a mom who competes or someone who has got back into phenomenal shape after baby. Anyway, I went to Carla's website and low and behold she has just released her PREGNANCY WORKOUT DVD. Yahtzee! I ordered it and it is fabulous.

THEN I went to Body Sport's website and low and behold on the Body Sport Radio Network (which I LOVE by the way - it is an HOUR of truly relevant and applicable informaton for the figure or fitness athlete and Terry and Elaine mandate positivity on the site and on their forum) and found an entire hour long episode dedicated to pregnancy and exercising while pregnant. It was SUCH a WONDERFUL show and helped clarify SO many of the questions I was having. Click here to listen to it now.

If you are a pregnant woman or are considering getting pregnant, I highly recommend listening to the Body Sport Radio Show featuring Carla Sanchez and Corry Mathews and also ordering Carla's DVD. She provides examples of working out both IN the gym and out of the gym and gives great tips on eating clean and giving the baby all the nutrients they need and then some great tips on Palmer's Cocoa Butter Products specifically designed for pregnancy. I highly recommend the DVD and commend Carla for making a DVD so relevant to the needs of a fit pregnant woman (and no, I am not on commission nor do I get any click through commissions if you visit her site - this is just a good old fashioned testimonial.

As I mentioned earlier, I have struggled to find a lot of good relevant information out there for the above average fitness minded woman. It's AMAZING to me how little information is out there and after learning what I learned this week, it became even MORE apparent there is still a lot of misinformation out there. Carla sent me two links to a couple of documents/sites that provide clarity on working out while pregnant. I will paraphrase below some of the questions I had specifically below but click here or here for more.

Myth 1: Keep your heart rate below 140
ACTUAL: This is MORE important in the first trimester in order to allow the embryo to form those important organs like the heart, lungs, brain, etc. HOWEVER the ACOG doesen't recommend particular heart rate and instead relys on the perceived rate of exertion. For me, 140 BPM is barely breaking a sweat.

MYTH: You can NEVER lie on your back after the first trimester of pregnancy. (And I took this straight from one of the links above)
ACTUAL: Pregnant women should avoid the supine (lying face up on your back) as much as possible. It does NOT state NEVER. Some women experience discomfort in this position. If the mother is comfortable, the baby is comfortable. You may exercise are your back but in a very limited capacity. Possibly 1-2 minutes, then roll to your side and perform a series of exercises there.

In my 4th month, 15 weeks in, I have had no discomfort on my back - I have rolled over on my back a couple of times while sleeping and it feels fine...doesn't even bother me. I am not planning on hanging out on my back but I am certainly not going to freak out if I am on my back for a few minutes.

So, there you have it, a couple of tidbits for you.

I am feeling great. This week has started a bit slowly for me on the workout front but I am looking forward to getting in some great workouts this weekend. I am really enjoying this time in my pregnancy. I know I won't be up for working out like this forever so I am taking advantage of it now.

I hope you guys have a great rest of the week and weekend! We'll take a progress pic tomorrow but I probably won't post until the weekend! ;) KEEP PUSHING YOURSELF! Believe in all you do!

Jess

P.S. I KNOW I am link crazy in this post...but I had to show you guys HOW to get there! :)

Big Meals = All Day Misery

Can you tell I am on a Jenny Lynn kick at the moment??? And I love this particular photo shoot. They showed part of it on her DVD "The Harder I Work the Luckier I Get". I just love her physique...always have. I feel like she has such feminine lines....and is so beautiful.

Thanks to all of you who said such wonderful things about my baby bump pics in the comments on my last post! You guys are all SO sweet and encouraging and supportive - how did I get so lucky with such an awesome extended family?? :) A special shout out to that someone who was an extra special ear to me tonight and helped me keep perspective on things and people who choose to be negative! :) Thanks for your words of wisdom chica!

As I posted in my last couple of posts, I am working towards 90% compliance on my eating. That means of 42 meals, 38 need to be on plan while the other four can be off plan. As you can imagine, the weekends are tough for staying on plan - as I am sure it is for all of you! Today we went and had Sunday brunch....I had an omelet (they were out of egg beaters) with bell peppers, mushrooms, bacon and cheese. I also had a very small serving of hashbrowns, one piece of bacon and a bunch of fruit. I had a bite of Jody's biscuits and gravy and a bite of his waffle. I ate WAY more than I normally do. Probably around 6-700 calories. Which is double what I normally eat. I paid for it the rest of the day...and felt "FULL" until about 4:30 at which time I had a small bowl of my low fat chili. I didn't feel good after I ate that either...still felt really full. I am JUST now feeling hungry again. GRRRR.

The point I am trying to get to is it's days like today when I am reminded why I eat on plan. I am reminded why I feel SO much better when I eat 6-7 small meals a day. Feeling full for that long of a period of time is so foreign to me and I struggle wtih my body not feeling revved up when I do from eating regularly. Going forward, I will make sure my off plan meals are smaller and I don't eat to the point of being stuffed. Consider and make a note if you have similar feelings after a meal or a particular eating habit and then revisit that feeling if you are making a decision to do it again. Remind yourself of how you felt...you may just make a different decision than you have in the past! :)

Below is a recap of my workouts for the week:

• Monday: 45 minute treadmill @10% incline 4.4 MPH AM; 30 minute leg w/o followed by 40 minutes spin class PM
• Tuesday: 30 minute intervals on treadmill alternating between 10 minute miles and 7 minute miles - 60s on/120s off AM; 60 minute shoulder/tricep/abs workout
• Wednesday: 45 minutes treadmill @10% incline 4.4 MPH AM; Spin class 40 minutes
• Thursday: Body Pump Class - 60 minutes PM
• Friday: 45 minutes treadmill @10% incline 4.4 MPH AM
• Saturday: Awesome leg workout followed by 30 minutes cardio
• Sunday: Rest day

5 lifting days and 6 cardio sessions. I am SUPER happy with my workout week and am feeling so great!

I am off tomorrow for MLK day and Jody and I are going to hit Body Pump and either do cardio after or run the lake later in the day. I am fired up to attack this week with the same enthusiasm as last week. How bout you??? YOU FEELING IT??

Jess

P.S. We saw Defiance tonight (Daniel Craig) and once again a story causes me to consider all the wonderful things I have in my life...I am so grateful to live free and not be persecuted for any belief that I have. And it certainly reminds me to keep things in perspective. Love you guys!

Week 14 (and a half) Baby Bump Pics

Happy Saturday my peeps! Check out the newest belly pic above. I think I have a little more of a bump....what do you guys think?? :) Still in all my regular clothes...although pants are getting snug. I have a Bella Band waiting in the wings for when I have to start using it with my pants. Oh, and I got SIX items on Ebay for $23. :) It's all about the timing people! And I am feeling awesome still. I feel so terrible for women who have difficult pregnancies. NO FUN! I am so fortunate!

I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful week! Were you compliant with your meals?? Did you feel good about your workouts? Were they intense? Did you commit to what you planned to achieve?

Let me answer those questions for myself...:) Yes! I was compliant with my meals. I have had two off plan meals so I can have two more today and tomorrow to still be at 90% compliant. I prefer going into the weekend with all my off plan meals available but it is what it is! :) My workouts this week were great. I want to lift today and tomorrow so I can have five lifts under my belt. ;) I am feeling so good about how I feel physically (not how I look necessarily) but how I feel. And it is awesome! My energy is high...workouts feel great. Life is good.

I didn't have a good with with class instructors however....we had some pretty bad classes at the new gym. I like an instructor with hutspa (sp??) and spunk - energy and fire! And what we have been getting is LOW intensity, boring, no spunk. Blah. If I wasn't knocked up I would get certified to teach some of those classes. Man I would have fun. And Les Mills, the group that designs Body Pump, actually has a brochure outlining how to do a Body Pump workout while preggers. Pretty cool.

Will do a weekly recap tomorrow for you guys.

I have to give two shout outs:

• For those of you who recently experienced a loss.....I am so sorry you lost someone close to you....my prayers and thoughts are with you. Cherishing those people close to you in life and being grateful for all the things we have make those losses less painful and I wish each of you relief from your pain and sadness.
• I had an "anonymous" person come out of the closet to me who has been following my blog for a long time. But it meant SO incredibly much to me to know the she has been following my journey. She is in AMAZING shape. Like AMAZING. She could get on the figure stage tomorrow and KILL it. Truly. Anyway, she sent me a long email and we have been emailing back and forth and not only do I have a loyal blog follower, I have a new friend! Thank you for being a part of my blog community and sharing so much about yourself in the process! :)
  

Have a great weekend everyone! Keep that momentum going!!
Jess

Happy Tuesday everyone! How is your week???? Wanted to start out with an awesome pic of Jenny Lynnn...still love that girl! Are you having a great start to your week? I am!! I LOVE starting my week right....that way I never feel behind on my eating or working out and I get a little wiggle room on the weekend! Woot!

I had my doc appointment this morning....I basically go every four weeks until 36 weeks. My doc said I was doing great and the little bambino's heart rate was like a little choo choo train. 160 bpm and the baby was moving a ton while she was taking the heart rate. So cute! I have gained 3lbs total since my first appt. I think part of this is a bit of body comp change...I am sure I have lost some muscle since my lifting has decreased and I am doing lower weight, higher reps. I am really happy that I am gaining weight gradually. My clothes all still fit (although SNUG) and you have all seen my little baby bump.

Oh, and I did a KILLER back/bicep workout on Saturday. I am STILL sore today but just getting over DOMS today. JEEZ!

Here is what I did:

Superset 1, 4 sets:

• Assisted pull ups - 15 reps
• Alternating dumbbell curls - 15lbs, 15 reps each arm
• Abs on weight bench - lifting legs into air (not sure the name for that one) - 15 reps

Superset 2, 4 sets:

• Reverse pull-ups underneath the squat rack - 15 reps
• Straight bar bi-cep curls - 15 reps
• Ball pass abs - 15 reps

Superset 3, 4 sets:

• Seated machine rows - 90bs, 15 reps
• Bicep machine curls - 30lbs, 15 reps
• Planks - 1 minute hold

Superset 4, 4 sets:

• One arm row - 40lbs, 15 reps
• Triple 7's bicep curls - 30lbs
• Captain chair leg lifts - 15 reps

OUCH!!

Oh and my new favorite breakfast that I can't live without is: 2 slices of Ezekiel bread with 2 poached eggs and one poached egg white. SO GOOD!

Have a great day everyone!
Jess

Sundays....Love Em/Hate Em? And Gender Decision!!

Happy Sunday everyone!

How do YOU feel about Sundays? Do you love them? Hate them? I have mixed feelings. I usually struggle toward the end of the day when I start thinking about going back to work. And I have to make sure I plan well for what I want to accomplish during the day otherwise I spend a lot of wasted time.

Today, I definitely had some wasted time. Didn't check to see what time the gym opened and so I got to the gym at 10:30 only to find out that it doesn't open until NOON on Sundays. So I decided to go to the office and get some work done...I DID get some work done but about 3/4 of the day home (20 minutes), I realized I left my phone at the office and had to turn back around. I had planned on going to the gym before my massage at 2pm but b/c I left my phone at the office I wasn't able to workout before the massage. Now it is after the massage and who wants to workout AFTER? NOT ME! I am going to have to muster it up though....I made a commitment to myself and I am keeping it. :)

Regardless, I definitely need to have a better plan in place next weekend so I don't feel so frustrated! BAM! Attack! Attack!

Anyhoozle, I was really happy with my compliance on eating this week. I am following Dr. John Berardi's 90% compliance concept/recommendation, whatever. Which means if you eat 42 meals a week (6 meals over 7 days) you can miss or not comply on 38 of those meals. This week my goal was 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fats. I complied on 40 of my 42 meals and I am PUMPED!! I ate off plan Friday night and this afternoon. LOVE this system...what was great was that I made it through the entire week with 100% compliance so that meant I could have all my cheat meals over the weekend. HELLS YEAH! :)

As for my workouts: I got in 7, yes 7 cardio workouts but only 3 lifting workouts. I am thinking about switching to total body workouts. I am really not trying to add mass and want to get in MORE lifting which seems to be a challenge with the traditional body part split. Something I might consider....WHO KNOWS!

All right guys....we asked A LOT of people, talked a lot about it as a couple and of course, considered all of your suggestions/thoughts on the issue of whether or not to find out the gender of the child. We had some great arguments BOTH ways but we have decided......................

........

........

........

We're going to wait!!!

The main arguments that got us were the following:

1. It is the ONE suprise in life where the outcome TRULY doesn't matter.
2. It will make the day even MORE special for us to find out after the end of a long delivery! :) One of our good friends has two kids, they found out on one and waited on the other. They LOVED not knowing and the excitement of finding out during delivery. It gave him, as the hubby, the wonderful role of running out of the delivery room and shouting "It's a _____"! This really pulled at my heart strings!
3. We will truly get the things we need. Not blue or pink baby clothes someone else thinks are adorable! One of my girlfriends said it was great because at the shower they played guessing games on what she was carrying and they even started a pool. :)

I know, there are lots of you out there who may disagree but I think it is going to be LOTS of fun waiting!

You guys will of course be amond the first to know!! :)

Have a GREAT week everyone! Acheive your goals...reach your potential.
Jess

First Baby Bump Pics

8 Weeks (green shorts) AND 13 Weeks (blue shorts)

All right you guys.....here they are.... :) Please not that I will be wearing the BLUE shorts and top from here on out - the green ones are just yucky. And I am taking these in the morning after a workout and with NO make up on. And the 8 weeks out pic I had to do a little Paint modification with on my belly because there is a really bad shadow (we have rectified that now and are doing the pics a different way) so I deleted the shadow so you could see the actual difference. WITH the shadow the 8 week pic actually didn't look any different. I think I have a little baby bump at 13 weeks! My little bird is in there growing like crazy! The baby is 3 inches and the size of a peach! :) How cute. My little peach is a peach. I will be taking pics every week from here on out.

My workouts have been awesome this week -getting cardio in EVERY morning. It is so awesome. And the DH has also decided to start waking up early (6:15 or so) and so he walks the doggie with me after morning cardio which is so awesome. I only lifted on Tuesday so far but will lift the rest of the week since my goal is 90% compliance to my plan which equals 5 days a week! And I can't tell you all how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Daily Plate. It was having some server issues earlier this week and I was not loving it...but they are fixed now. EVERY food I eat is already entered in so I haven't had to log in anything. And they have a super simple process for adding the foods you eat all the time which for me, I eat pretty much the same thing every day with the exception of lunch. It has been such a help in eating good this week. We also got a crock pot which I am loving. Tonight I have beef stew waiting for me. YUMMMY! It is making for EASY dinner prep and great lunches.

I am struggling with gaining weight guys. I have only gained 3lbs but still, it is hard to gain weight and be "ok" with it because of the baby. I know the day will come when I don't really look preganant but look chubby and that will be a tough one. Let's face it, you have to put your vanity on the shelf when you get knocked up. Or at least I have to embrace being a sexy pregnant! I know, I know...I am pregnant...just deal with it...but it is still hard. I am focusing on working out, eating healthy and getting lots of rest.

Other big news....the hubby and I heard powerful arguments from TWO different people that we should WAIT and not find out the sex of our child until delivery. I guess I had never CONSIDERED not finding out. One of the people who convinced me said: "This is the ONE suprise in life where the outcome TRULY doesn't matter" and the other person who played a huge role in our decision was someone who said: "We have two kids - found out on the first and didn't on the second. The second delivery was so much more special and exciting". So, I would love to hear opinions out there...I am sure some of you momma's have them...we had planned on decorating the room in bright, non gender specific colors anyway so that isn't an issue. And I have NO problem forcing people who want to buy us gifts to buy us NON baby clothes stuff. :)

That's all I have for today! Love you guys! The week is almost over! Woo hoo!

Jess

Eating Healthy = Hunger Pangs

Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday to each of you! An ode to Monica Brant who will compete at the Arnold this year....that woman is such an icon. Look at that tiny little waist! She is the Erika Cane of the figure world...never winning a major event. But yet we all still consider her one of the best!

I am over half way through day two of super clean eating and loving it! My diet has consisted of Ezekiel bread, poached eggs (so yummy), bell peppers, cottage cheese, pineapple chunks, naturally more peanut butter, apples, oranges, celery, carrots, low fat cheese sticks, tuna, salads, chicken, yogurt and more! LOVING IT! My calories are around 2000 right now....doc said baby doesn't really need a whole lot more till I get to second trimester.

I forgot how good you feel when you eat super clean....and I wake up SUPER hungry. But that is probably partially baby. :) Regardless, my energy level is higher and I feel much, much better than I did when I was eating buffalo shrimp, pizza, etc. :) GO FIGURE!

I am still feeling GREAT with the baby. I have a doc appt a week from today and then the NEXT doc appt will be when we find out what the sex is....we are so excited! I need to weigh myself and I plan on taking a couple pics in the morning. The last picture we took had a wicked shadow that made it look like i was showing a lot more than I am. I am still wearing all my regular clothes - no Bella Band - no rubber bands. I think the worst will be when I am in the in between stage of not really looking pregnant and just looking chubby. Oh well, I will probably only be pregnant once or twice in my life - I am enjoying it all!

Workouts are also going better....I have also done cardio last two days early in the morning. I wanted to workout last night but we went to the grocery store and that took forever since we were stockpiling and I slept REALLY bad Sunday night with anticipation of coming back to work so I went to sleep at 9am instead of lifting. Tonight I will get back on a regular lifting schedule and start with Shoulders/Triceps.

Oh and a SUPER QUICK cooking tip for those of you who eat poached eggs....add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the water while it is boiling before you add the eggs. It prevents the eggs from getting really stringy. And I usually do two eggs and one white. SOOOOO good. I even have the hubby eating them. YUM!

Have a great day all!
Jess

Food, Food and Food!

Well, you have heard me talk A LOT about my workouts but not so much about my eating. So let me give you a play by play of conversations I have had with people recently:

"Are you showing yet?" Random Person
"Maybe a little but I don't know if it is Thanksgiving, Christmas or baby! Ha ha!" Me

I have been eating really bad....like super bad. I would say I am eating at about 50% compliance to a healthy and clean eating plan. I am taking my prenatals and definitely still eating every three hours BUT what I am eating is not the best. My quantities aren't out of control but they aren't good either...and there are a lot of reasons for it...the staycation...holidays....pregnant.

My good friend Amber got me an awesome pocket calorie calculator so I can look up and track foods immediately. It is awesome! I am going to use it along with an online tracking system for daily totals. My goal based on my calorie needs, activity level and baby needs is between 1800-2000 a day of clean, healthy, non processed foods. I will track the same way I do with my workouts - daily and focus on compliance at 90% of plan.

Have a great week everyone! I am back to work tomorrow and not excited about it... :( Twelve days off has been heaven!

Jess

December Recap & Baby Bladder Challenges

Gabby Reece - 4.5 month pregnant. WOW! That is ONE fit mama!

Hey y'all! Happy New Year again to all of you! I finally got caught up on all my blogs today and I was so happy to get reconnected with all of you again! You guys are such a part of my life and I am so thankful to have all of you as friends! Thank you for being such a wonderful support system! And I know each of you will achieve what you set your mind to in 2009!!

Instead of doing weekly recaps, I will be doing a monthly recap. The idea here will be to get a 15,000 foot view of my monthly workouts.

Total days in month: 31
Total cardio sessions: 14
Total weight training sessions: 17
Total workouts: 31
Days off: 10

Detailed summary:
Week of December 1st
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Back and biceps - PM
Wednesday: Shoulders & Legs - PM
Thursday: Off
Friday: Chest & Triceps - PM
Saturday: Booty School (more on this later) & 30 minute jog - PM
Sunday: 5.5 mile lake run with Amber and Pabs! Awesome!

Week of December 8th:
Monday: Back and biceps - PM
Tuesday: Jog, low intensity 30 mins AM & Shoulders - PM
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: AM Treadmill Walk/Jog - 30 mins
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: AM Shoulders; PM Legs

Week of December 15th:
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 30 minutes, treadmill high incline, Back and biceps, PM
Wednesday: BOMBED Shoulders, 30 minutes treadmill
Thursday: Legs - Yowza!]
Friday: 30 minute 10% incline treadmill walk
Saturday: Back, biceps, abs
Sunday: OFF

Week of December 22nd:
Monday: 30 minutes, treadmill 10% incline, AM; Shoulders, triceps, abs PM
Tuesday: 40 minutes, treadmill high incline, AM; Brutal leg workout, PM Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: 6 mile trail run - felt awesome!
Friday: 6.2 mile road run - not as easy as yesterday, AM; Killer shoulder workout, PM
Saturday: OFF (celebrated Christmas with our families!)
Sunday: 60 minute run at gym, approx 7.5 miles Week of December 29th:

Week of December 29th:
Monday: 30 minute treadmill uphill walk, biceps and triceps
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: KILLER shoulder workout and 1/2 hour run

This is PRECISELY why I wanted to do a MONTHLY recap. What I suspected was that my perception of my workouts would be better than what they actually are and I was right!! My goal has always been to workout 5 days a week with both cardio and weights. I fell 6 workouts short of my cardio goals and just 3 short of my weight training. Overall, considering the holidays and being pregnant and very sleepy, I feel really good about my accomplishments. And let me say I am PROUD of the achievements. Now, I need to focus on increasing my cardio and weight training for a more consistent week. This will ultimately look like making sure I do cardio and weights 5 days a week. I found a great blog last night about a girl that worked out consistently and only gained 30 lbs. And the KEY here is how strong all the women I have talked to and read about feel during delivery. How nice will that be???

Now, let's talk about bladder changes. So I drank two or three 16 oz bottles of water yesterday and then the hubby and I went for a run at about 2pm. I peed RIGHT before we started running and as soon as I started bouncing up and down on the trail, my bladder felt full again. NOT fun. It was REALLY uncomfortable. About twenty minutes into the trail I asked the hubby to keep an eye out and I peed in the woods and AHHHH relief. At first I thought maybe the baby was just on my bladder b/c it couldn't possibly be full again but it was. JEEZ. My plan will be to stop drinking water about 45 minutes before a run but make sure I hydrate big time up until that point. Talk about PLANNING! :)

Have a great weekend you guys! I am SO sad b/c my staycation is coming to an end tomorrow. :( I am so not excited about going back to work on Monday but I just have to soak up the next 36 hours...get done everything I need to get done to feel like I am in a great place for Monday!

Love and kisses!
Jess

P.S. We saw Seven Pounds last night. It was REALLY slow and a little challenging to follow in the beginning but the end was phenomenal and very moving. I was crying....it is a really powerful film....and I highly recommend it but it can easily be rented. Not necessarity worth the $20 to GO to the theater...but again, powerful and moving.