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