21 Week Bump Update!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Since both my hubby & I are from AZ, we are blessed enough to stick around town for the holidays.  Sofie had a wonderful time playing & giggling with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on Christmas Eve.  We chose to keep a quiet day to ourselves on Christmas Day and spent the day in our jammies. 

 Normally being cooped up would make a very active toddler crazy (and momma!) but, she was havin' way too much fun with all her new stuff.  She is currently obsessed with trains, choo choo!

Man, it feels like forever since we had a lazy day.  It was much needed! It was nice to "sleep in" til 8am.  Out of all the days, Sofie slept in til 8:30 (she is an early bird and is always up around 6ish) 'Twas a nice Christmas treat.

How far along: 21 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Carrot (approx. 3/4 of a pound; 10.5 in long)
Total weight gain: 12 lbs 

Maternity clothes?: On occasion, mostly gym clothes or leggings!
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had from my last pregnancy
Sleep: Pretty good, especially since Santa brought me a pregnancy pillow this year. So comfy!
Best moment this week: Christmas, of course! Watching our daughter light up while she opened gifts. Spending time with family & loved ones.
Miss Anything? The usual:laying on my tummy, normal energy levels, a cocktail, and SUSHI!
Movement: Yes, he is so low! (comparatively)
Cravings: Grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle. Fresh fruit.  Ice cold water. In'N'Out protein and animal style. Starbucks hot, white chocolate mocha. Chipotle!
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Nope, thank goodness. Too early yet
Symptoms: Still get small waves of nausea, Fatigue (this may attributed to the Diclegis and my Energizer Bunny 2 yr old keepin me busy). 

Mood: Happy! I had my first "I feel like I'm crazy because I-want-to-cry-over-something-silly" moment since I first found out I was pregnant.  I'm really surprised that I have been pretty level-headed this pregnancy.
Looking forward to: Spending time with my little family this week, and going to watch The Hobbit! Going to the movies is a luxury nowadays, hehe.

Exercise: Kept the consistency, even though it was a busy week.  Lots of drop sets to make sure I made the best of my time (and battling the crowds)

Mon: Shoulders Tue: Back Wed: Biceps/Triceps/Chest Thu: OFF Fri: Legs Sat: Cardio (10 min incline fast walk)and Upper Body Sun: OFF

My normal "80/20" flexible eating was more of a "60/40" last week, I have to be honest! No regrets, I enjoyed many tamales and lots of treats (pie, cookies, chocolate) It was all so yummy! I was really good about sticking to making it to the gym 5 days a week and I think that helped me avoid more than a 2 lb weight gain this week.

I'm getting really excited about my new website launching soon! I am serious when I say that I am open to feedback and suggestions.  Email me at: lex@fitspirationmom.net with any ideas or topics you would like to see.  I plan on continuing similar posts with recipes, tips/tricks, and other FITspirational posts.

Until next week! Hope everyone is enjoying the last week of 2014 and gearing up for a healthy, prosperous 2015. Xoxo

Lex

20 week Baby Bump Update!

Hello hello! I'm stepping up my "blogging game" I feel like the 1st trimester I was consumed by the "Nausea Monster" as I like to refer to the ALL DAY nausea I experienced. Life has felt so busy lately and BOOM: the holidays snuck up on me.  Similar to my last pregnancy, I am gonna start weekly bump updates. Yay! 

How far along: 20 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Banana(10 inches from head to heel & approx 10.5 oz) according to Baby Center, but at our u/s last week the tech said 13 oz
Total weight gain: 10 lbs

Maternity clothes?: A few comfy pants, but mostly normal leggings and longer tanks/tops. That's if I'm not in workout clothes(which is like 90% of the time, haha)
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had from my last pregnancy
Sleep: Pretty decent. I'm still taking Diclegis for my nausea, so it knocks me out!
Best moment this week: Well, last week we got to see little man doing somersaults on the u/s and hear his heart beating.  I love technology!
Miss Anything? Laying on my tummy. Enjoying myself a cocktail with dinner. I kinda miss my old workout habits too!
Movement: Yes! One of my favorite things about pregnancy.
Cravings: Grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle. Fresh fruit.  Ice cold water. In'N'Out protein and animal style.
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Nope, thank goodness. Too early yet
Symptoms: Still get small waves of nausea, hoping it's gone soon, my script is almost out. Fatigue (this may attributed to the Diclegis and my Energizer Bunny 2 yr old keepin me busy)

Mood: Happy! Moments of emotion, like when I watched a father get reunited with his son after 40+ years. Damn you Dr. Phil!
Looking forward to: Christmas next week! Excited to spend time with family and to see Sofie's reaction on Christmas morning.

Exercise: Consistently working out 5 days a week.  The key has been planning my workouts ahead of time and writing them in my calendar. An appointment that I cannot miss! 

This week looked like this:

Mon: Shoulders Tue: Back Wed: Biceps & Triceps Thu: Legs Fri: Yoga

That's right, I said Yoga! I've never really been into yoga (I sporadically did yoga during my last pregnancy). I think it's because I am not very flexible and I'm drawn to more high-intensity-let's-lift-heavy-ass-weights type shtuff. ;)

 

I also want to add that the only "cardio" I currently do is 15-20 minute walk after dinner *some* nights(this will be more of a focus once I get closer to the end)  I tend to do all my strength training in a super-set format (I pick 2-3 different exercises and do one move after the other with a 30 second break in between)  This keeps my heart rate up and makes me break a sweat. This is how I worked out before I got pregnant, so that's what I personally stick to.  Rule of thumb is that you can continue to do what you did before you got pregnant(always consult with your doctor first!), which makes it so important to establish a workout routine before you decide it's time to get knocked up.

 

  My weight gain is on track, as of now.  According to Baby Center, if you started out in a normal weight range: you should gain about 1-5 lbs during the 1st trimester and 1 lb per week for the remainder of the pregnancy.

Halfway point is really exciting! I feel like this pregnancy is now starting to fly by.  Looking back, I can honestly say that doing my best to stick to eating healthier foods and exercising helped my nausea overall.  I still had it pretty rough, so I am really thankful I only dealt with it for 2 months until I got my hands on Diclegis (a newer prescription specific to pregnancy nausea)

I have some exciting news to share!  For the last few months, I have been working on a new website for my blog.  The type-A person in me is super stoked to have a cleaner, more organized place to share all my favorite recipes, FITspiration tips/tricks, and posts that speak candidly about self-love and acceptance.  

 

I'm also considering becoming more active on YouTube, so I can share some of my favorite workouts that I love.  If there is anything you'd like to see on my page or topics you want more info on, please let me know! I am open to anything that can help you along your journey to become healthy and happy!

Until next time,

Lex

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am overdue for sharing a recipe, so let's make it a tasty one!  As far as my sweet tooth is concerned, I usually don't obsess about my dessert being healthy.  I just indulge on occasion, in moderation.  During the holiday season, I like to use craisins & white chocolate chips to add a little more festive-ness to this recipe.

 Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup white flour

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 TB cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup raisins (or craisins!)

3/4 cup (white) chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt

3. Add dry mixture, a little at a time (about 1 cup) into the wet mixture, until well blended

4. Add the vanilla and blend

5. Stir the white chocolate chips and craisins into the mixture.

6. Chill the dough for 30 minutes

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and spoon dough in 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls onto the sheet.

8. Bake for 9-10 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

9. ENJOY!

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This can make 2-3 dozen cookies depending on the size of your scoop.  So chewy and delish, and always a hit around Christmas time.

I originally got my recipe from Erica's Sweeth Tooth, but tweaked it in a few areas.

Yay for treats!  Remember, all things are ok in moderation.  It's ok to indulge from time to time and have no regrets.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful holiday season!

Lex

Fit Pregnancy: The 1st Trimester

Gaining 60 lbs during my first pregnancy has been a huge motivator for me to stick to my normal healthy habits as best as I can.  This pregnancy was planned, so I feel like I was gearing up for battle with all my weapons of knowledge, tips, tricks, recipes, etc.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!  To all my mommas out there that deal with morning sickness and nausea(not to mention extreme fatigue); I give you major props.  Especially if you have other children to tend to, aaaand especially if they are of toddler age.

I've had many of you ask me if I have changed my workout routine since becoming pregnant. The answer is a big, fat YES!

My first priority is the health of this baby, which directly correlates with my health (of course).  So, I really had to listen to my body.  I went from working out 5-6 days a week (heavy lifting and HIIT cardio) to sometimes only making it to the gym 2 days a week.  I didn't beat myself up over it, because I knew that I needed to rest as my body kicked into overdrive to create this little miracle.

Once I stopped throwing myself a pity party(did I also mention Sofie stopped napping around the time I got pregnant...? Ha.) I made some new goals.

1. Make it to the gym 4 days a week.

2. Drink, at minimum, half my weight in ounces of water (approx 65 oz)

3. Eat as healthy as I can, when I can (see below)

4.  Listen to my body

There was a time where eating things like pizza, bagels and cream cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and burgers were the ONLY things that settled my nauseous stomach.  So, that's what I did.  No regrets.  

The mental battle that I had with myself over going to the gym was very similar to how I felt when I was out of shape and lacked motivation.  So I told myself the same thing I did then, "Just show up and stretch, go home after that if you want."

Some days, I did just that.  Just stretched.  Most of the time, I would overcome the mental battle and focus on getting a workout in. Every single time: I always felt better!

The nausea in both of my pregnancies have been identical, except for this time around. Working out has truly helped with my nausea, as well as my energy levels.

....

Here is what I changed about my workout routine in the 1st trimester:

1.  Started to use a heart rate monitor, and focus on keeping my heart rate below 150 bpm

*Keeping your heart rate below 140 is a bit outdated, so after doing my own research and consulting with a few of the personal trainers at my gym, I focused on the level of my perceived exertion.  

2. Weight training 3-5 days a week(depending on how I feel) Lower weight with 12-15 reps

3.  Combining muscle groups.

*I used to focus on only one, usually. However, some weeks I only made it to the gym 2 or 3 days. So I worked on 2-3 muscle groups at a time (shoulders/back, biceps/triceps/chest) Except Leg Day, holy crap does my heart rate go up quick with just air squats!  I am as slow as molasses on Leg Day. Haha

4. Take daily walks.  I chose to no longer do any HIIT for cardio, but I tend to do a lot of supersets still, so I know I am getting enough "cardio" in.  When I got pregnant, I was not focused on cardio.  I was focused on maintaining and build muscle.  Now it's just maintenance

....

My advice? Same advice I give to those who ask me how to
start being fit/healthy:

....

Now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, things have been a lot easier as far as eating healthier and consistently working out.  I plan to write a separate post and am thinking about doing a weekly bump update with pics and other fun preggo details, yay.

Until next time!

Lex, xoxo

P.S.  In case you missed it, we are Team Blue this pregnancy. Yay!