Well here we are at the "final stretch" of pregnancy and I feel like I'm just now getting the hang of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to extend it longer than necessary, and I feel very lucky that overall my experience has been extremely positive, very enjoyable at times, and of course a blessing in general. Crossing the threshold into the final stretch, I do feel my energy waning at times and again the random bouts of fatigue and exhaustion hit me pretty hard, but at least I'm able to eat the healthy stuff and enjoy it unlike the rollercoaster first trimester. Hopefully keeping this blog will help me the next round with what to do and avoid for optimal pregnancy bliss :)I had a lot of questions about my clean eating regimen and what I will say is pregnancy throws a wrench in what I would consider clean eating for those not with child. First, I did not skimp on dairy products (low-fat of course) as I would were I not pregnant. Despite having taken prenantals daily since March, I'm not risking any nutrient deficiencies for the sake of a few calories, so yes I'm still eating yogurt and cheese, drinking chocolate milk, and eating almond milk with cereal.
Bringing me to my second caveat of clean eating: carbs. If it were "just me", and not in training for something endurance-related, I would be cutting way back on carbs outside of fruits, vegetables and raw whole grains like quinoa. HOWEVER, I do think our son is already training for an endurance event in utero because I feel AMAZING after I eat a bowl of cereal. I don't know if it's psychological or just what's happening with my blood sugar after I eat it, but I truly cannot kick the cereal thing. Granted, there are much worse foods to eat than a bowl of Kashi cereal with almond milk, but if I were truly eating clean, cereal would not be on the menu.
What was the result after a week of eating clean while pregnant? Well, I gained 6lbs over our Christmas break (~2.5 weeks) which is slightly higher than the rate that I was gaining prior to the holidays. After my one week of clean eating, I actually weighed one pound less than the last time I weighed myself two weeks ago. I estimate at this point I'm gaining about a pound a week for pregnancy stuff, so in reality I think I lost a little fat mass as a result. All together, I've gained 15lbs with pregnancy and after last week I'm right on track to hit the the lower to middle range of 25-30lbs recommended for women with a previously healthy weight to gain while pregnant.
Finally, I thought my running days were close to over if not right there with the constant bathroom breaks and frequent ligament pains I'm experiencing as my belly grows. HOWEVER, after a conversation with one of my registered dietician friends last week, I realized why I'm able to run further outside in my neighborhood than inside on the treadmill: incline! Why didn't I think of that?! Our neighborhood is hilly, so I wasn't sure why I could make it two miles running near my house but the flat climate-controlled treadmill was not my friend. The incline-running reduces impact (read: bounce) on my abdominal and pelvic region... so my running days are NOT over. In fact, yesterday I managed to run 5 miles under 60 minutes (not fast by any means but this included a bathroom break and several walk breaks) then today I got another four in with my friend Amy and my fur-baby Rocco. My secret goal of reaching third trimester still able to run was realized today and I'm SO PUMPED that hopefully I too can say "I ran until the day I gave birth"... we will see but at this point it's at least somewhat realistic. For now, I will keep on with the clean eating, running, and posting yummy recipes as I come across them.
PS- I'm watching the Golden Globes while I write this and Kerry Washington is a beautiful woman anyway, but wow. I think she's more breathtaking as a pregnant woman! Now how to get my hands on that gown she's wearing without paying the designer price...
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