Carb Coma & Shakeology

So this pregnancy has been my most challenging one to date. To describe the extreme nausea and fatigue is just indescribable. I am generally one of those happy pregnant women, who love the "glow" and the rounding of the belly and feeling the kicks from the little one inside. The side effects this time have really taken a toll. Lately, I have been saying to people, "I worked my other three pregnancies. I am so glad I work from home now because I cannot imagine standing on my feet all day, teaching, doing lab, grading a stack of papers and feeling this way." The nausea lasts all day, from when I wake up to when I go to bed and sometimes, I am sleeping and I still feel nauseous. And the fatigue that has set in has me very acquainted with my couch and what I can get done from my couch.

One this that has been killing me is that I am turning to carbs to help ease my nausea, as that is the most prescribed antidote for pregnant women with nausea. At first, it was saltines and rye toast. And I mean like an entire ROW of crackers and call that a meal. And when I had one really bad week, I finished a small loaf of rye bread (toast) in about 2 days. What I realize now is that this caused a huge imbalance in my diet and that it was totally ok to just eat for comfort to help with my symptoms. But I will tell you this: though the queasiness was eased, so was my energy. It felt like I could do nothing, concentrate on nothing and barely just get by in my days. What was shocking for me was I had been eating clean for about an year and half with a great healthy diet plan that I finally found worked for me and my body. Once I turned to the carbs in this pregnancy, my brain went into a fog and I got done less than half and mostly a quarter of what I used to be able to do. I also gained the most weight in the first trimester for this pregnancy than I did in all three pregnancies combined. My only saving grace is that my starting weight this time was in the medically deemed "healthy zone." The last three pregnancies I was starting out in the "obese zone."

What has helped me? Since my cooking skills (mostly due to smells) went out the window, I really relied on my Shakeology to help me through these tough times. Veggies, whether raw or cooked, were some of the things that turned me off the most, which is ironic since I was eating 3 cups of veggies a day prior to my pregnancy. (I almost yakked in the A & P produce section one day because the fresh produce literally smelled like dirt to me.) My symptoms usually worsened throughout the day, so I switched from having my Shakeology with my lunch (sometime between 10am-2pm) to now having it at 4pm or later. I struggle to get through dinner, just to cook something for the kids, let alone eat dinner myself. But having Shakeology to fill me up and taste so yummy when everything really lost its appeal to me was a life saver. With this month of October almost be renamed National Chocolate month as it was everywhere I went, I was so glad to drink my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology. For at least one meal a day I knew I was getting some balanced nutrition. And as I am in the last weeks of my first trimester, now I save my Shakeology for my dessert after the kids go to bed (which also helps because if I make my vegan chocolate, Noah, my 18 month old, absolutely needs to drink half of my shake with me.)

Looking forward to getting out of my carb coma as this first trimester comes to close in the next few weeks. And thank God for my Shakeology so I can enjoy something good for me and great tasting.

Shakeology & Pregnancy

So in the past 24 hours, since I announced my pregnacy with child #4, I have had several people ask me ("on the side") if I was still going to continue to coach and more importantly, was I still going to drink Shakeology. To answer that in a word: YES. And yes, I went to my midwife and she approved it whole heartedly, which I will relate the funny story about that as you read on.

But to answer your questions, of course I am still going to coach. I may modify what I am doing but I love working with my team, my clients and generally keeping myself and now my unborn baby healthy. Of course everyone knows how important it is to eat right and exercise while you are pregnant. And I am still drinking Shakeology, just about every day.

I will admit in full disclosure that this pregnancy has been one of my more challenging pregnancies. By about week 5, I have had SEVERE nausea, the kind that last all day, from when I wake up to when I go to bed at night. The kind of nausea that makes you curl up on the couch all day and you don't want to move for 12 hours. I remember being disappointed with the few times I dry heaved and wishing it was like my last pregnancy where I vomited daily for 14 weeks. I am on week 12 now and I now get two days a week (the other 5 are pretty bad still) where the nausea is just a few hours of the day, mostly around dinner time. Those are the days, I just can't cook but I choose to have my Shakeology for dinner and make something for the kids. My husband, sadly, has had to fend for himself many days, but thank God, he drinks Shakeology too. But Shakeology has definitely been a life saver because as I struggle with this first trimester, I know I am getting all my nutrients from a great source. Because my diet of saltines and toast just is not the greatest thing for my sweet baby.

So the funny story with my midwife was this: as I am sitting there on the table and updating her since I had my son 18 months ago, she keeps staring at me. I am asking her questions now about my nutrition (I was currently on the 21 Day Fix program and knew I needed to increase my calorie intake since I was pregnant.) She said, "I wish I could say I recognize you, but I don't." And I reminded her about Noah's birthstory (he was born in the car but she delivered his placenta when I arrived at the hospital.) "Yes, I read your chart and I remember that." So I said to her, "The last time you saw me, I weighed 233 lbs. I weigh 149 today. I became a health and fitness coach since I last saw you." "Wow. That is amazing." So I then went on to ask her about using Shakeology during my pregnancy since it was approved by another one of the midwives from the practice for nursing mothers. She took her time, reviewing the ingredients, and asking several questions, like how do I make it and do I meal replace with it. I generally drink Shakeology with my lunch, I told her. She said, this looks great. Every ingredient in there is natural and safe for you. She said, "You know, I just had a baby a few month ago, eight to be exact, I should look into this." I went on to tell her how I love Shakeology because I need the extra protein in my diet to help with my energy level, as well as it provides all the nutrition from these amazing superfoods that are in it. It has everything in it that I need that I know that I don't always get from my diet. And that is why I will be drinking Shakeology not only throughout my pregnancy but really, for the rest of my life.

So this blog will be modified with including my pregnancy, my weight gain, my triumphs and struggles and of course, next year, with my birth and my return to my pre-pre-pregnancy weight that I obtained this year. So glad to share this journey with you.