Pregnancy Update: Week 17

It occurs to me that updating every week is just plain silly, so I'll update every 2-3 or as it seems like fun. 

Baby size/Important facts: Size comparisons: Turnip, onion, roll of toilet paper, pear, artichoke. Little leech is now starting to grow actual bones in place of cartilage and some fat deposits. Also, apparently their eyes work, even behind sealed eyelids.

Weight Change: I'm up a total of 3.5 lbs so far, thankfully gaining finally.

Waist Change: I've been measuring my belly at both my natural waistline (for as long as I can see it) and my belly button). Started at Week 10. Waist: 29 Bellybutton: 33.5. Size gain this week alone: 0.5" on both. Total gain: 1.5" on waist, 2.5" on bellybutton.

Maternity clothes? Hm. Well I have a few pairs of shorts I can hide under the bump. Shirts are becoming a bigger issue. Luckily pants and such tighter on my lower abdomen AREN'T hurting as much, so that's cleared up some pants/shorts issues. 

Bra changes: Still hanging out at 32H. Finally sucked it up and bought a new sports bra though. This helps with the running and the riding. 

Stretch marks? I have some from my teen years on my thighs, no new ones yet.

Sleep: I'm peeing LESS than before, so sleeping a bit better. I still take forever to fall asleep, but I'm doing better staying asleep. 

Workouts: Running 3x a week, at least 3 miles, and one of those is 4-5 miles, these are going pretty well. Doing better getting yoga & strength training in. This week I was finally able to add horseback riding back to my schedule. Slowly, mostly for her benefit, but honestly my hips are being so weird that me starting off only walking for a short time is best.

Diet: Generally pretty good. The house warmed up a bit in the last two weeks, so it's easier to live on healthy fruit/veg when it's above 60 degrees inside. 

Best moment this week: Finding a midwife that is willing to support me in the labor/delivery I want in Illinois if we have to move. 

Miss anything? The rest of my wardrobe.

Food cravings: Depends on the day. Occasionally a cookie now, which is weird. I take that to mean that I need more fat in my diet, and I'm happy to oblige.

Anything making you queasy or sick? The smell of cigarettes & diesel exhaust, still and always. Plus my toothbrush. Makes me gag every single time.

Sex Guess: We're Team Green (not finding out sex until birth), but guessing is fun. I'm waiting to have another guess until I feel the squirming around in there.

Labor signs: Thankfully no, better not for a long time.

Symptoms: Peeing has slowed, yay! So mostly just bladder pressure when running, and dizzy if I get up too fast. Oh, and the back pain/hip stability. If I lay down too long, my hips aren't steady when I get up. Doing some research and working on gearing my strength days & yoga practice towards helping that. 

Belly button in or out? In, and with a ring, but it's definitely shallower.

Wedding rings on or off: On, and loose.

Emotional state: A little more relax. We have financial concerns, but at least we know have plans and options. 

Looking forward to: Mostly just feeling the little one. Oh, and having some visitors down here in a couple weeks. Also, scheduling our Anatomy Scan (major ultrasound) very soon!

And the next person who asks if we're having a boy or girl...this is the answer they're getting. It's a kitten, definitely.

Best Trick to Helping Lose Unwanted Inches

I shall take a moment to remind everyone that your weight is not your ultimate health determining factor. 

Take my husband for instance. He weighs in around 185-200 lbs depending on time of year and activity level and he's 5'10". The normal BMI measurement shows him as very close to obese, yet he wears a 34" waist. He's clearly not significantly overweight. He's rather trim & athletic, but muscle weighs more than fat.

As you change your eating and/or exercise habits, your body composition is likely to change. If you do a lot of working out, your weight can initially track upwards as you gain muscle mass. This can be discouraging, but IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL AND IT'S NOT A BAD THING. In fact, I have at different points in my life weighed the same amount but worn vastly different sized pants as once I was a fluffy version and later I was an athletic version of the same weight. I'm currently now a pregnant and slightly less athletic version of myself, but still at that weight. This is all fine by me, so I think it's best to keep track of your waistline as it changes, rather than just your weight. This can help you keep track of real changes. I tend to measure right at my thinnest part of my natural waistline, and again at my belly button level, because those two points are easy to see and therefore it's easy to measure at exactly the same place every time. If you have an easy way to measure (such as a prominent freckle or scare or tattoo) your hip, butt, or thigh, those are all other valid places - I just don't find them easy to consistently measure on me.

That all being said, my best, #1 trick to losing excess fat off of my frame is...

WATER! There are so many benefits of putting more water into your system. 

• Exercise
• The more you work out or challenge yourself physically, the more water you need to stay healthy. If your pee is dark yellow or especially...fragrant, you probably don't have enough water - or you have a UTI or other medical issue. Drink up!
• Hunger
• If you keep your stomach and system full with more water, it needs less food to keep you feeling full. Anything that helps you eat less is always nice.
• Waste Products
• More water=more ability for your body to rid itself of wastes. That includes anything that is an end product of digestion, but also when you are working out and burning fat, drinking more water helps to flush all that out.
• Energy
• Being even slightly dehydrated can cause you to feel fatigue. This is not only going to ruin your day, but likely slow down your exercising too!
• Skin
• Water helps keep your skin healthy even from the inside. You flush out more toxins so you end up with less blemishes!
• Deterrent
• If you quench your thirst with water, you can help avoid "empty" liquid calories in sodas or other processed beverages (remember diet drinks aren't healthier just because they're low or zero calories.) Also, soda and caffeine just dehydrate you in the long run, which makes you drink MORE of them, so limiting yourself to the occasional treat is a good idea. In between sodas, LOAD UP ON WATER!
• Pregnancy (and other) Symptoms
• Drinking more water purposely leads to a reduction in pretty much all irritating uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms (other than the weight/size change itself of course!). Nausea, headaches, dizziness, gas pains, hemorrhoids, constipation, round ligament pain, and backache are ALL helped by consuming more water. The best part about that is: if you're NOT pregnant, water can still potentially help you with these problems. It's just more noticeable in the pregnant community as we suddenly have higher water needs and our kidneys work really hard to flush out all the water...at the same time.

What it all really comes down to is this: increasing your water intake has a lot of benefits and very few risks. Don't overdrink until you flush out all of the electrolytes in your entire system, but honestly that's very difficult to do.

Sidenote: if you feel like you are taking in an adequate amount of water (64-128 oz is recommended daily depending on your size, activity level, sex, and whether you are breastfeeding and/or pregnant) but if you keep being thirsty and keep losing water in urine there are a couple of concerns. 1. Could you be low on salt? You need salt to assist in storing water in your body. If you eat any processed foods or salt your foods to taste and AREN'T exercising several hours a day in the heat - your salt level should be fine. 2. If you still can't seem to keep water in and you know you get salt in your diet, please have your doctor screen you for diabetes. Excessive thirst can be an indicator.

So everyone, drink your water!

Stay tuned for a pregnancy update, hopefully this weekend!

Why I'd Prefer to Birth at Home

Now, before you get too ready to judge, please at least hear me out. I'm not super crazy (only a little), and I don't think going back to 20,000 B.C. with no prenatal tests, no idea when I'm due due, and nothing but a friend with some herbs to help me out is the safest option to give birth!

At the same time, I do hate the idea that giving birth is seen as a "medical procedure." Yes, that is literally the phrase that was spoken to be by a hospital last week. Uhm, nope. I mean, it's not as common of a bodily process as breathing, but it's still a 100% normal bodily function. Yes, sometimes it can go wrong and you need help, but there are situations where even something as normal as chewing and swallowing can go wrong - and you end up needing the ER!

In fact just recently a woman accidentally gave birth at home. In that instance mom, dad, and baby had a great birth, with no complications and it went amazingly for them all. They didn't even have help until paramedics arrived afterward. If she can do it without help, why should I be able to with help?

C-Section and Intervention Concerns

That being said, my original reason for researching birth outside of the hospital was fear of having a c-section, and my insatiable interest in knowing as much as I can about everything. I always feel better knowing all of my options and having as much information as possible under my fingertips. Mostly though, I was pretty sure that I was hearing about too many cesarean births. I was hearing about c-sections for too many friends and family members. But why? That article goes into some of the myriad of reasons.

I was also kinda shocked to find that I was not the only one concerned about this. I am used to being labeled as somewhat high strung. I am a worrier. When I found out that I'm at the very least not the ONLY one worrying about something, I figure that it's definitely not all in my head. 

In fact, many professionals in the US are starting to realize that overuse of some medical procedures is leading to an increase in surgical deliveries. Seeing as surgery always carries risks, it's not surprising that a higher c-section rate would therefore bring a higher rate of complications. What a lot of women don't realize is that induction of labor comes with risks and as long as you don't have a medical reason for induction, it can lead down a slippery slope that results in a c-section if your baby and body weren't already prepared for delivery. 

My Ideal Birth

I know that birth does NOT always go the way you want it to. However, for the majority of women who have a low-risk pregnancy and are otherwise healthy and strong, birth can happen easily - though obviously it's still a painful process.

My ideal labor and delivery would involve being able to use a birthing tub to labor in for a long time. I've always been more relaxed in water and I've heard that the whirlpool action can soothe some contraction pain. I'd like a female licensed midwife to do "checks" on me only ever few hours, or on request. I'd like the chance to eat/drink what I want, when I want to - so I can keep my blood sugar and energy up for this extremely physical event. I've heard that a 12 hour labor and delivery is as much work as running a marathon. If that's true, I want to be able to fuel my body as I would for a marathon. I want to decide what position and location to deliver. Native/aboriginal/ancient cultures often delivered in a squatting position or on all fours so that gravity can assist. These positions can also put your uterus and birth canal into a proper alignment, and therefore facilitate baby's passage. I want to be physically free to move around as much as I want or feel the need to, and I don't want someone trying to tell me that they think I should be moving along faster or I should accept pain meds or any other medical "procedure" unless there is strict proof that there is an actual medical emergency happening.

I would love if my husband had a chance to catch the baby. I want the three of us to be able to bond for an hour, attempt breastfeeding nearly immediately, and wait for the umbilical cord to stop functioning before cutting it. We want to be able to give the baby their first sponge bath ourselves - as this way we can learn on the job, but still have professionals around to assist.

Then I want to be able to retreat to the comfort of my own bed or couch to recover in peace, at home, without vitals checks constantly. If my newborn is already going to wake me up every 2 hours, do I really want a nurse coming in every 3-4 hours to check my vitals too? I think less interruptions while I try to get the hang of things would be easier. 

My Specific Worries about Hospital Deliveries

So here's a synopsis (it's not short but honestly I could ramble on for something resembling weeks) on what my exact concerns are with starting labor in a hospital.

I do believe in the power of mind over body and positive thinking-to a point. I truly believe that if I can feel safe, secure, loved, and supported I can do a natural birth - barring any unforeseen complications. 

But that also has the dark side on the same coin. If I walk into hospital feeling nervous, apprehensive, not supported, ridiculed, and like all of the professionals think I'm wrong or crazy-then it's just going to start my panic cycle. And once that's triggered, I believe that I won't feel safe, and that feeling will stop me from believing I can deliver in the first place, because I am very nervous about the idea of being in a hospital when nothing is wrong and I'm not sick.

I don't think hospitals are evil. I think they're very very very good at what they do. I think they do a great job at handling diseases and injuries. I believe hospitals are AWESOME at medical things. I still hate them, but I go because it's the right decision when I'm sick. I went to ER to get a first trimester bleed looked at. I jumped on it. I go in yearly to the doc office for physicals. I'm glad to go to prenatal appointments. When I had kidney stones, I has happy to go to the hospital and diagnose that. Unfortunately, all they could do was give me pain meds and tell me to wait it out at home.

I would strongly prefer NEVER to be admitted to a hospital, but I know that I can't do a thing about that if I have a major medical issue. So I would go. And if I were hospitalized for pneumonia or cancer or needing my appendix taken out, and if I were SUPER NERVOUS there, they would get me valium or something similar and I'd survive.

Birth is not a disease or injury though. I honestly feel like hospitals set up women to fail and need more interventions because of their policies. My concerns lie with the idea of not being able to eat, having so many tubes and wires even on a low risk woman that I almost can't get to the bathroom easily, and I can't labor or deliver in whatever position I want. I have to be in bed in a mostly reclined position. Birth has become a deeply personal experience that happens in a fishbowl environment with a whole slew of people, probably including students, watching and telling me how they think I should birth and telling me that the wires and tubes are necessary when I know they're not. A hospital gown doesn't feel natural, a bed my husband can't join me in doesn't feel natural. Having someone tell me I'm not progressing fast enough, even if baby isn't in distress, isn't natural. I don't see how I'm likely to succeed in a natural birth if being in a hospital causes anxiety. I doubt I can labor effectively and work with my body to birth if I'm clamped down  in fear, or feel like the entire situation is out of my control. It's one thing to give in when I know something is wrong, but as long as it isn't, why am I stuck to a bed in a smelly building full of sick people? I don't expect everything to go according to plan, however a hospital to me is a last resort once everything else fails. I'm sure all those women who gave birth in the car/on the side of the road where happy that everyone was healthy afterwards, but they would never have chosen to birth there from the get go.  

I honestly believe that if I plan to give birth at a hospital, I'm more likely than any other low risk mom to end up with complications just BECAUSE I'm scared of the place. I also know that I don't perform well in any circumstance whether it's an emotional or physical event (much less both like labor) when I am not allowed to listen to my body and move around for my comfort. However, the consequence of being shaken up or otherwise emotionally impaired during birth is stalling labor, causing fetal distress, and ending up with an emergency c-section. 

Birthing Centers - A Middle Ground

Now, on the other side of the story, I currently have my birth set up with an absolutely wonderful birth center. This is a location that has all of the medical equipment for an emergency resuscitation on stand by, but otherwise lets women birth as they desire. Women are certainly not confined to laboring or birthing in a bed. There are tubs and stools and birthing balls in all of the rooms. Women can eat or drink as they see fit, and midwives are present to keep their eye on you. Only low-risk women are welcome to deliver at a birth center, and they have to agree to allow for a transfer to hospital at any time during delivery if any serious complications ensue. However, while laboring, no one is told that their labor is "taking too long" or "would be easier with an epidural." In fact, the center only offer nitrous oxide for pain relief. 

Women who deliver at the birth center are able to have an hour of uninterrupted contact with their baby after delivery, as long as everything goes well. Dad or partner may catch the baby, and cut the cord. Moms are supported in attempting breastfeeding immediately, in order to help further the bond. Midwives assist the couple in their first baby bath, and then let Dad and/or other family bond with baby while mom gets to take a shower (in a private, homey shower). Assuming everything went well, the new family leaves 4-6 hours after birth.

At the same time, the birthing center has IVs, medications to reduce post-partum bleeding, antibiotics, oxygen, and other emergency supplies on hand to assist if there are any problems. 

In eight years, the center has had a 94% success rate for natural birth at the birthing center. The remainder of women were transferred to a hospital for delivery, and none of the mothers or babies were lost. In fact, the majority of the transferred women chose to transfer in order to receive pain medication - they did not have emergencies that required more medical intervention, they made the choice to move to a medical facility. To me, that's wonderful. There's nothing wrong with WANTING to birth in a medical location if that's where you feel safe.  

Problems with Natural Birthing in Illinois

So, with the birthing center option above, why do I care about hospital births at all, when I can have everything I want at the local birthing center?

Due to some crazy confluence of events, some of which we had control over and many of which we did not, my husband and I may have to relocate from Central Florida to Northern Illinois in the next 2 months.

Illinois is less progressive when it comes to childbirth. While I have a few options in Florida for midwives to perform home births for me, there aren't any that cover my area in Illinois. This is partially due to location, but mostly due to availability. While Florida has 100s of midwives licensed to oversee a home birth using all different types of insurance, Illinois only has 7. Those 7 have very specific coverage zones, and can only accept certain insurance. They do not cover my area, nor can they take my insurance. 

Florida has 7 birth centers within 100 miles of my home. Illinois has 1 in the entire state. The Illinois birth center is 2 hours from my new location, without traffic. However, in traffic it is 3-4 hours depending on time of day. My due date is the week of Independence Day. I figure that will mean high traffic most of the week, and therefore don't believe that the drive will be safe. I would anticipate delivering in the car on the way. This doesn't even include the issue of trying to find time to get to weekly appointments in the last month with that long of a drive. Just not going to happen.

That leaves me with two options only. 1 - home birth with no professional present or 2 - hospital birth. I'm not willing (nor is anyone else around me willing) to attempt a home birth without a trained midwife. Unfortunately, the hospitals within a 90 minute drive to my new location are some of the most archaic I've heard of. 

Progressive hospitals recognize my concerns of birth with interventions. Many now offer birthing tubs, birthing in different positions, and have gotten away from mandatory IVs and prohibiting all food/drink. However, in Illinois progressive hospitals are not the norm. They exist only in very affluent neighborhoods of Chicago and are no closer to my new home than the birth center. So those aren't a likely option either.

Last option: the more archaic, traditional hospitals near my new home. There are three within a 90 min drive. They embody the approach I worry about. They call birth a "medical procedure" and mandate IVs. They don't allow any eating or drinking, they don't allow dad to catch the baby, or even a midwife to catch the baby. They only allow OBs to deliver. These hospitals laughed at me when I asked if I could deliver in a squatting position, or anywhere other than the tiny bed. They don't have birthing tubs, or even a bed big enough for my husband to hold me while supporting me during labor. A friend delivered at one of these hospitals last month, and she wasn't able to even hold her baby in the first hour after delivery, even though nothing was wrong with either one of them. Baby was whisked away for a bath that mom and dad couldn't even watch, and then brought to the nursery. All these hospitals mandate a 48-72 hour stay after vaginal birth (not including time spent in labor) even if nothing goes wrong at all. This is not where I want to deliver, but I think it's my only choice.

My Final Thoughts on Fear

I do feel that the overwhelming majority of all US hospitals can very safely deliver a baby c section. I think they're very good at what they do in surgical rooms. If I have to have a c section, I have almost no fears it will go wrong. I don't want one because I feel like the recovery will be worse, and I don't want the scar. I think if possible it's best for baby to physically go through the birth canal, and I think birth will be significantly less personal with a surgery. It also sucks that a c-section takes away option for my husband to catch the baby, might stop him from cutting the cord, and I'm afraid that I won't get to feel the pride of completing a difficult task (like the pride I had when finishing a half marathon). But, I am willing to forgo all of that for safety if it's medically necessary. Because if baby is in trouble from a vaginal delivery, then the benefits of vaginal birth don't outweigh risks of it.

I think I'd feel more confident in my ability to handle this if it was the pain or the delivery itself that was scary to me-lots of people know how to help with that. But I haven't met a person that has advice on dealing with laboring or delivering in a place you feel uncomfortable with. I believe all women that WANT to deliver in a hospital should have the opportunity to do so. Deliver where YOU are comfortable. 

I feel that there's a very high chance that because of my fears and aversions and the lack of support for natural birth by every medical professional I've found in that area so far, I won't manage to convince the staff to let me deliver naturally even if I don't have any medical complications. 

I can't promise that if I try to birth at a birth center that it would for sure work. If I have complications at a birth center and have to transfer to a hospital for a c section then I already know I'm going to be sedated and slated for surgery, I accept that. But I don't see how a hospital can help me even try to NOT have a birth like that. 

Really the only thing I think hospitals are downright piss poor at providing a calm, secure, non-medical feeling atmosphere to even attempt a non-medical delivery. In fact, from what I hear they push you to make it as medical as possible. Ew. I don't want to be admitted into a hospital BEFORE or WITHOUT having a medical problem. It's like being forced into rehab when you're not an addict. I'd just prefer to wait until I HAVE a medical issue before being stuck in the medical institution.

However, I probably don't have a choice, even though being pregnant isn't a disease and birth doesn't have to be a medical procedure. The more I ask doctors and hospitals to give me the birth I want (or at least let me attempt it), and the more I explain to friends and family why I want that birth, the more I am told that I need a psychologist to solve this issue. 

Is it so wrong to want to birth somewhere you feel supported and listened to? Is it so wrong to want to want to let my body do what it has evolved to do? 

Maybe so. 

Either way, I hope I can find balance in this. Somewhere between a birth at home with no help and a medical "procedure" where the doctor wants me to deliver on his schedule in a building full of sick people.

Pregnancy Update Week 15

Here we go!

Baby size/Important facts: Leech is the size of an orange! (S)he is roughly 4" long (crown to rump), and legs are finally longer than arms. Apparently the little monster has learned to swallow, hiccup, & do somersaults. I can't feel them yet, but maybe soon! Heartrate ~155 as we listened.

Weight Change: Roughly 1.5 lbs. Midwife was not concerned at my appointment, I'm not looking emaciated and uterus is growing, so we'll just sit tight. I'm trying to get more (and healthy) food in, so here's to crossing our fingers.

Maternity clothes? Yes and no... Tops are mostly fine, but only my pre-preg sweatpants fit. I have a Bella Band to wear with my shorts/pants that have a proper fly, and I'm getting away with SOME of my stretchy yoga pants worn below belly. Most of them hurt me though. So some dresses, 1 pair ugly maternity shorts, and my 1 pair of maternity yoga pants are my go-tos.

Bra changes: Up from a 32DD to a 32H this week. I'm just dealing with it, still wearing my two favorite thrift store bras. Stretch marks? I have some from my teen years on my thighs, no new ones yet.

Sleep: Seems to be getting slightly better this week. I'm only up to pee maybe 3 times a night, and for the most part falling asleep after the third. Unfortunately it takes me 2 hours to fall asleep, but still seems like a general improvement.

Workouts: Working back up from a lazy first trimester. Running 3x a week, at least 3 miles, starting to slowly up mileage. Have managed one yoga day and one strength day in two weeks, but trying to make that weekly. Did my first 4 mile run since I quit running at 5 weeks, and it felt really good, recovery was quick, so kudos to that. I get to start riding my horse again (at a walk only) next week.

Diet: Good days and bad days. Generally I eat pretty healthy and every 2-4 hours. All day. Sometimes, I just need Velveeta Shells & Cheese. So sue me.

Best moment this week: Hearing the leech's heartbeat at our visit!

Miss anything? The freedom to skip meals if I was busy.

Food cravings: Mostly just fruit.

Anything making you queasy or sick? The smell of cigarettes & diesel exhaust.

Sex Guess: We're Team Green (not finding out sex until birth), but guessing is fun. Chinese Gender Chart says it's a girl. It's got maybe a 50% chance of being correct I think.

Labor signs: Thankfully no, better not for a long time.

Symptoms: Always peeing, and my digestive system is just not its normal self. Not a terrible thing, just different from the norm. Enough said.

Belly button in or out? In, and with a ring.

Wedding rings on or off: On, and loose.

Emotional state: Very worried about there being finances to keep us afloat, much less buy baby things in the next few months. Crossing fingers that a real job is in my husband's immediate future.

Looking forward to: Looking pregnant instead of chubby & feeling the leech's gymnastics.

Don't Be Gullible, "Free" Foods Aren't

Some of the unhealthiest worst foods you can eat are the ones that claim all sorts of "benefits." 

These words are my least favorite and most frightening to see on any packaged food. When I see these, I normally run. Or, at least wander down the aisle in search of something better.

• Diet
• No-Carb
• Sugar-Free
• Fat-Free

Here's the moment when I remind you all that I'm not a nutritionist, and I have no degree or certificate. 

My exercise and nutrition logic operates off the principle of evolution. I do my best to estimate how people evolved to eat and make small changes at a time to get to that.

That being said, my biggest idea to help my health is to cut back on processed foods. Especially those with chemicals in them. Also to note, people evolved eating fat. They needed it to survive. Now, at the same time I don't believe people nowadays physically work as hard to stay warm and to get through their daily lives. So I don't believe people have the same dietary needs for fats now as their ancestors did. 

At the same time, chemical based sweetners, which as far as I can tell haven't had long term testing done on them, scare me quite a bit. I come from a family that has seen a lot of cancer in the relatively recent future. I can't pretend to know the exact causes of the cancers, but I can't help but worried about the food supply. 

There are concerns about aspartame (and other artificial sweetners) not only shaping tastes of people to avoid healthier foods but also becoming addictive. Some studies and groups have started linking other health concerns and problems with aspartame. I can't believe everything I read, but if a small fraction of that is true, and there are many other alternatives that have been eaten by people for thousands of years, I see no real reason to take the chance. 

Fats help keep your skin moist, keep your brain and eyes healthy, as well as keep your organs humming along efficiently. While I believe it's clear that you can definitely have too much fat in your diet,  doing away with it entirely hasn't been proven effective anyway. 

There are 4 main types of substances in our foods, and keeping a good balance helps get your diet on track.

• Carbs
• These are sugars and starches. They provide energy for your brain and other organs as well as all of your muscle movements. Carbs aren't just table sugar though, this includes potatoes and many fruit & vegetables. Worth 4 kcal per gram. 
• Proteins
• These are the building blocks of muscles. Proteins also make up other tissues in the body. Definitely can't live long term without them. Worth 4 kcal per gram.
• Fats
• These are responsible for lubrication, storage, and organ health. Fats keep your body insulated, keep your brain and other organs (including skin!) healthy, and keep your joints moving comfortably. Worth 9 kcal per gram.
• Fiber/non digestible
• These are necessary to keep your digestive system healthy and to keep your hydration balanced. Fiber basically is that which the human body can't digest or make use of, it can't be broken down by us. This helps to clean out our intestines of other particles and to keep everything flowing at the right speed. Worth roughly 0 kcal per gram.

Kcal is short for kilocalorie, it's an energy unit of the body. Carbs and protein give us about the same amount of energy per gram , fats are a little more than twice as much, and fibers are worth nothing. 

Now just looking at this, I'd hope you can agree that some of all of these is needed. Too many carbs leads to excess sugar in your system - which ends as jittery-ness, storage of energy as fat, and excess sugar in your blood stream which can leads to diabetes. However, if you eat extra carbs in any one day, you can counter with burning more off. More exercise will eat up more carbs.

The biggest concern with excess protein consumption lies in how it is digested. A by-product of protein break down is urea. This is a major component of urine. A body with excess urea has to work the kidneys much harder, which not only can lead to kidney damage it can cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalances from the extra urination. Also, the backup plan for the body to excrete even more urea is to sweat it out via lungs and sweat glands. This can lead to bad breath, more BO smell than normal, and skin breakouts. 

Excess fats obviously are obviously going to cause extra fat storage in all sorts of bad places. We've all heard of plaque in our arteries as well as seen the effects of excess fat storage in the body. 

Too much fiber can keep you from eating enough to keep yourself energized, but not enough can contribute to diarrhea and/or constipation which both can affect your fluid balance. 

The problem here is if you take out ALL FAT from your diet, you will increase intake in another category, and whichever you choose has different outcomes. 

My high school "Animal Science" teacher gave us a rough rundown of a good basic place to start with diet. He suggests that for the average person 60% calories from carbs (remember this includes most fruit & veg), 30% calories from fats, and 10% calories from protein. Fiber needs can't be expressed the same way because no matter now much you eat it's still worth 0% of the calories. His thought for primates was roughly 20-30% of the total amount/volume you eat to be fiber based foods. Obviously age, health, and activity levels change each persons exact needs. Someone who is obese will have lower fats, an athlete or anyone trying to build muscles will have higher protein needs, and someone who is underweight needs more fat. 

The best way typically to "diet" is not to change up a good balanced meal plan. You need to focus on increasing the burning of calories and decreasing the consumption. The goal of weightloss or health increase is not in changing everything about the way you eat to make you miserable. It is in changing your lifestyle to accommodate your goals. If eating food you really like and a lot of it is important to you, you need to figure out the best ways to burn off that food or how to subtly make them less calorie dense. If being a relatively sedentary person is your style (I can't condone complete laziness because I do believe your body is a use it or lose it machine), then you can shift your eating habits to suit that - high calorie high vegetable meals can keep you trim and healthy. 

You can't keep yourself healthy in the long run with yo-yo or fad diets, and you can't stay happy eating food you hate anyway. Change the whole picture, or learn to love yourself as you are. Diet foods aren't going to give you the body you dream of with no work involved. At least, they can't sustain it. Healthy lifestyle is a balancing act. 

Next subject: remembering that emotional/mental health is linked to all health and just as important in your life balance.

Pregnancy Update: Week 14

I'm copying what I've seen a few other bloggers do, and keeping track and posting updates about me and my little leech here. Here's my first public full update!

Weight Change: pretty much nothing, maybe 1/2 pound?

Maternity clothes? Yes and no... Tops are mostly fine, but only my pre-preg sweatpants fit. I have a Bella Band to wear with my shorts/pants that have a proper fly, and I'm getting away with SOME of my stretchy yoga pants worn below belly. Most of them hurt me though. So some dresses, 1 pair ugly maternity shorts, and my 1 pair of maternity yoga pants are my go-tos.

Bra changes: Up from a 32DD to a 32G. Luckily found two nursing bras in this size at a resale shop for $5 each!

Stretch marks? I have some from my teen years on my thighs, no new ones yet.

Sleep: Terrible at this. The 3rd time I wake up to pee I sometimes am up for 2-3 hours. Also if I eat the wrong things at dinner, gas pains keep me up. My Snoogle Mini (Christmas gift from my dear husband) has been keeping back & hip pain down this week, so that helps.

Workouts: Working back up from a lazy first trimester. Running 3x a week, at least 3 miles, starting to slowly up mileage. Hoping to get in a yoga day and a strength day once a week, some success so far. Hoping to add a little light horseback riding again next week, as long as my poor girl heals up. 

Diet: Pretty normal other than loving all fruit & jello. And...I have to eat every 3-4 hours I'm awake.

Best moment this week: Thinking I might have felt the leech move for the first time, and instead realizing it was just gas.

Miss anything? Wine, sometimes. The rest of my wardrobe?

Food cravings: Mostly just fruit.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not really nauseous anymore, but the gag reflex is strong with this one. Sometimes gagging leads to insta-vomit. Rarely though.

Sex Guess: We're Team Green (not finding out sex until birth), but guessing is fun. Right now Chinese estimator says girl, but I assume boy, just because I'd prefer the first to be a girl. I'll try to find other awkward unrealistic predictors to post about!

Labor signs: Ha, ha, nope, not yet.

Symptoms: Frequent urination...occasional sharp round ligament pains.

Belly button in or out? In, and with a ring.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Emotional state: Mostly relaxed and content. Now that I haven't had any proof that the leech is still growing right in 4 weeks, I'm starting to get antsy for my appointment!

Looking forward to: Looking pregnant instead of chubby, feeling first wiggles, and hearing heartbeat at my 4 month check up next week!

Some Days You Just Gotta Bite the Bullet

I'm the first person to admit that I'm super awesome at being lazy. I'm out of full time work right now, and just spent a week with family here. Before that I spent 4 weeks working full time plus putting in 5-10 hours a day working on house, while in that lovely 1st trimester nauseousness. Everything I did made me want to be ill, as well as eating, and not eating. It was GREAT!

So I'll admit I've taken the idea of "taking some time for yourself" to a ridiculous degree the last two weeks. I've been incredibly lazy. Now, don't get me wrong, the house is reasonably clean, my dumb injured horse is getting taken care of everyday, and the Christmas stuff has been put away. At the same time, I'm not working and he's been making dinner more often than not.

However, I will take this moment to just accept my failings. So what, I can do better next time/tomorrow. No point in berating myself and feeling worse about it.

What I can be proud of is that I have run 3 times in the last week. I would have actually added in my strength training workout yesterday as planned, but I had a nasty headache bordering on migrane all day long.

But still, I went from 1 run a week to 3. Nice job me! Good accomplishment. I've also done better at getting more water into my system. Granted, I've been burning more of it off, so not sure that matters. I've also managed a walk after dinner every night for the last week, again excepting yesterday.

Goals:

• Continue running 3x a week. 
• Continue walking 7x a week
• Make tomorrow my yoga day
• Help a friend move on Sunday and count that as my strength training day (hey, not a bad replacement)

I will say, I have NEVER regretted a run/workout afterwards. I have spent all day (or several days) obsessing about it and dreading it, but afterwards I always feel accomplished. If you keep your exercise/workout within limits you know are safe & in your current ability you should feel excited at the end. You can be excited just that it's over, but there's nothing wrong with that. Just don't start out way beyond your capabilities and hurt yourself. 

Also this week: we are challenging ourselves to eating healthier. Will post shortly on a simple equation for healthy meals and some easy ways to sneak veggies in. 

I challenge you to pick yourself up and force yourself into a workout habit. It doesn't matter the scale. If you do NOTHING now, then set a goal of a 10-15 min walk every day. If you're a walker already, add some hills, or some distance, or a short jog in the middle of it. Just get out there and bite the bullet. The first step is the hardest. This week I used my hubby getting home from work to force me to get up off the couch and get my butt in gear. 

Find your balance between life and health. Too much of one takes too large of a toll on the other.