So we’ve recently broke news on our personal social media sites that we are expecting our very first baby! We of course waited the full 12 weeks to spill the beans however we did let close family and friends know ahead of time but we waited as long as we could until we were in the safe zone. I’m currently 14 weeks plus a few days and I’m feeling like a normal person again aside from the headaches I’ve been getting lately. This explains why I’ve been MIA on blog posts and videos because I just could not stand the smell of food cooking….especially meats!
Now as a DISCLAIMER I will start by saying any advice I may shell out is merely what’s worked for me and it’s ALWAYS recommended that you speak with your doctor first.
Coach Kozak and I discussed starting a family after our vacation in July and I began taking a prenatal soon after to start prepping my body. Here’s the prenatal I use and I purchase them online because they’re cheaper:
I continued my workout routine as normal which consisted of my usual HIIT, running, weight lifting, yoga, TRX, etc. My eating of 85% clean and 15% “Treat yo Self” remained the same as well. Before I knew it I was pregnant by September!
I found out I was pregnant the day I visited a local TV station to promote Women’s Health Run 10 Feed 10. This is me hours before my life would be altered FOREVER. 🙂
The typical pregnancy symptoms did not start for at least another 2-3 weeks when I was about 7 weeks pregnant. All in all I say I had it pretty easy as compared to most women who experience vomiting, extreme nausea, and extreme fatigue. I didn’t throw up once! Here’s what I did have: afternoon sickness, fatigue (low energy), bouts of nausea that came in waves, shortness of breath, extremely tender breasts, food aversions to meat, and bloating.
I would feel good in the morning and I’ve have a healthful breakfast of eggs or oatmeal, lunch time I’d feel ok and have a salad with a protein and some crackers but once 2 or 3 o’clock hit…I was DONE. I’m pretty sure I didn’t cook dinner for about 2 months and Coach Kozak would have to fend for himself (us). Some days my dinner was simply Nut Thin Almond Crackers, hummus, and baby carrots. On days I was feeling better I’d send Coach off to Whole Foods to get me Chicken Noodle Soup from their hot bar. On days I was feeling REALLY good I’d eat pizza! For some particular reason, all my body wanted was carbs, carbs, and more carbs in the first trimester but I’d always choose complex and not simple carbs. One night I had enough energy to go to Whole Foods on my own and this is what my cart looked like. Chips, pizza, salsa, soda, dips, I mean….who was I?!
For SHAME! I would come home and put on my own toppings such as mushrooms, onion, pepperoni, and bell pepper. We even had pizza twice in one week as it was literally all I could stomach. Even though my eating was not as on point as before, I always tried to bargain with myself. For instance, I could only eat pizza for dinner if I worked out or I could eat a drive-thru hamburger if I only got the kids sized burger, came home and used my sprouted grain buns and pass on the fries. I would only get fries if I was eating them for lunch and coupled that with a workout later in the day. While I never condone eating fast food, try telling a very pregnant lady she can’t have something….I DARE YOU! PS, it was not McDonald’s but rather a local chain that uses real beef.
I also lived on yogurt smoothies for lunch which is also how I would get my greens. I liked to add spinach or even a shot of wheat grass. Notice that most prenatals will not provide you with your recommended daily value of calcium which is important for both baby and mother as baby will take what it needs from mom regardless of how much you take in which could spell issues for mom years down the road. If you need to take a calcium supplement please do so. I aim to take in a serving of Greek yogurt and 2-3 glasses of flax or hemp milk a day to help me make my calcium goals.
How did I know if I made my goal you ask? My MyFitnessPal app. I’m not keeping a food diary to count calories, I’m using it to make sure that I’m meeting my protein and vitamin daily goals such as iron, vitamin C, and calcium. While staying within your calorie maintenance needs while pregnant is vital for gaining a healthy amount of weight, it’s also equally important of the quality of the calories you’re taking in. 120 calories in a can of Coca-Cola is not the same as 120 calories of organic Greek yogurt. Always choose quality over quantity while pregnant and even when not. It’s stated that in the 2nd and 3rd trimester your calorie needs only increase by 300 so don’t use that as an excuse to go crazy on the oreos. If I crave sweets, I make my own!
Now the important topic, EXERCISE. Pre pregnancy, I was working out 5 times a week. In the thick of my first trimester fog it dipped as low as 2 workouts a week. The workouts I do are exactly the same as what I did before. Ladies, as long as your body is used to exercise before pregnancy there is NO reason to stop once you find out you are. The only recommendation my doctor gave me was to scale back on my weight about 30% and to listen to my body. If I needed to slow down and take a breather, do it and don’t push yourself to the max. I ran a 10K the day after I found out I was with child but I did that because my body is used to running.
While I will blog about my pregnancy and what exercises I’m doing, I won’t be doing any exercise videos as that would be a regurgitation of tons of exercises and videos that are already out there. For this particular subject I’ve relied on Bodybuilding.com especially this particular post and even Pinterest which is how I came across Bodyrock Baby because I just can’t live without my HIIT and The Brewer Pregnancy Diet of which if you’re used to eating properly should not be much of a change for you. I’m still doing HASfit videos but I’m preparing myself for more pregnancy friendly routines because Coach Kozak’s intense workouts may began to feel like too much as my pregnancy progresses. In short, determine what fitness level you’re on and seek out routines that work best for your level. My body may be able to handle more intense workouts that what you’re used to doing therefore it’s good for you to find something that challenges you at your comfort level.
I’ll leave you with this, pregnancy is overwhelming physically, mentally, and financially regardless of how prepared you think you really are. There are so many do’s and don’ts but of all my recommendations, this book really helped me put a real unbiased and researched backed approach to my pregnancy, Expecting Better by Emily Oster. I also watched the documentary The Business of Being Born on YouTube and even their follow up series on Netflix.
There is SO much information out there and after researching and reading so much during my first trimester I’ve realized there is a lot of outdated information. You’ll be bombarded with unsolicited advice from all sides! Read, educate yourself, and make the decisions that are best for both you and baby. For those of you pregnant like me, I wish you a happy and healthy pregnancy. Those of you planning a baby in the future, good luck and may you start prepping your body the healthy and natural way.
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