Pregnancy and the 21 Day Fix

Let me just stop and take a moment to reflect on how HORRIBLE my eating habits have been for the past month. 

It all started when I went to Florida to visit Mike's dad. Talk about amazing food! I let everything slide and ate whatever I wanted. Returning to Indiana meant coming back to reality, but now I had tasted the sweet, sweet temptations… and all hell was about to break loose!

Huge Ice Cream Sunday in Florida

So after we got home, Mike went right back to his healthy eating of loads of veggies, fruit, and protein. I, on the other hand, kept wanting all of the yummy splurge meals we had while away. Sure, I'd snack on fruits and carrots while eating a turkey sandwich. Those healthy meals weren't as frequent as they should have been, though! Indulging in pancakes, ice cream, pizza, and french fries got pretty common!

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Dinner

Realistically, I'm pregnant. Who cares if I gain weight?

Umm… me?!!!

I had been on a gradual incline at all of my previous OB appointments. I felt ok but large in the belly. Go figure! Now I am getting to the point where my face looks fuller, my arms aren't as tone, my pants are tighter in my thighs, and I'm getting my saddlebags back. Oh hell no! This has to STOP before it gets any worse!

This ridiculous weight gain is what lead me to do the 21 Day Fix while pregnant. While the program is a diet and exercise plan, it's main focus is helping folks deal with portion control. Basically, it's screaming my name! I have been doing some of the workouts on my own (pretty much when I'm not exhausted) but thought the nutrition portion should best be left until post-baby. I mean heck, this is my time to let loose. 

21 Day Fix Program

Except I let loose a little too much.

Therefore, tomorrow I will be diving in to this awesome program! 

So how does it work, especially considering I'm pregnant? When you purchase the program, you are given an exercise schedule to match up with the dvds that you received. You're also given an eating plan that tells you how many containers you can eat per day based on your caloric needs. The containers are color-coded which makes meal planning super easy. 

21 Day Fix Containers

After calculating how many calories I should be eating a day, I figured out how many containers I get. It really is WAY less intense than it sounds.  For the program, I get to eat between 1800-2099 calories a day. That's right, loads of HEALTHY calories to help this tiny human grow! 

This means:

5 Green containers

3 Purple containers

5 Red containers

4 Yellow containers

1 Blue container

1 Orange container

5 Teaspoons (for oils, peanut butter, etc)

That is a LOT of food folks!! Plus, it's all nutritious… something the tiny human will thank me for!

I made my weekly meal plan to help break it down even more.

21 Day Fix Meal Plan

You might notice this doesn't follow the allotment to a T. While I do get 3 Yellow containers a day, one is to limit their milk intake to three times a week. The tiny human has me going through about a gallon a week, so I had to be realistic. I am knocking it down and replacing some with water, but I want that daily milk intake. If my body says I need it, I'm going to listen! That's why I'm mixing it with my Shakeology every day.  The orange containers are dressings, nuts, etc. Three times a week, you are allowed to replace them with something small and sweet, like chocolate covered raisins. Since the tiny human has intensified my sweet tooth, I'm allowing a small daily snack to keep myself at bay. I would much rather allow myself a small splurge than go nuts and eat a pint of ice cream. Which has been my usual routine. I am also not eating all of my teaspoons, as I usually never cook in oil. (Mike hates it, but I throw that stuff in a dry skillet and pray for a small amount of smoke!) 

So there you have it. That's how a pregnant lady plans on doing the 21 Day Fix! I will also add that most of the exercises will have to be modified, as I cannot do any ab work. If it calls for me to lay on my belly, I'll do some yoga stretching instead. That should help me in a few more months!

I will definitely be sure to keep my progress updated. And just to avoid confusing/criticism, I am NOT doing this program to lose weight! I am doing this program to get myself back on track, watch my portions, limit my sweets, and eat more veggies! What I've put on is what I will have to deal with until post-tiny human. However, if I can keep it from piling on, I am sure as hell going to try!

Productive Wednesday

I seriously had the most productive day today! I finally crawled out of bed around 8:45 this morning. Originally, I didn't have to be at work until 1pm, so I allowed myself to catch up on some zzz's. Then, mid-morning, my scheduling coordinator told me we were over-staffed, so I could take today as my day off. Umm heck yes! So here's how my day went:

• Did two Focus T 25 workouts (Speed 2.0 and Upper Focus). Got a great calorie burn and my arms were jello at the end! 



Laughing at myself because I couldn't flex anymore… and being utterly exhausted after 50 minutes of Shaun T kicking my butt!


• Read a couple of chapters from the book "The Compound Effect"  It's discusses how the smallest steps you make now to better your life can greatly impact your future. Pretty interesting read.
• Played tons with my kitties 



Eloise pulled the blanket off the chair to snuggle in it. Kind of wish my life was as awesome as theirs!

• Chased my dog when he got out of our fenced-in yard. Luckily, he has pretty decent recall when a ball is present, so we didn't have any major problems.
• Did some coach work. Yay Team Beachbody!!
• Finished up the laundry. I hate the smell of bleach, so I always avoid whites for as long as I possibly can.

I wanted needed to clean, but instead I spent more time with my pets. Priorities, right?

Their heads are resting against each other. They're like Forrest and Bubba!

For dinner, Mike and I had Mexican Pumpkin Rotini that I had prepared Sunday night. (Meal planning has seriously been a huge blessing for me!) While I was cooking, Mike gave me the suspicious look, questioning all of the ingredients. Turns out he actually liked it. Take that!  I got the recipe from TheGraciousPantry.com She has tons of clean recipes that aren't super complicated. 

Clean Eating Mexican Pumpkin Rotini

(Makes 10 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 small red onion, chopped,
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1/2 lb. frozen, organic corn
• 1 1/4 lb. ground turkey breast
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
• Salt to taste after cooking but before adding pasta (I used about 1/2 tsp., but do it to your tastes)
• Fresh, chopped cilantro for garnish
• Whole grain Rotini pasta, cooked separately to package directions

Directions:

1. Saute the onions in the coconut oil until they become translucent.
2. Add corn and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the turkey, being sure to stir well so it crumbles well.
4. Stir in the spices.
5. When the turkey is very nearly done, add the chicken broth and the pumpkin. This will create a bit of a sauce.
6. When the meat is done, cool slightly and ladle over pasta. Top with fresh cilantro and serve.

Nutritional Content:
(Data is for 1/2 cup and does not include pasta.)

Calories: 91
Total Fat: 2 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 35 mg
Sodium: 42 mg (does not include any you add)
Carbohydrates: 4 gm
Dietary fiber: 1 gm
Sugars: 1 gm
Protein: 15 gm

Read more: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-mexican-pumpkin-rotini/#ixzz2hHRt61X3

Changes to the recipe: I used ground venison instead of turkey because that's what we had in the freezer.  Plain corn from a can was used, as we don't really have many organic options in my area. I made my own broth by using chicken bullion cubes. I used a yellow onion and canola oil (might as well use what we have in the house!). No cilantro was harmed in the making of my dish. I also used the "veggie" rotini, as our grocery store didn't have any whole grain options. The joys of living in a super small rural town! Overall, I'll most likely make this again!

Monday morning I pushed through feeling terrible to get my T25 in, but ended up leaving work around 11am due to feeling so bad. It definitely made me happy I did my work-out prior to getting my day going, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten done. However, yesterday morning it just wasn't going to happen. I suffered through work (my poor colleagues) by only taking on the small dogs and cats. Big shout out to the awesome staff for putting up with me and picking up my slack! I love them! I kept up with eating well, trying to keep things as bland as possible. Lunch was Italian chicken I had baked on Monday night, and Mike steamed fresh broccoli. It kept my energy levels up... all things considered. 

After work, I basically just sat around, being a bump on a log. Sometimes that happens, though. You just have to roll with the punches and take what life throws at you. You're never going to feel in tip top shape 100% of the time. The key is to compensate when you get yourself back on track. For example, since I missed my Tuesday work-out, I'll make up for it Friday, which is my usual rest day. Nothing lost (except inches and pounds)!

Mike and I working together for a yummy lunch.

My typical Wednesday isn't very typical. I work from 1-7pm, so it leaves my mornings free to catch up on housework. And when I say say housework, I mean I sleep until 10am, exercise, take a quick shower, then head off to work. What can I say? You all read my post on how much I love my bed... Today was only slightly different, considering I got out of bed at 9am, made my way to the couch, and slept until 11:45am with all four cats strategically place on/next to me. I really think part of my feeling so horrible was that I needed to catch up on sleep. I also didn't eat anything until 12:30pm (yummy Shakeology), which helped my stomach settle a bit. My caloric needs weren't met today since I started eating so late in the day, which I don't recommend, so tomorrow I'll get back on track! Sleep and fasting were apparently the cures for my nausea and hot/cold flashes. Who knew?

After work, I finished making dinner (chicken and carrots), then plopped my happy butt down for some more R & R. I was somewhat productive and did two days worth of dishes (bless my husband for putting up with me) and knocked out T25 Alpha Total Body. I was dying during the plank work, having to go into downward dog multiple times. I'm chalking that up to still being weak from 1)not feeling well and 2)not eating enough today. 

Love this thought, since I always look gnarly after T25!

Tomorrow is my day off, so I'll kick some butt with Alpha Speed 1.0 and Core Focus. Double days are kind of awesome because it's so cool to see that "Calories Burned" go up past 500. Makes me feel so accomplished! I am also going to take my "Before" photos & measurement for a Fit For Fall Challenge group I will be participating in. Granted, I did all of this four weeks ago when I started T25, but I'm marking my progress and doing things the official way for the group. I'm pretty excited to have a group of individuals in one place who are all working towards the same goals to help keep me on track!