Every week Amber over at {ae filkins} hosts EM:ME. Just two weeks ago she learned she is pregnant and so this week she asked us advice for staying healthy during pregnancy.
If you had asked me that after Madeline was born the best I could say is the exact opposite of me. I gained 50 lbs with Madeline and that was even AFTER being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. You get a pretty strict diet when that happens, but there are a few ways to still EAT and I found them. For instance cheese is not high in carbs so I ate it by the truckload. And we all know what cheese does to you. Plus I never ever exercised. I was working full time so I used that as an excuse. My body will never be the same. I made it back to 125 after Madeline, but it took almost a year to do that.
Fast forward 17 months and I was pregnant again with Owen. I only gained 25 pounds with him. I know I ate a lot less cheese. I actually at a lot less overall. In the beginning I had trouble with morning sickness. It wasn't that bad, but I ate less and actually lost a few pounds because I had no appetite. I also was started on the diabetic diet pretty much from day one. This meant no eating whatever I wanted for the first 5 1/2 months like I did the first time around. Towards the end I was frusterated with all that I could NOT eat and ate a lot less just for that reason. I got whiny during the last month, I admit it. I know I was doing what was best for me and my baby but I seriously had some cravings!
The funny thing is that even though I gained a lot less with Owen I took almost as long to lose it all. I went back to exercising sooner and tried to eat better a lot sooner as well. I give myself two weeks of eating whatever after each baby is born to make up for feeling deprived for the pregnancy. Right or wrong, that is they way I feel at the end each time. But after Madeline I struggled a lot more with depression and ate a lot less becuase of that. And after Owen I snacked more than ate due to lack of time (between my two and the little girl I was babysitting time was a rare a precious thing) which definatly effected what types of food that I ate.
I am determined to be healthier next time. I don't mind gaining 25, to me that seems healthy. However I did not excercise and I didn't always choose the foods to fill my diet well. I would eat one cookie and it would be my alloted carbs for lunch so then I would have a salad which would not fill me up and I would get cranky.... bad cycle all around.
My goals for my next pregnancy will be:
1. drink lots of water...you pee a lot but you don't eat as much!
2. walk as much as possible (that is my favorite exercise)
3. take breaks when I need to
4. eat more veggies and use fruit to fill up my carb allotment, not cookies.
5. find ways to allow myself small treats to I don't feel as deprived
For more EM:ME visit Amber
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