Getting Fit Before Baby

[ireadyermind]

Fern - Well I'm gonna have to have more coffee then, aren't I? Haha. Kidding, kidding. I'm trying to cut back on caffeine. It's difficult.

But I always have a high protein snack after my workout, but I'd never really tried a pre-workout snack before. So I figured today I'd give it a shot.

Also I thought I'd try out a different brand of protein bar to see if I like the taste. It's easier for me to grab one of those than it is to try and whip something up. Oh, and I boiled up some eggs to keep on hand so that I can just crack one open for a high protein snack, too. It really helps me to have ready-to-go foods on hand at times like these!

One thing I'm noticing though is that after workouts, I crave carbohydrates like crazy! It makes sense of course, because my body wants it for energy. But my snacks and meals have enough carbs already. I'm not entirely sure why by brain seems to think I should binge. I was folding laundry and dreaming of Italian food. lol!

 

[swimmyj1]

cupcake thanks for the food idea's! i really need some new idea's. Espically ones that i can throw in the freezer and make later if anyone has any ideas on those.

IRYM - your right I really really need to watch portion control. I have been super bad at it lately and need to get better.

Fern - eeekk 2 week count down!

AFM - did not do well this week. I let my cravings get the better of me and really went over board on our anniversary. It was super nice though, we stayed at the hotel (creepy side note we were the only guest that night lol hotels are creepy when its just you). Got to swim in the pool. Relax in their amazing giant bath tubs. They closed their dinning room sense it was just us and gave us a free dinner voucher for a restaurant up the road, and I went very wrong there lol. Found a great way to keep up on my water intake. An app called plant nanny, so cute and fun!

 

[Fern81]

Swimmy I'm so jealous of your holiday right now! You only live once right!! Work sucks at the moment. I feel like pretending I'm sick and taking a week off & just going off somewhere.... only problem is I work for myself and get paid per hour

IRYM - food journal - I am keeping to my exact pre-planned meals and workouts so I'm happy. Was very hungry & tired today pre-2 pm workout (barely had time to eat beforehand) so I just had a tablespoon of coconut oil and a tablespoon of whey powder about 10 min before the workout. I had so much energy that the workout lasted 10 min longer . If I exercise early in the morning I'm still fine on an empty stomach but later than 10ish I need to eat before a workout.

OMW I'm not loving my diet today. I am craving pizza and cake. But I won't give in!!

 

[ireadyermind]

Swimmy - That sounds like a lovely trip! I am a tall woman, so standard bath tubs are neither long enough, nor deep enough, for me to comfortably soak. It's such a bummer! I am so envious of you being able to soak in a big bath tub! Haha

Fern - How was the whey powder and oil prepared? Did you just mix them together to form a paste, add them to water, or something else? I have whey powder and coconut oil, but I haven't used them as a pre-workout boost before and I'd be interested in trying that.

AFM -

I remembered a while back, reading an article that goes into the science (or maybe pseudo-science?) of what food cravings mean. Since I wanted seafood and pasta SO badly yesterday, I thought I'd look for a similar article again, and found one.

So I thought I'd share it with you gals and see what you thought!

https://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/01/what-do-food-cravings-mean/

I know I personally still crave foods even though I take vitamins, so I'm not 100% certain of the validity of these claims, and then of course there's no hard, fast rule that works for everyone. But it's an interesting read!

 

[Fern81]

That's so interesting IRYM! I've been craving cheese a lot and was just thinking tonight that maybe I should add calcium to my list of supplements since I had bad muscle cramps today and calcium is the only mineral I'm not supplementing atm. Food for thought

I just ate a spoonful of hardened coconut oil and swallowed it down with a tablespoon of whey powder mixed into black rooibos tea. I would warn you against eating coconut oil neat if you are not used to it; it can make certain people feel nauseated and you definitely don't want that before a workout. I'm used to eating coconut oil because I almost always have to eat on my feet in a rush. Bad habit but I'm crazy busy most days.

By the way if you can get hold of Rooibos tea I highly recommended it. It's a South African product so I don't even know if it's sold in the USA but it's tasty and has an amazing range of health benefits. X

 

[Fern81]

Maybe a bit of almond or macadamia nut butter will be a good option instead of a spoonful of neat coconut oil (in terms of palatability; one can always do a coconut oil stirfry or similar for other meals)? I'm thinking of a small smoothie with nut butter and whey blended with water/rooibos tea about 30 min before workout might work for some? Healthy oils (energy) and protein (muscle build & repair ) all in one
I'm going to buy nut butters tomorrow and try it out!

I don't know about your protein bars but the ones sold here are still full of sugars & starch fillers & hydrogenated fats and other nonsense I really loved eating smartfood bars until I read the label on one.
By the way berries and cherries are great natural anti-inflammatories and apparently help with repair after a workout I eat different berries almost daily as they have almost no sugar but high in vitamin C, fibre, anti-oxidants etc.

 

[Ursaula]

Hi gals!

I'm curious as how all of you get over your cravings? How do you stop them and resist?

Any info is helpful because I crave foods all the time and just end up eating them. I'm super bad for it!

 

[Fern81]

Ursaula - I know what cravings are like; I used to be an addict (that's as far as I'm willing to go into THAT story).
*I also crave food sometimes but it's easy for me to say no if the food is not in the house. I dislike getting in my car and having to drive around to find something to eat so if it's not in the house I generally am OK.
*I make sure that I go grocery shopping on a full stomach so that I don't end up buying unhealthy crap.
*Having my meals pre-prepped and ready to eat (like having boiled eggs or plain cooked sweet potato or a smoothie in the fridge) helps a lot too; when I crave something I'm usually hungry too so then I just eat my healthy meal and when my tummy is full the craving mostly lets up.
*Doing something fun to distract yourself is a good way of beating cravings. Or doing exactly the opposite of giving in to cravings - e.g. go for a walk around the block with your headphones on (exercise!) instead of eating.
*Another thing that helps is if you eat something similar but a healthy option. E.g. when craving warm pudding rather cook a green apple and put plain cinnamon on it (no sugar). It tasted sweet, warm & cooked like pudding and is healthy because it doesn't have too much sugar or any additives, and cinnamon helps stabilize the blood sugar levels (which in turn helps reduce cravings).
When craving a cheese burger rather have a tablespoon of plain cream cheese mixed into your cooked/stir fried veg. You still get the taste of the cheese but just so much healthier!

I know if I just sit and think of what I crave and I have that food item in the house, resistance is so hard. Just relying on pure hard-core self-discipline is wayyyy too hard most of the time. So either don't buy it in the first place, or actively resist it in a positive way

Maybe every time you crave e.g. a McDonald's meal and resist buying it, you can put the money you would have spent in a jar/transfer to a savings account and save up for a nice NON-food related treat like a manicure or even new clothes for a slimmer you!

Good luck and let us know what works for you!

 

[Fern81]

AFM - as of this morning I'm back down to 55kg. Booyah! It was just AF weight .

In a stupid twist of events I accidentally stabbed myself HARD in the thigh with broken glass today. I didn't even realize I had been hurt until I saw the blood seeping through my jeans. Uuuhhhh!!! It's quite deep but I don't have the money go to the ER right now for stitches... so I just cleaned and bandaged it and STILL did a shortened workout an hour later. Including squats and lunges. It's definitely going to scar :/ . I couldn't NOT do my workout, I'm starting to feel guilty if I miss days (no days missed so far this week yay).

 

[ireadyermind]

Fern - Rooibos is available here, and I have some on hand. But I don't enjoy the taste of it as well as I enjoy some other teas (white tea, green tea, etc.), so I don't drink it often.

About the coconut oil: I used to add it to my oatmeal in the mornings, have used it in recipes that call for vegetable oil (like flax waffles, veggie stir fry, cakes, etc) and also we feed it to our dogs to help their skin and coats. I'm no stranger to it! I've eaten it plain before, too, but I really enjoyed it in my oatmeal.

Aanndd then about the protein bars: Some of those ARE pretty nasty in terms of all the stuff they add into 'em.

I really like Clif bars for that reason. They use organic ingredients, no HFCS, nothing artificial. Here's their ENTIRE ingredients list for the average bar:

Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Rice Flour, Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Oat Fiber, Cocoa, Cocoa Butter, Organic Date Paste, Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, Soy Flour, Sea Salt, Barley Malt Extract, Organic Vanilla Extract, Soy Lecithin. ALLERGEN STATEMENT: CONTAINS SOY. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF MILK AND WHEAT.

The problem with 'em is that they're about 250 to 300 cals per bar, which is a little higher than I want, and they're loaded with carbs. Which is great if you need the carbs for serious workouts, but when you're just working out 20 - 30 mins a day at home and you have a desk job, it's unnecessary. There are some miniature bars available by special order that I might look into, though.



Urs - When it comes to cravings, I don't really have much to add that Fern hasn't already said. Except that I chew sugar free gum a LOT when I just want to snack (without being hungry). Not only does it satisfy my snacking urge, but the minty flavor prevents me from eating other things because of the horrible flavor combo. Similar to how we don't drink orange juice after brushing our teeth. Haha. But if I'm truly hungry, the gum does nothing for me.

And speaking of tooth brushing, you get that "ew, this will taste bad with my minty mouth" benefit for a few hours, so brushing your teeth after every meal can help prevent you from snacking when you shouldn't. At the very least, you could brush immediately after your last meal of the day.


AFM - Logging food continues. Yesterday I craved SO much junk food, but I was able to keep my consumption down to a minimum. I was still under my calorie goal for the day, and still managed to meet my protein goal as well.

I tried to think of what might be causing me to crave those foods so badly. I know I was pretty tired yesterday, and my body always wants carbs when I'm tired. But I had slept well the night before, so it wasn't a lack of sleep. Usually what triggers me is seeing other peoples' recipe posts on FB, hearing what DH and his coworkers did for lunch (they eat lunch out a lot, I'm trying to get him to curb that), friends telling me about some amazing meal or something they had recently eaten, or occasionally when random thoughts like, "We haven't had ____ for dinner in ages!"

Yesterday was more one of those "I haven't had ___ in ages!" days, I think. That, and AF is due in the next few days. I notice I've been mildly irritable, somewhat crampy, and just wanting to sleep the day away. The usual PMS symptoms for me, I guess.

DH and I are going out on Date Night tonight. Probably to an Italian restaurant. It's "cheat dinner" day, so hopefully this will help me get my foodie fix and hold me over until next week's cheat day. I'll make sure to fill up on salad first so I'm less inclined to gorge myself on the entree. Haha

 

[drjo718]

Hi ladies! I'm still reading daily. Thought I'd put in my thoughts about bars...

Something I started doing several years ago is looking at the sugar content in food. A lot of so-called "healthy" cereals and bars are still made with a significant amount of sugar. Look at the grams of sugar on the nutrition panel, and then the total grams of product in one serving. Many cereals and bars are more than 25% sugar...not a healthy choice. And, what are the chances we're only going to eat 1/2 a cup of cereal amd be full. That's a ridiculously small amount of food and just looks sad in any bowl lol.

Another example is yogurt. Unless you eat plain yogurt and add your own stuff, those little cups are loaded with sugar. Think of it this way...one teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams. So that little 6oz cup of mixed berry yogurt that contains 16g of sugar is equivalent to you eating 4 straight spoonfuls of sugar from the canister. Kinda gross.

Not to pick on your clif bar, Iread (they're tasty and yes, the ingredients are more natural than other choices), but there are a ton of sneaky sugars in there: organic brown rice syrup, organic cane syrup, organic dried cane syrup, organic date paste, organic barley malt extract. It may be organic and processed differently, but it's still sugar. Plus a lot of soy ingredients, which many people, especially with fertility and hormonal issues, are sensitive to.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there. In other news, I'm on bed rest due to mild high blood pressure. Hoping i don't have to be induced because of it.

 

[Fern81]

Hi drjo!!! Hope you can rest up and wait one or 2 weeks more; so exciting!

I agree with drjo on that bar label, sorry IRYM! Lots and lots of sugars (syrups) and starch. And unhealthy oil (sunflower). I won't be able to eat it in any case (can't have soy because I have hypothyroidism; soy also increases estrogen so it's a big no-no for endometriosis sufferers).

A healthy snack bar option would maybe be to make your own? My sister has this recipe where you take plain rolled oats& mix with a little nut butter and a small bit of honey if you want it sweet; pressing into a baking sheet & baking until dry (something like that). Then there are no added sugars or soy or starch or sunflower oil! Except what you add into it. It will definitely work out cheaper too.

I'll get the recipe from her and post it here if anyone should be interested. X

 

[Fern81]

Mrsgreen! Hope you are coping healthwise in the tww and getting a bit of exercise for great blood circulation to your uterus you are probably so busy packing etc which is physically hard in any case. X

 

[cupcakestoy]

Lots of great points & info ladies!

Dr.jo hope all stays well for you & excited for you to deliver in a couple weeks!

I've been in the yard mowing & cleaning out flower beds x 3 super large ones! Tired but I feel great! Nothing like sun & dirt to relieve stress lol I'm making spaghetti squash with ground turkey sauce tonight....yummo!

 

[ireadyermind]

lol it's like you guys didn't read my whole comment on those bars. I said right in there that they're super high on carbs (carbs = sugar) and they're only good if you're the kind of person who's gonna burn through that much in your daily routine.

 

[drjo718]

Sorry, Iread, I missed that part. Still didn't mean anything personal, just talking about sugary stuff in general.

 

[Ursaula]

Thank you gals for all the advice!

Cravings for carbs/comfort foods it always my issue so it's great to get some ideas on how others cope with it.

So exciting drjo! I hope you get up and moving soon though. Wishing you lots of loving memories to come!!

I can't wait until we can start gardening and digging up flower beds again. Alas, it snowed yesterday so we have to wait a little longer...ugh.

 

[swimmyj1]

I've been keeping lots of veggies and fruit on hand for snacks. I know nuts are high in fat content but sometimes eating a few of those is better than eating the chips I want to eat lol.

My Dh is out to sabatoge me! He keeps buying ice cream and wanting to go out to eat ugh!! i love his reasons that we should enjoy solo date nights why can't we eat in and do that lol

 

[mrs.green2015]

Hey ladies. Haven't been checking in because I've been off the wagon. Moving day is tomorrow and we had very little groceries to start the week so we've been eating not so good choices. Which in reality is just an excuse I know. But oh well.
I've been packing so I've been super active. I've been busy from morning until night with only a couple hours sitting in the office.

 

[Fern81]

Tonight I'm definitely also going to cheat on my diet, can't WAIT. I lost some more weight and getting addicted to dieting and training (love the way my bum is shrinking away & all my pants are too big; working hard on getting tummy flat too!!) I've lost ANOTHER 2 pounds so that's a bit much this week. I have to keep reminding myself to keep up my nutrient intake & had a salad & avo oil with my boiled eggs today instead of just the eggs.

Be prepared to see me shrink down much more drastically if IVF fails (well, try to at least). I'm very happy with the weight I've lost but I'm at my happiest with my body when I'm skinny. After gaining & then losing 50 pounds between 5-10 years ago, getting super skinny is not as easy as it used to be when I was a teen. But I did have an eating disorder my whole childhood and into adulthood (I ate almost nothing) so I don't want to go back to the 100 pounds I weighed at age 23, either.

I think I will be happy in the 110-115 range but will see how building muscles with all these workouts influence my weight.

Ok sorry I'm rambling just thinking over my goals again have a lovely weekend all x