What's On The {Pregnancy} Menu?:

Caramel Frappuccino + cute husband in cute hat + chocolate croissant = a good time.

I'm sure I am not the only woman who dreads stepping on the scale

at her monthly visits to the Dr./Midwife.

I ESPECIALLY hated hearing, "watch what you eat!" accompanied with a disappointed glare. This was my experience EVERY single visit with Conrad. I was what my Doctor called "border-line gestational diabetic." She kept telling me to, "stay away from the brownies!" But never gave me any guidelines or boundaries. I felt like I couldn't eat ANYTHING, so I got pissed and ended up eating EVERYTHING (Insert Chris Farley yelling, "LAY OFF ME, I'M STARVIN'"). I was a very round pregnant woman, with permanent red finger tips from eating my way to the bottom of far too many spicy lime cheeeto bags! I indulged frequently in Mexican food, chips, sweets & fast food. I wasn't thrilled with my pregnancy body though. 

I didn't feel like I was "glowing." 

(Don't MAKE ME post that god awful picture of me sitting on the couch in my underwear, cellulite dimples all up my thigh, greasy hair, no make up at 37 weeks pregnant! I looked super sexy. HIDE'YA- HUSBANDS ladies!) Kidding.

Ugh, God, why did my husband feel so compelled to grab the camera at that very moment. I'd really like to know what his thought process was.... Good black mail material?

Watch what I EAT? What does that mean? Yes, I see them, I'm watching the Cheetos go right into my mouth daily....I'm watching what I'm eating alright!

I was talking with a friend recently about the Brewer's diet for pregnancy and she was telling me how great she feels, how she hasn't gained much weight and has a ton of energy because she's eating a high protein diet. So I did some investigating and read up on it. I was also told by my doula that the Brewer's diet is a great idea for me since I'm trying for a VBAC and want to be the healthiest I can be (And would like to avoid birthing a sumo wrestler...) I also read about it a ton in my Bradley method book.... 

*If you're pregnant, grab a copy of this book. I can't believe I didn't know what I now know about pregnancy and birth, thanks to this book.

For about the last 6 weeks I've been keeping a food journal and writing down everything that goes into my belly. At first, it was a drag writing it all down, but after a while I was able to see what my habits were and make better food choices. I was telling Dustin that I feel SO empowered now because I'm taking responsibility for my weight gain and I feel so much better about my pregnant body because I know that I'm putting good things into it, so as I watch the numbers on the scale increase, there is no guilt attached with it.

 I'm eating with purpose now rather than blindly eating and getting frustrated when the Doctor would say to keep the weight gain low, BUT didn't give me anything to go off of.

I've gotten a few emails and comments wondering what I'm eating....

I seem to want MILK with EVERY single meal. I craved it with my first pregnancy as well.

That and yogurt. I can't get enough dairy these days.

(23 weeks preggerz:)

Us out at breakfast last weekend. I treated myself to a decaf coffee & a pastry.

I STILL eat junk here and there. Cuz' believe me, this girl can eat!

(I'm not sure what's going on with Conrad's evil little facial expression....)

Usually throughout the week for breakfast I will drink a veggie & fruit smoothie consisting of 2 handfuls of raw spinach, 1 banana, 1 carrot, a handful of frozen strawberries & blue berries and an orange. I toss in a scoop of protein powder and some O.J. & blend it up. I'll then cook 2 egg whites with wilted spinach and maybe some chicken. Other mornings I'll have a piece of wheat toast with peanut butter and a small bowl of yogurt with fruit + a smoothie.

Conrad enjoys my smoothies also:

I snack about 2 times a day, eat about 3 meals a day and I drink about a gallon of water a day.

For snacks I eat hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, fruit, dehydrated fruit, an ice cream cone here or there, a frozen fruit pop or a fruit smoothie and maybe an iced decaf coffee. I feel like I'm eating ALL the time! I always have lots of snacks on hand.

The little guy helping me buy lemons to make salad dressing:

To help me stay on track with my diet, Dustin buys a big thing of chicken every Sunday and cooks it up. I put it in egg whites in the morning, paninis for lunch and salad for dinner. It's so helpful having cooked chicken ready to eat. The photo below is what I ate for Dinner one night. Small chicken breast, asparagus & a small salmon steak. For dessert I had an orange.

This was lunch. A cucumber, avocado, chicken breast panini with home made artichoke-garlic hummus to substitute for mayo, and a small bowl of yogurt with honey to satisfy my sweet tooth.

This food journal has really kept me accountable and helped me focus on putting good stuff in my body rather than too much bad stuff. I do however treat myself to frozen pizza & chocolate croissants every once in a while....

Eating "fairly" healthy throughout the week helps me really appreciate the times when I indulge in the not so healthy foods without the added guilt I used to feel.

{*Thank you Morgan for the healthy eating advice!}