Better Out Than In: a thread for those of us looking to get healthier

[sadiejane08]

Surely I can't be the only one here who'd like to tone things up, replace some flab with muscle, and come out of this pregnancy in better shape than she went into it?

I thought we could have a weekly "Better Out Than In" thread, where we post our eating and exercising ups and downs for that week. Or commiserate about all the other folks eating fudge and Milky Ways . Just generally support each other in whatever it is we're trying to accomplish.

Here's what I'd like to accomplish:

• Keep my GD-to-come (gestational diabetes) under perfect control
• Gain no more than 20 lbs this pregnancy
• Do arm exercises with weights 3x a week
• Do Kegels daily
• Walk or bike at least 20 mins 5x a week

Anyone else?

[sadiejane08]

I'm starting at 125 lbs (57 kilos). I'd love to be at 115 lbs (52 kilos) after recovering from this pregnancy.

Yesterday (which gets to be retroactively included in this week's thread because it was Monday ), I walked briskly for 45 minutes. I also remembered to do my Kegels.

Nothing yet today.

[3for3hb]

right now I'd like to get out of bed without throwing up
Seriously though... I gained almost 70 lbs with my first, about 55 with my second and would like to gain no more than 30 or 35 this time.
I guess I lost most of the pg weight but never really toned up so I've got a lot of flab. It also seems to me that no matter how much I tone up the stretch marks aren't going anywhere so for me it's a matter of health.

my goals (again, once I can get up and out of the house without vomitting) are to

• walk at least 30 minutes everyday
• drink half my weight (in ounces) of water daily
• stay away from fried food (it always draws me when I'm pg

last time I was on a scale it said 127.5 lbs.

[ORLY?]

You guys rock my socks. I hope you achieve all your goals! :

Good idea starting this thread, sadiejane!

I'm just trying to eat better which is hard since hubby is a stick (6'1", 140 lbs) and can eat anything he wants and probably loses weight. :
I've been keeping a food journal to make sure I'm eating what I should for the pregnancy diet.

[Sagesgirl]

Right now I'd settle for being able to get to the gym and get anything done. I feel great when I wake up...right up until I get upright.

[My3babes]

My goal is so to gain no more than 25lbs..less would be better as I still have a few pounds of excess hanging around.

I hope to:

*Gain no more than 25lbs
*walk/jog/step excercises every day
*cook for my family 5 nights a week... I get exhausted and dont wanna cook
*keep drinking my gallon + of water daily.
*keep sodas to a minimum..

[MissAnnThrope]

I have issues with gaining weight. I've always had this problem. I was 95lbs when I got pregnant with dd at 19. I was at 109 a little over a month ago then went up to 112 before the m/c. I don't know what I'm at now I don't have a scale in my house because I become obsessed with my weight. I'm underweight and I always have been. I get up to what my idea weight should be when pregnant. So for me I'd like to gain a few more pounds this time around.

I also get very sick when pregnant. I had to go to the er with ds and get an iv of fluids. After that they kept talking about putting me in the hospital if I couldn't keep my blood pressure up.

I've been drinking lots of V8 in place of other stuff. I need to go to the store but it's so hot out side and I don't want to drag ds around alone. I just want to be able to eat more and keep it down. After we get that much done we will move to other things.

[famille_huggins]

What an excellent thread -- I would love to have some accountability in this area. I had GD in my last pregnancy, and have Insulin Resistance otherwise. My major pregnancy *needs* are sweets, sodas, breads, pastas. All the things I need to avoid like the plague! I would really like to be lighter coming out of this pregnancy than going in, but really, I just want to avoid GD and all the hassle and concern that goes along with it.

My goals for this pregnancy are to:

Avoid those sweets. I definately have to cut out all sodas regardless, and I would like to say I would allow myself one sweet treat a week, but I really shouldn't even have that. I think I get enough carbs with whole grain breads and pastas, and with the fruit I've been wanting to eat.

Drink all my water, even if I have to do so in a creative fashion. I read someone else was just eating ice, and I could do Sonic ice any day -- as long as I could avoid a big soda to go along with it.

Have some light physical activity at least 4x/week -- either walking or swimming. I think I'll get the kids together and go do something right now.

Thanks so much for this thread!

[Lullabymama]

Sounds like a fantastic idea!

Do we want to do a weekly food journal on here to keep track of what we're eating? I know I eat better if I have some accountability.

Today I weighed in at 115, which is good. I'm already 10lbs lighter than when I got pregnant with dd#1.

Goals

-Gain no more than 30lbs. 25lbs would be great. Gained 43 the first time and 22 the second time.

-Stay off empty calories, like soda and candy.

-Kegels

-Practice my Bradley exercises faithfully

-Drink at least half my weight (in ounces) of water daily

Today I've had a big bowl of Muselix for breakfast. Ham and cheese and an apple for lunch. And cheese and whole wheat crackers for snack. Some milk. I need to get started on my water intake.

[Organicavocado]

My big thing right now is getting real digestible nutriets. I know I have an issue with calcium, and the more I read the more I think dairy is at fault, so I am trying to cut back on dairy (esp. milk, I love yogurt and cottage cheese and I think these are the things I will keep eating) and increase sea veggies. My goal for this pregnancy is to learn how to make healthy veggie sushi, and actually make it. I love pickled ginger, and I think if I can eat it to combat morning sickness that would be awesome.. so Im getting some good rice, some sea veggies, some avocado, and ginger all in one sitting. If I can make a lot and make it well, and learn how it keeps the best, I want to have it as a snack once a day.

Cutting dairy is not going well.

I also want to either swim every day or take a walk. My temp is already so high, I mean, I have the A/C up to 70 degrees and I still have the fan right on me, so living in Arizona kind of sucks for exercise. The pool during the day seems like an okay idea, and walking at night is definitely tolerable! After I accomplish these things, I can move on to something new, but it will take me a while to get in the groove of this. I was already eating really well, so I hope to continue that trend and hope the M/s is kind this time and doesnt explode into hyperemesis so I don't succumb to more servings of bacon and fettucini wrapped butter. LOL!

[3for3hb]

Be careful with the V8 MissAnnThorpe, it has a LOT of inorganic sodium. The kind that makes your blood pressure go up, and that's something all of us need to be careful of with pregnancy. It's basically cooked vegetable soup so all the enzymes are pasteurized out. Have you ever tried the odwalla juices or naked juice? They are really good and good for you (as far as ready made juices are concerned).

Sadiejane, did you mean Better out than in as in better outside than inside??? and in what way did you mean that? Just curious.

[LadyBee]

ooh goodie a place for me! I gained about 35 with DS and had about 10lbs to drop after 1-2w, so I'm thinking if I only gain 25, I won't have any to lose, that's the thought anyhow I worked out lots with DS, ate more sweets than I needed and got lazy at around 35w. I am weighing in at 115 to start.
My goals:
-lift weights 3-4x a week
-do 30min of cardio 3-4x a week
-eat very little junk
-not eat because I am bored, lonely, or just pregnant
-not eat late night snacks in bed

My DH will be gone till I am 8 months pg, so I am extra motivated to only gain a belly and not a new face, butt, etc!

[MissAnnThrope]

Originally Posted by willemsmamma

Be careful with the V8 MissAnnThorpe, it has a LOT of inorganic sodium. The kind that makes your blood pressure go up, and that's something all of us need to be careful of with pregnancy. It's basically cooked vegetable soup so all the enzymes are pasteurized out. Have you ever tried the odwalla juices or naked juice? They are really good and good for you (as far as ready made juices are concerned).

I need the sodium because my blood pressure is always bottoming out. I'm always blacking out from it. It is one of the reasons they wanted me to be admitted to the hospital last time. So if I keep my salt intake up I do a lot better. But thank you for looking out for me. I always need someone too. I love the naked juice but they cost so much, and we are on a tight budget.

[3for3hb]

Originally Posted by MissAnnThrope

I need the sodium because my blood pressure is always bottoming out. I'm always blacking out from it. It is one of the reasons they wanted me to be admitted to the hospital last time. So if I keep my salt intake up I do a lot better. But thank you for looking out for me. I always need someone too. I love the naked juice but they cost so much, and we are on a tight budget.

oh, I see. Have you ever looked into the blood pressure stabilizing benefits of real salt or himalayan rock salt. I was just at a wellness expo this weekend and one of the booths had a salt presentation.
I tend to have pretty low blood pressure too but have never had to go to the hospital for it.

[MissAnnThrope]

Originally Posted by willemsmamma

oh, I see. Have you ever looked into the blood pressure stabilizing benefits of real salt or himalayan rock salt. I was just at a wellness expo this weekend and one of the booths had a salt presentation.
I tend to have pretty low blood pressure too but have never had to go to the hospital for it.

I'm not the biggest fan of salt. Crazy huh Something my body needs and I don't want it I've been trying to eat saltier things. I use sea salt on my food. I'm going to be looking into getting checked out for adrenal fatigue on Monday to see if that is what is causing my issues.

[titania8]

i can't imagine not liking salt. i eat a lot of it, but i am not worried about it. i hope you are able to maintain your bp missann. that must be scarey to black out.

ok, love the accountability!! thanks for this thread.

my goals~~

kegels everyday.
walk or bike 5 times per week.
eat before im hungry, or at least plan what im going to eat.
DRINK! water or pg tea. i have to *really* work on this.
yoga 3 times per week at least.

[apriljoy]

Oh, I hate salt. Absolutely detest the stuff. :Puke

My goals? Well, I'm expecting ms to kick in any day now, so I doubt I'll try to establish a regular exercise routine until that passes. But I do plan to exercise regularly this time around. I also want to keep up with my kegels, do prenatal yoga, drink more water, and cut out some of the junk food. You know, it doesn't seem like that much when I type it all out like that.

[sadiejane08]

Originally Posted by willemsmamma

Sadiejane, did you mean Better out than in as in better outside than inside??? and in what way did you mean that? Just curious.

Glad you asked--I was thinking it probably wasn't very clear to anyone but me . I mean "coming out of the pregnancy in better shape than we went into it." But that was too long for a thread title!

Originally Posted by lullabymama

Do we want to do a weekly food journal on here to keep track of what we're eating? I know I eat better if I have some accountability.

That sounds like a great idea!

[sadiejane08]

I didn't do anything in the exercise realm yesterday. Well, I did bike to the pharmacy and the grocery store, but that wasn't very far. And I forgot my Kegels .

I'm eating pretty well so far, though I have lapses. Tiny lapses--yesterday I had half a cookie my daughter had baked at a friend's house--so I'm not too upset. But I'd like to forswear all empty-calorie sweets for the duration of the pregnancy.

famille_huggins, it's nice to see another GD mama here! Hopefully we can be a good support for each other. When does yours generally kick in? Mine started at 17 weeks with my 3rd pregnancy (I was testing myself at home once every couple of weeks).

I do best with routines, so I've developed some food routines. For breakfast I eat plain yogurt with fruit (strawberries and peaches right now, gonna hate summer ending!) and a sprinkling of All-Bran. This is a big step for me, because I'm not a breakfast eater.

Whenever I feel hungry outside of mealtimes, I have either a banana with peanut butter or a slice of cheese on a Wasa cracker. I also drink at least one glass of milk a day, and the rest is plain water. At mealtimes I try to eat less than usual--this is not a "lose weight" concern, but a GD concern. I want to go ahead and get used to eating smaller portions before I really need to.

[sadiejane08]

Originally Posted by famille_huggins

My goals for this pregnancy are to:[INDENT]Avoid those sweets. I definately have to cut out all sodas regardless, and I would like to say I would allow myself one sweet treat a week, but I really shouldn't even have that. I think I get enough carbs with whole grain breads and pastas, and with the fruit I've been wanting to eat.

I think one sweet treat a week is very reasonable! And actually, "healthy" sweets like fruit (!) and sorbet are worse for you, GD-wise, than fatty sweets like triple-nut-fudge ice cream . It's true! A small helping of Ben and Jerry's was kinder to my blood sugar last time around than half a whole-wheat bagel with lox and cream cheese. Go figure.

The big tricks are to eat small portions and to eat fat and/or protein whenever you eat carbs. (That's why I eat peanut butter with my banana, aside from it being really yummy .) So eating, say, one fudge brownie once a week should be fine. And you could even use it as a motivator--to reward yourself for, say, having done your Kegels every day that week.

I am so taking over this idea from you .