The 20 Pound Club

Well folks, I am officially in the 20 pound club. The "I have gained 20 pounds" club that is. Do I get a T-shirt for that? At 31 weeks gestation that is a healthy, normal weight gain and I am proud to say that the reaction I had in mind when this day came ( crying, throwing the scale, hiding under the covers, etc) was far from my actual reaction. I simply took a deep breath, patted my growing belly, and praised my little girl for growing. Then I shoved the scale under the sink and vowed not to get on it again until before I deliver! HAHAHA.

It helps that all my patients and co-workers constantly tell me how wonderful I am looking. I love it when people say "You can't even tell you're pregnant from behind". What behind are you looking at??? Because the one I see is definitely larger :) Keep the compliments rolling my friends, it keeps me sane!

Before I got pregnant, and even more so now, I was frequently asked "what do you eat to stay so fit and healthy?" I don't write down my food daily but there is a pretty easy method to my madness. A general diet pattern if you will;  It looks something like this:


Breakfast:
- Carbohydrate
-Protein
-Fruit or dairy

Mid-Morning Snack:
-Fruit or dairy or vegetable
-Protein

Lunch:
-Carbohydrate
-Vegetable
-Protein

Mid-Afternoon Snack:
-Fruit, dairy, or vegetable

Dinner:
-Protein
-Carbohydrate
-Vegetable

So what does this look like using actual food?? It can come in MANY different forms but I will give you an example using what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast:
- 1 Whole wheat English muffin with 1 TBSP of reduced sugar preserves
- 1 turkey sausage patty
- 10 grapes


Mid-Morning Snack:
- 1 Medium apple with 1 TBSP of all natural peanut butter


Lunch:
- Sandwhich using 2 pieces of whole wheat bread, Dijon mustard, red and green peppers,  baked chicken, 1 slice of mozzarella cheese
- carrots and 2 TBSP of Oikos greek yogurt dill dip

Mid-Afternoon Snack:
- 1 cup of lowfat Daisy cottage cheese ( I only buy the Daisy brand because it is  high in protein- 14g in 1/2 cup, and protein keeps you feeling satisfied!)

Dinner:
- Spinach Salad with baked chicken, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, cucumber, onion and light balsamic dressing
- 1 piece of pita bread with 1 TBSP of hummus


Other healthy snack ideas:
-1 grapefruit and a handful of almonds
- Light and Fit Greek yogurt (this particular brand is one of the lowest in sugar) with 1/4 cup berries
- Banana with peanut butter
-1/2 sliced avocado with whole wheat crackers
-celery sticks with peanutbutter
-carrots and other assorted vegetables with hummus
- 1 hard boiled egg


Now don't get me wrong, I have my moments when I grab a cookie that someone brought to work, or I enjoy a 1/2 cup of low fat ice cream after dinner. Being pregnant, there are many days that I throw in an extra healthy snack somewhere, and that's okay. Listen to your body and eat when you're hungry, but be smart about it. If you know you are cooking a huge dinner full of carbs, than be smart about your carb choices for breakfast and lunch. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.

I want to leave you with a link to an article a girl I went to school with posted on her Facebook page. It sums up some basic food rules that we nutritionists/dietitians live by. It's a GREAT read!

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/chloe-phillips/dietitian-healthy-eating_b_4672334.html




FINISH HUMP DAY STRONG!!! GET IN A SOLID 1 HR WORKOUT TODAY!!!!