Pregnancy Diet and Exercise

I’m currently 38 weeks pregnant with our fourth child. To be honest, I’m ready for this baby to come out. Sure, I’m excited to meet the little bundle of joy, but even more so…I am in pain and uncomfortable and just kind of over it. I think any woman who’s been there before can relate.

I’m not sure if it has to do with having a late summer baby or because this is my fourth time around, but this pregnancy was by far my most active one. I paid closer attention to my diet and exercised every single day, well some days I slipped for various reasons, but for the most part I closed my exercise ring on my Apple Watch 5-6 days out of the week. Sundays were usually the exception to the rule for me.

Ironically, I’ve also gained the most weight with this pregnancy… which doesn’t really make sense, but regardless. I wanted to chat a bit about my diet and exercise.

Exercise: As I mentioned, I have an Apple Watch. I know there are other devices out there that do the same thing for less $ or for better connectivity with your smartphone, no matter what watch you chose I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PURCHASING ONE! Ask your husband for one for your birthday, or save up a little each month. Do this for yourself. Trust me. It’s completely changed my life, and that’s not an exaggeration.

I’m a pretty competitive person by nature, my husband likes to compete with other people, but I like to personally compete with myself. Can I close all 3 of my rings 7 days this week? Can I push myself harder and go for 60 minutes of exercise instead of 30? These are questions I ask myself daily, and it’s helped me stay extremely active with baby #4.

My workouts:

• WALKING: I could probably stop my bullet points right here because this has been my main source of exercise every single day. As I mentioned, having a late summer baby helped me get out and going. Also, I have three kids 6 and under who do not stop. Sure, they love watching TV and the iPad and being inside the AC like many other children do, but I force them out everyday. Whether to walk to our park, walk around our neighborhood, go to the zoo, whatever it may be… we were out walking every day of my pregnancy. When I didn’t have time during the day, I would get up at 5 AM and hit the gym’s treadmill before my husband went to work.
• PRENATAL YOGA: I did more of this with my pregnancy with Adam than I did with this one, but I think it’s still something to talk about. I think doing my prenatal yoga helped loosen up the muscles in my body for delivery. I’ve started doing some of the stretches late in this pregnancy as well. If you can’t find a local class, or simply don’t have time for it, there are several great FREE resources on Netflix and even YouTube.

DIET: I’ll be the first to admit, my first trimester was rough. I never experienced severe morning sickness like I did with this baby. The only thing, and I mean only thing that calmed my stomach was crunchy tacos from Taco Bell. It was almost humorous how often I was there. My order was the same every single time. 3 Crunchy Tacos with no lettuce and lots of hot sauce. Sure, TB is not the healthiest option, but I tried to validate it with the simplicity of my order.

Once my 12 weeks were up, I actually didn’t go back to Taco Bell again. I found my diet groove and stayed pretty consistent in it. Sure, I swayed some… we all do. But I tried really hard to follow the same diet for the remainder of my pregnancy.

Breakfast- usually consisted of one of 3 things.

• Smoothie: 1 c. oats, 2 c. Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries and blueberries(or frozen), 1 banana, 2 tbs honey, 2 tbs hemp hearts, 1/3 cup flax seeds, 1/3 cup peanut butter, 3-4 ice cubes
• One Fried Egg on wheat toast with avocado and stewed tomatoes
• Oatmeal (simple enough)

Lunch- usually consisted of this exact meal daily:

• Turkey and Cheese Sandwich: on whole wheat toast (heated up, because pregnant women aren’t allowed to have deli meat…eye roll), side of carrots and cucumbers and sometimes pretzels.

Snacks: Because pregnant women need to EAT:

• Charcuterie Board: This is my absolute favorite snack of all time. I usually cut up some cheese, throw together some nuts, grapes, strawberries, pretzels, cucumbers, carrots, and salami (for the kids and Jeff). I have some hummus for dipping. I could eat this every single day, and honestly, sometimes it’s what I serve for dinner. Hold that thought… now I’m hungry.
• 5 Ingredient Protein Bites: click here for recipe!

  

Dinners: these are just some fan favorites in our house:

• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• Homemade Spaghetti
• Fajita / Taco Night
• Chicken and Broccoli Stir-fry
• Italian Subs
• Burger / Hot Dog night
• Chicken on the grill with veggies
• Steak or Chicken Shish-kabobs
• Chick-Fil-A copy cat
• Charcuterie Boards (I wasn’t kidding when I said sometimes I serve this for dinner)
• Tofu BiBamBap

I don’t really do casseroles, even though I hope to stock up on some post-baby. I also don’t cook a lot of fish, because the kids aren’t a huge fan. I rarely use my crockpot either, is it just me or do the crockpot meals kind of suck?

If you have any great recipes I’d love to hear them!

If anyone is interested in me sharing these recipes please comment below!!!