I am STRONG beyond belief. I am POWERFUL beyond measure.
Do you believe that? I hope you do. Your life will be different the moment you believe!
THE WEEKEND
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was pretty good. Spent a lot of time with family being pretty lazy and shopping for nursery furniture.
Now that I am in my 23rd week of pregnancy, I am feeling tired all over again. This past week or two have been very fatiguing. I am working on a pregnancy workout coming out in June and needing to nap throughout the day. If I don’t nap, I am absolutely exhausted by 8 pm!
MY STRUGGLES
Although I haven’t had any cravings, I struggled with wanting fast, on-the-go foods. Every time I saw a cafe or bakery I thought, “well I am pregnant, what other time am I going to be able to eat goodies and not really see the poor outcome”. BUT knowing what I know, sugar or processed foods ARE NOT THE ANSWER. They will harm the baby and my body.
I didn’t give in but I did have some bread this weekend. I went out for a lovely brunch with my siblings and had a biscuit breakfast sandwich. That was all I needed. I felt so satisfied….finally!
TAKE-OUTS
– Don’t think that because something won’t cause weight gain, that it is ok to have. For example – diet pop. In the long run they do indeed cause weight gain, but even worse, they cause damage to your insides.
BE HEALTHY FROM THE INSIDE OUT!
– Stay away from places that cause temptation. Usually I can sit in a cafe and not be tempted by the food in it. This weekend was not the usual for me. I had to skip the cafes until I got a grip on my temptations.
– Don’t replace GOOD habits for BAD habits. By giving into temptation because I am pregnant, I would have started to become accustomed to using food as a means for satisfaction and not what it is meant for; fuelling the body with nutrients.
– KEEP GOOD HABITS NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CURRENT SITUATION IS. I believe this to be so powerful. If I stopped eating well and exercising just because I am pregnant, I would have a really hard time “changing back” after pregnancy.
How was your weekend? What struggles did you face and how did you overcome them?
Hi Flavia! Thank you for the post. It’s really inspiring hearing that someone like you (whom I consider extremely inspirational and on-point with everything to the point of almost perfection) still struggles with craving and temptation. My issue is that I’m trying to develop a healthy relationship with food, but every time I go to the store, I can’t HELP but to read the labels. If I see “hydrogenated” or “corn syrup” or “BHT,” I have to sigh and put it back on the shelf. I think back to my childhood when I’ve eaten things without questioning the label and with a free conscience, but I just cannot bring myself to buy crap. Maybe it has something do to with wasting my money…? Anyways, my struggle is finding substitutes that are healthy, because I’ll just not eat instead of eat crap (which I know can’t be good for my metabolism).
You’re an inspiration, Flavia! Please remember that! Have a blessed day.
Great post Flavia! You proove to be so dedicated to what you do and I admire you for that.
My weekend was fine until I made a chocolate cake but I guess it was this weekend’s cheatmeal, no more for me tought! (I only had a slice). Now lots of water and clean food.
Keep eating clean Flavia and it won’t be hard to go back to it when baby Del Monte will be born.
Stay strong and keep up the good work. It’s no time for temptations right 😉
Thank you so much for the day to day motivation keeping us from slipping to the coffee shops or being lazy on the couch,
You go Flavia! We support you!
Hugs xoxo
Hi Flavia!
Thank-you for sharing your weekend! Sounds like you had a good weekend! I worked and just hung around at home. Nothing too exciting but my diet and exercise really took a beating. I never realized what damage I have probably done due to my bad habits. I mean I know better but have been using food for the wrong reasons. Your a great role model and I hope I can change these habits, this could be a reminder for everyone who wants to go back to bad habits, they are so hard to break especially when you feel alone in this!!! So always choose the good habits! Anyway I bought a vitamix!!! Thank-you for your recommendation! Can’t wait until it comes in! 🙂 have a great week! Xoxo 🙂
Hi there
Thank you for sharing. Yip I know what you are talking about. I am not pregnant but I lost 23kg’s up to now and I have about 7 – 10kg to go but now it gets harder to stay on track. Good luck to you and all the best.
Good for you! Your baby is so lucky to have such a great mom! Every time you avoid giving into temptation makes it easier for the next generation.
Hi Flavia,
Congratulations on being a mom with your wee babe due soon!!
I’m a retired midwife and just wanted to thank you for your inspiration and hard work on our behalf.
I wanted to comment that during pregnancy you are doubling your blood volume and around 20 weeks it is normal to feel much more tired as you have a drop in hemoglobin around that time by virtue of your expanding blood volume. I do have some great advice regarding labor and delivery for you, ESP being a first time mom if you wish to contact me. I’d be happy to help since I think first time moms don’t get near the amount of care and information they should have.
It’s the most exciting time of your life and the most important thing you will ever do is to be a parent so I wish all the best for you and your husband and family. This babe is going to be so well loved!
Wendy Lester
[email protected]
I think that, especially during pregnancy, it is really important to listen to your body … and if you find yourself craving or having temptations for something then figure out what nutrient — macro or micro — your body is looking for. For example, if you find yourself really tired, then of course your body is craving instant energy — so maybe fast carbs, like fruit, are being better digested and used than slow carbs.
Baby may need things that you don’t realize. This isn’t particularly the time to be focused on what your body looks like (except to enjoy the wonder of it) … this is a time to focus on what your body is telling you and a growing child needs!
Food is one of the body’s most important ways to relax. Food is not just to provide vitamins and minerals to our body. It nourishes our bodies, yes, but also serves as a wonderful method to feed our minds and spirits as well.
If we learn to love our body unconditionally — our “habits” are relationships of kindness and support that we nurture as we learn and increase awareness. The body is the closest relationship a person will ever have — we should all try our best to not be an abusive spouse and to cultivate tender, loving relationships.
If you are happy, so will your metabolism be. So be happy with a brand new body for now. You get 9 months to enjoy this unique experience. You have the rest of your life to get skinny again. You have someone’s life to worry about … why walk around with your very temporary body image at the forefront of that?
I understand your point here… and its nice to nudge people to maintain healthy habits during pregnancy, however, for people who start out healthy, happy, and fit, most often being stressed out, unhappy, and unsupported AFTER pregnancy causes the slip in habits … even if they were strict during pregnancy!
I don’t feel that Flavia is overly focused on what her body looks like, or being Skinny during pregnancy. she is just trying to stick to eating clean instead of using pregnancy as an excuse to cheat and eat poorly.
Flavia,
You are an inspiration to women pregnant or not! thanks for sharing your daily advice and struggles with us!
Thanks everyone!
For sure you should listen to your body when you are pregnant but filling your body with processed foods is wrong at any time, especially when you have a growing baby that you want to give as much nutrients as possible to. Cravings are a sign of deficiencies – for example some women actually crave dirt, as in plant soil. We can’t eat plant soil but it is an indication of nutrient deficiency.
You should be able to love your body during the nine months, but this isn’t a time to gain unnecessary weight which is bad for baby and mom 🙂
Great comments!