Pregnancy Week 33 Plan

Oh what a week last week was. So many things have happened. I got my citizenship, I’m so proud. I’ll be honest though, I took full advantage of being pregnant. Hee hee. I made my way to the front of the line, and it’s okay. I mean, nobody has to know I lift in the mornings, right? In all seriousness though, the ceremony is really awesome but incredibly long. Security lines are huge – just that day 3,985 people became citizens, that’s a lot of people, so you can imagine the amount of people. Being pregnant at the ceremony had other advantages as well, like they didn’t take my drink and snack (they took my husband’s drink away…). This was long overdue, and I couldn’t be happier.

Sophie again had a one day fever, Thursday night she went up all the way 102.7 – her fever goes up really high in a really short amount of time… So she skipped preschool on Friday – but at least I got to sleep in with her. Of course, she was totally fine on Friday, check this picture out and you’ll know what I’m talking about. 😉

My overall state of being can be characterized as tired and frustrated, overall. I still wake up at 4:45am to read (right now I’m reading The Power of I Am by Joel Osteen), then I work out, morning prep, take Sophie to preschool, work at home, pick Sophie up, spend time with her, make dinner, have dinner, walk the dogs (on better days, it hasn’t been happening as much as it should lately), evening prep then bed time. The days are long, but productive. And I’m not frustrated with anyone in particular, just in general. Which I think it’s worse, actually. But it is what it is, other than being aware of it and controlling it that way, there’s not much else I can do about it. Did you feel like this during your pregnancy? 

I had a friend  come over and help me sort baby clothes this weekend, it’s crazy how much we have saved, what’s even crazier is how much of what is not salvageable I actually kept. Did you keep your old baby clothes?

But on to this week: I’m 33 weeks pregnant!!! I’m definitely feeling it, I’m sore, have more belly ache and pressure, baby girl is definitely putting mommy to the test. I’m excited to meet her but of course, for now, she needs to stay in there where it’s safe for her. I’m worried a tiny bit though, about how mornings and evenings are going to be, how we’ll manage two amazing girls with both of them getting love and attention. I know, I know…. These things resolve on their own, but the truth is, both will get less love in a way. 

Last week our meals were good and I got all my workouts in – took Friday off but used Saturday as my makeup day. Mornings are the best, it’s all downhill from there, haha.

With that, this weeks plans are:

Until next week, stay active, eat well, and be happy. 🙂 

Pregnancy Week 31 Plan

You know how you calculate where you are in your pregnancy and then sometimes double check it? Well… It turns out, on my workout plan, I skipped week 7. So that made me wonder whether I was truly only 30 weeks pregnant and not 31. But then I check our ultrasound images, and based on that, I am 31 weeks and 5 days today. Well, it’s not an exact science, no matter what anyone says, but on one hand being only 30 weeks would give me more time to finish creating my prenatal course, on the other hand, being 31 weeks and 5 days means I’m that much closer to meeting Annabelle. 99% on the name. For now though, it’s 100% push time, and when Sophie came down with a fever, push time came early, my view at 6am last week:

Was it easy for you to pick a name for your child(ren)? Sophie’s name came so much easier, but we really struggled picking a second girl’s name. And for some reason, I sometimes have this feeling that Annabelle could be a boy. This pregnancy is just so different, in so many aspects, and anybody who sees my belly immediately says it’s a boy. I know, I know. The ultrasound said girl, but then again, it’s not like the ultrasound was never wrong – and you know how you start hearing those tales of people who were told it was going to be one and then turned out to be the other. My husband doesn’t want a 4D ultrasound, and I get it. But I so do. Haha.

So last week was tough. My husband was down with a stomach bug since Saturday the week before, and I could feel I was coming down with it. Neither of us had any energy, which is always bad, but especially when you have a toddler full of energy that wants to run around, ride her bike, play, and neither parent is in the shape to do it. We really felt so bad…. The worst day was Wednesday – my birthday. The stomach bug hit full on, which was really crappy (pun intended, and I apologize for my choice of words… kinda 😛 ) So I had to take meals easy that day, to keep my tummy safe… But that of course gave me an insane headache by 5:30pm, at which time I overate and was sick for the next 9 hours…. But at least I got to chat with my friend a bit in the middle of the night. 🙂

Then of course, Sophie came down with a fever, just for one night/day. I freaked out a bit, thinking it could be vaccine related. See, we’re in the catch-up phase (not to start a vaccine debate here, I believe in vaccination just not giving so many vaccines at a time so we’re a bit behind and have a new pediatrician), so by my own mistake I thought she got a 4th Polio (IPV) vaccine, so I frantically called her pedi’s office only to make them think I’m totally crazy. Haha. It happens, and I might just be a little bit in this pregnancy. But either way, Friday Sophie had a Celebration of Love Party where they exchanged cards and a ridiculous amount of candy and had a lunch party. It was the cutest thing. 

So back to last week: meals were not on track and I completed 2 out of the 5 planned workouts. #itsokay though. Being healthy is way more important and my body needed the rest. 

I finally feel a lot better though, I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to have the energy again to work out.

So with that, here’s my workout plan for this week:

And our meal plan for this week:

Until next week: stay active, eat well, and be happy. 🙂 

Three Steps to Successful Meal Planning

Meal planning is like having a map or a life design. For a successful trip to anywhere, you need to know how to get there. For successfully planning your life, you need to know your priorities, set goals, make small steps every day to achieve your dreams. It’s the same with health. To eat healthy, you need to plan. Meal planning, once you have a system in motion, is easy, fun, and rewarding. But a lot of people think it will be easy from the start. It’s not. The first step is rather time consuming. But once that’s done, you’re on your way to success. So let’s begin.

Why plan your meals?

The more obvious answers are that it will help you avoid running to a fast food restaurant, reaching for that candy bar when you’re hungry, choosing simple carbs that give you energy fast but make you crash shortly after. The less obvious answers are that it will help you save money and thrive. It will make you try new foods, experiment more in the kitchen. It will make you spend more time with your loved ones. You may start cooking with your significant other and/or children. And by that, you will teach them to make healthy choices as well. So while initially it will take time, there is no greater gift than the gift of health. Let’s get started.

STEP ONEBuild a Database

This is the step that takes the longest. Depending on how many cookbooks/magazines you use, how fancy you get, and how much time you have for building this database, it can take several weeks.

1. Select the cookbooks/magazines/recipes you use the most.
2. Open up an excel sheet (you do not have to be a computer whiz to do this).
3. Create different tabs (tabs are on the bottom in most Excel versions, and you can create new ones by clicking the + sign).
4. Name those tabs (just double click on the tab itself). You’ll see a screenshot below of my workbook; but the fun part is, that you get to name those tabs. I named mine “breakfast” “soups” “pasta” “vegetarian”, etc.
5. Start entering in your recipes. You have a couple options here (because you do want to find those recipes later)
– enter the cookbooks/magazine titles (with issue #)/recipe location on top of every sheet or just in one main sheet, fill that cell with a certain color and fill every cell the same color that uses a recipe from that book
– enter the book title/magazine title/location of recipe in parentheses after every recipe
– do a mix, I personally have the books color coded but the magazines in parantheses

You may choose to enter nutritional information, if you do, make sure you start from the very beginning. This will make the process more time consuming, but one big advantage is that you will be able to sort by column (maybe if you decide at one point to up your protein intake, it’s nice to have the foods highest in protein on top).

So here’s what my excel workbook looks like:

 

STEP TWO
Plan for the month ahead, for five days a week

I like to plan for the entire month, because I have a system that works. This step can take up to an hour (still less time than going to a fast food restaurant, eating there and going home…)

I plan our breakfasts first – Tuesdays we have to leave at a certain time, so I usually make my baby girl her favorite oatmeal/yogurt/fruit mix on Monday which she can have the next day, and I make my overnight oats the night before. So my system for breakfasts is:

Monday: oatmeal
Tuesday: oatmeal
Wednesday: omelet
Thursday: pancakes
Friday: omelet

Sure I deviate sometimes, but this is the generic framework.

Whatever we have for dinner one night, we have for lunch the next day. Great way to save time and money. Generic framework:

Monday: soup
Tuesday: fish
Wednesday: pasta
Thursday: vegetable dish
Friday: fish

And then I plan our snacks. I try to bake once a week.

Why plan for only five days? Because things happen. One evening you might get home too late, or be too tired to cook. This way, there is a lesser chance for the food you bought to go bad.

With that, I present my February meal plan to you (click on the image to see it larger and legible, you might need to click twice):

 

STEP THREE
Shop on the day your grocery store gets fresh produce, buy in bulk what you can, buy dry items on sale to stock up

I use the weekend to look up the recipes I planned for to put together the shopping list. This step, if you followed the first two, takes less than 15 minutes. Awesome, isn’t it? Now go shopping, and if you can, do it with your kids. Let them help you pick out the foods – they are more likely to eat them that way.

BONUS TIPS

1. Always buy fresh fruits, wash them and place them at eye level in the fridge for easy snacking
2. Always have healthy snacks around: nuts, fruits, dried fruits, healthy crackers, maybe protein bars, a healthy protein shake, etc

Join Me, Starting Tomorrow

I am beyond excited to start a new workout hybrid tomorrow (Jan 6th): Les Mills Pump & Les Mills Combat. I know, I’m always excited to start something new. I love it. And I’d like you to join me. I have an accountability group on Facebook that’s sometimes more active, sometimes less active, but when it is active, it is the most inspiring thing to me.

Why? Because different people, with different lifestyles are working towards the same goal: to live a fit, healthy, and happy life. It is not about size. I don’t care if you’re 120lbs or 320lbs. It’s about setting an example to everyone around you. If you’re a mom, show your child(ren) that fitness is fun, and it makes life better. They will join you. Do it for you, do it for your significant other. Do it for your parents and friends. Because when you work out, you’re happier and more balanced, less angry. It’s a fact. The body you want is a side effect (a nice perk), but health is way more important. When you work out, you eat healthier too. You skip on the soda and drink water instead. You trade sweets for fruits eventually. You trade in white bread for the multi-grain version. You drink less. You become a better you.

This is why I want to share my journey with you. So that it inspires you. This is where I’m starting now – I’m a mom, that’s really into fitness. I keep it real, because I have no choice. I am not that much in control of my time anymore. And that’s okay, because it is still doable.

I’ll be sharing my workouts, my meals (with occasional recipes 😛 ) and my stats with you. I hope you’ll join me. (I will keep up with my other posts as well, starting with a “Ten Days of Healthy Swaps” mini series – not consecutive days, I wish Sophie gave me that much time 😉 )

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. ❤

January Meal Plan

Click on the image to see it bigger (you might have to click on it again once the link takes you to it)

My Fitness & Nutrition Sysyem

Ah, the last day of 2013. I promised I’d share how I stay on track, so here we go.

For fitness, I always have the workout calendar (I do workout programs that come with a calendar, and I create my own hybrids every now and then).

For nutrition, I plan. I plan using an excel sheet that took me about two months to create (wasn’t working on it day and night 😛 ) but it’s so worth it, because it makes meal planning a breeze. I have cookbooks, cooking magazines, and recipe books I love, so I just stroll through the pages, enter the recipe names with nutrition info in the excel sheet, and then I plan in advance, so I don’t have to improvise, which usually doesn’t turn out great. Here’s a screenshot for my “Mastersheet”, as I call it.

So let the work begin. Join me as I share my journey with you. Check this blog to see my:
Workout Plan
Nutrition Plan

Add me on MyFitnessPal to follow exactly what I eat: MomOfBalance

Follow my picture food diary starting January 6th at: https://www.evernote.com/pub/apple21hun/momofbalancefooddiary#st=p (if you have Evernote, you can sync with my notebook, Evernote is awesome, and I use Evernote Food for this diary).

Happy New Year, here’s to a fit, healthy, and happy new me and you! ❤

Plan for Success

I have the best results when I plan. I plan my workouts (which is easy, I have ones that come with a workout calendar) and I plan our meals. The latter is harder, especially now, that I have to consider my little angel, who doesn’t eat everything just yet. But anyways. This is just a quick note to share with you my planning process, in hopes that it will help you, give you ideas, or maybe you can share yours with me too. It’s a work in progress, I keep tweaking it and making improvements.

I have an excel workbook with different tabs (soups, breakfasts, pasta, fish, etc) where I have hundreds of recipes from my favorite cookbooks (most came with my workouts, but some I absolutely love: Color Me Vegan, Karma Chow, Skinny Bitch, Supermarket Vegetarian) and cooking magazines (such as Eating Well, Vegetarian Times). On weekends, I sit down, and plan a few weeks ahead. At that point, it’s a simple “cut&paste”. Creating the workbook is a different story, very time consuming but really worth it. The result is attached. What do you think?

Clearly, plans change, so I have empty spots. And I don’t plan for weekends, because… Plans change. So any leftovers I use over the weekend.