Lesson 4: You are NOT eating for two

 

Daily I am given advice on what to do and what to prepare for, which we really do appreciate BUT the best and I can't stress that enough the BEST advice I have received came from a gorgeous mama, Kristen. She told me, "Courtnie, don't believe people when they tell you that you're eating for two." Right away I was like "what?? I thought I was."

Here's the thing....

When you're pregnant you only really need 300-500 extra calories a day. Now to a person like me, I don't count calories....not my thing. For me, I don't eat any different that I did pre-pregnancy. Do I  get unbearable cravings, EVERYDAY. I just chose not to indulge in them every time. Once every couple months, Jon lets me make something "bad." which usually consists of sugar since that's what makes me the happiest. This time I made brownies and let me tell you, they were worth EVERY bite :)

You have to really learn to give and take. You're baby is going to be fine, eat what it is that sounds good but don't eat mass amounts of it and don't eat bad stuff all the time. Find a good balance and make sure to get your fruits and veggies in there. If you are craving sugar like I do here is a recipe Jon and I "indulge" in.

Take about a cup of frozen fruit (any kind you like...but be careful, some fruits produce WAY to many seeds)

Put that in your magic bullet or blender with just enough Silk Fruit & Protein soy milk to cover your fruit.

Blend until all everything is smooth and you can always add more soy milk if you want it more like smoothie texture.

A completely guilt free desert that not only packs you full of vitamins for baby but tastes amazing.

My main point is this, if you were underweight or right where you "should" be at pre-pregnancy and feel you can eat whatever you want and it just goes to baby....go for it. For some, they will only gain baby weight, for others they will gain everything but baby weight. It all depends on your body and how it handles and adapts to pregnancy, but why not watch what you eat and make it easier on your body and your self-esteem to know that after baby you won't need to but back your eating or change any thing at all because you really worked hard to take care of yourself? When you are craving nachos, HAVE THEM. When you are craving ice cream HAVE IT. Just don't eat the whole thing and don't make it a habit. It's just like eating pre-pregnancy.

If you're working out during pregnancy your body may need more calories but be careful, don't over do it and don't think that the weight won't come off. I am struggling with this myself and as long as you don't turn into a couch potato and completely let yourself go during and after pregnancy, you will lose the baby weight and you will get back to your old self. Embrace your pregnancy and as hard as this is to do, LET GO OF ALL THE BAD FEELINGS YOU HAVE TOWARDS YOUR LOOKS. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing and not many people stay tiny everywhere except their bellies, so realize while they are "perfect" they really are freaks of nature and while I as well really admire and am incredibly jealous of their pregnancy bodies I don't dwell on it. I have someone who tells me I am perfect every day and I don't need anything else....except my baby girl to get here already :)