It has been a week since we had to make a trip to the hospital and a week since my last workout. I have taken the time to let me body recover and to make sure to perfect my eating habits to decrease the chance of going back to the hospital again. Wednesday was the lowest energy I have been in a long time and it felt like my abs had been through one of the toughest workouts ever thanks to all the contractions. By Friday some of my energy had returned and I no longer felt like my blood sugar was tanked.
To detail how my meals have changed…first and foremost I have increased my eating frequency. Every couple of hours I will have a meal or a snack with both protein and complex carbohydrates. I was sometimes doing this before, but now I am not missing a snack! I am completely staying away from sugary snacks and drinks to avoid the huge spike in your blood sugar. I will have the occasional soda, natural and sweetened with Stevia, to satisfy my sweet tooth, but nothing else. Stevia is a natural sweetener that will not affect your blood sugar levels like regular sugar, but is a much healthier option than artificial sweeteners.
Yesterday’s meals…
Breakfast: 2 Sausages, Quinoa bake, and protein shake.
Snack: Trail mix with dried fruit, cashews and pecans.
Lunch: Chicken breast, sauteed squash, zucchini and carrots, and gluten free mac’n cheese
Snack: Apples and natural peanut butter
Snack: Chia Seed Bar
Dinner: Sweet potatoes cooked in Natural Bacon grease, bacon, asparagus and grilled pork chops.
Snack: Right before bed I will typically have a small amount of nuts or a protein muffin and a glass of water.
The reason I have been so conscience about my food and eating is due to the fact that my blood sugar seems to be running lower than my normal. This can be expected the baby is taking a good amount of the nutrients away from me to grow. Because my blood sugars tend to be lower I have the tendency to uptake sugars quickly and utilize them even quicker. For those of you who may not be a familiar with how your blood sugar works. When you eat something sugary (cookies, candy, cereal, bread, etc) your body is able to take in those nutrients much quicker than protein or fat, which quickly increases your blood sugar. As seen in the image below protein and fat take longer to be broken down into fuel and do not affect the blood sugar as does carbs.
Some people may notice that immediately after eating something sugary or made of simply carbohydrates they have energy, but within an hour they are looking for something else to eat or caffeine to bring their energy up.
This doesn’t mean that people do not need carbohydrates, we do! But we need to be smart about when and what types we are consuming. Carbohydrates that are more complex and provide a great amount of nutrients are items such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, vegetables and fruits. These will not have as dramatic effect on the blood sugar as items such as white rice, tortillas, sugars, cereals, etc.
Some women’s blood sugars, like mine, may run lower than their “normal” during pregnancy, which can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, weakness, blured vision, hunger or headaches. Maintaining a steady diet in protein, fats and complex carbohydrates can ensure blood sugar levels remain steady throughout the day.
Women who have or are at risk for having gestational diabetes will actually have the opposite or high blood sugar levels. Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. Without enough insulin, glucose cannot leave the blood and be changed to energy. Glucose builds up in the blood to high levels. This is called hyperglycemia. (See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/gestational/what-is-gestational-diabetes.html#sthash.nXpsbDst.dpuf)
Today’s workout…
1 mile (1600 meter) Row on Rower
Leg Press – 3×10
Walking lunges with barbell – 2x8each leg
Barbell RDLs – 2×10
Lateral box step ups – 2x10each leg (holding Kettlebell in hands)
Post workout feelings – GREAT! Minimal contractions, lots of water consumed and legs were happy to get a short workout in!!!
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