Life

15 Weeks

| cheriarmour

How far along:  15 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: I have to check the app and come back to this question lol.  I, however, am the size of a small whale.  No I’m not.  My uterus just feels like it.

A pear.  Baby is the size of a pear.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain: No clue.  Probably still in like the 5lb range.  I have a little bit of a belly and my chest is huge – to the point that I need a few new bras because I’m really really uncomfortable in some of the old, not as supportive ones that I used to be able to throw on for yoga.

Sleep:  Great.  I still need to get up to go to the bathroom early in the morning, but good.

Best moment this week:  Austin said I had a spark.  I think my energy has all but returned.  I taught a Step and then a Zumba class on Saturday back to back, and cleaned without the desperate need for a nap.

Food cravings: Nothing really.  I ate a salad today that was bomb, and I had to trick myself into eating it by saying “quick, make this salad before you change your mind!”.

Food aversions:  Just stinky cooking meat.  That makes me ill.

Symptoms:  None really.  I am feeling very fat, but no illness.

Looking forward to:  Getting done with the glucose test.  Because of a very poor family history with diabetes, both Type I and Type II, I have to be tested twice instead of the one standard test.  The test isn’t particularly fun or tasty, but whatever it takes to keep the baby healthy, right?

 

On “owing” folks an explanation.

| cheriarmour

Wednesday morning, I taught my normal cycling class, and because my office is right upstairs from where I teach, I made my way up to the the wellness floor eventually.  I sent emails, sipped water (second job these days), meandered in and out of talking to the trainers, all while I waited for my 10 am meeting to start.

A gentleman who I’ve known from my time at Whole Foods and just from around town, who’s always been a little more familiar to me than I would like, point-blank asked me…

“Do you have something to tell me?”

Mentally, I thought, “are you my probation officer,” but I kind of blankly stared at him until he continued.

“I didn’t know if you were pregnant or if you had stopped working out.”

What. The. Fuck.

Similarly, two nights later, I was actually running on a machine, and a really sweet woman pointed at my belly, and asked “what’s that?”

Now, I don’t fault anyone who wants to tell the world exactly what’s going on with them, and when.  If you want to tell folks you’re pregnant the second it happens, if you want to point out that you’ve gained a little weight and you’re feeling weird about it, or if you want to share that you’ve lost, that’s cool.

But along those same lines, should you want to tell some folks, and not others (like strangers whose name you’re not sure of), that’s okay too.  You’re allowed.  It’s your info to share with whomever you see fit.

Because you don’t owe them any sort of explanation about your body.  They’re not your doctor.  Your best friend.  Or someone with a vested interest in your health.  Or your probation officer, as I thought when Mr. Too-Familiar commented.

I think what we all can learn about this is to pay better attention to the comments we make about other peoples’ bodies.  Surely, it’s one thing if you are any of the aforementioned parties with a vested interest in a person’s well-being.  But it’s certainly another if you’re “just curious,” and fishing for your own curiosity.

As a person in wellness, I’m sensitive to this on both sides.  People I interact with on a daily basis lose weight.  They gain it.  I’ve worked with folks who’ve had bariatic surgery.  Folks who’ve transformed their bodies through running.  And folks for whom the struggle to reconcile their relationship with food has been a challenge, and who’ve fallen off the wagon and gain tremendous amounts of weight.

In either case, we as not entitled to this information simply because we’re curious, and the best way to approach this is, if you would like to ask, ask if the person would mind, with the full knowledge that they may not, or that they may not want to talk about it.

Anyways, Happy Friday – here’s hoping that nobody points at your belly, and asks, “what’s that!”

Staying Active While Pregnant

| cheriarmour

So I just got back from one of the first “runs” (shuffles) that has felt somewhat decent since I found out I was pregnant back at the end of December.

I promise you, before I got pregnant, I had all of these fantastic mental plans to be the fittest mom ever.  My reasoning was that hey, I’m super fit now, what would change, right?

The first trimester Kicked. My. Ass.  And not because I was so sick, but because I was so incredibly tired.  Even before finding out I was pregnant, I remember running while I was listening to an episode of Serial, and just dragging myself around, not exactly knowing why I felt that way, but resolving to sign up for a race or something to get my butt back in gear.  Woops!

Since finding out, I’ve continued teaching my classes, run a little bit, and supplemented some of my longer, bigger runs throughout the weeks with some time on the treadmill and on the elliptical.  I struggle with feeling like I’m not doing enough, but I can only do what I can, and not a whole lot more, so I’ve just stuck to that.

If you’re struggling with any of the same, I don’t know that I can offer a whole lot of wisdom, just what I’ve found to sort of help keep me from laying on the couch for days at at time.

Staying Active While Pregnant

  1. Decide that staying active will be a priority.  This could mean that you might have to redefine what “active” means.  It may not be 6 miles in Umstead on Sunday mornings.  But it might be hiking, biking, shorter runs, or whatever.  But reworking your priorities and making nutrition and staying active will be huge.
  2. Listen to your body. Admittedly, I still struggle with figuring out if I just suck, or if I’m really worn out because of what’s going on.  But I work up sweat without hurting myself.  For me, some light cardio and weights have been really good for me.  Body Pump feels AWESOME.  Running, not so much.  So I do what I feel that I can.
  3. Track it.  I don’t know how anyone, let alone the newly-pregnant, did anything without tracking their activity/steps, but my Fitbit has been one of the only things that has kept me on track, especially during those weeks when I could barely muster the energy to get off the couch.  The numbers can motivate you to get outside, or hop on a treadmill and…
  4. Just walk.  This is hard to hear for marathoners/ultra runners/crossfitters, but walking is fine.  It’s good.  It’s okay.  And really good when you have a buddy.  So take a friend, take your husband, or take some headphones (be careful with them)!

Fit moms, did you/how did you stay active while pregnant?

What I Buy at Whole Foods

| cheriarmour

I make no secret about this…I am really into Whole Foods.

The first time I went into Whole Foods, I was in my second year of graduate school, and looking for a place to get food that wasn’t Jimmy Johns or Dunkin’ Donuts (the two places that were directly across the street from my school at NC State).  I stumbled into Whole Foods, and it was one of the first times since I returned from fat campthat I felt like I’d found my people.  Weird folks.  Who wanted a salad.  Just like  me.

Following my grad school graduation, when I couldn’t find a job, but needed to pay bills, I took a job in the Whole Foods bakery and coffee shop, where I blended, latte-ed, and packaged baked goods with some really cool people for a few months until I could find something a little more in line with what I wanted to do.

Working there, I was absolutely immersed in the culture, and tried foods I’d never imagined trying.  Kombucha, chia seeds, vegan treats, natural remedies for common ailments….the whole shebang.  I went from a diet of subsisting primarily on Lean Cuisines and Yoplait Light to more “whole” (tee hee) foods, and saw a real change in my body and my energy (I started running pretty regularly around that time too).

So, despite the fact that Whole Foods can be pricy, and sometimes grates on peoples’ nerves, I’m pretty loyal, even as some of the other chains branch into organics, because Whole Foods, in my mind, was one of the first that made good food accessible to idiots like me.

Want to see what idiots like me buy on our trips there?  And mayyybe get a little explanation as to what all this crap is?

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//Frozen fruit + Trop 50. I use this for my smoothies in the morning. Typically I do a red solo cup, fill it with fruit, add a scoop of protein, some chia, and some Trop 50 to cover the fruit to make my smoothie. It’s quick and painless, and doesn’t require much prep at all. Plus it’s WAY cheaper than ordering a smoothie, and easier to control what goes in it.

//Cedar Roaster Red Pepper Hommus.  Their spelling, not mine!  I like hummus, but I have yet to find hummus as good as what I had at fat camp for my alternative vegetarian meals.  This hummus ended up being okay, but really didn’t change me.  It was pretty cheap for hummus though.

//Noosa.  This full-fat Greek Yogurt is absolutely delicious, and because it’s so calorie-dense, an entire container can serve as a meal in the morning, or half can serve as a snack after lunch or something.  Again, pricey at first glance, but two servings in a container softens the blow.

//Lettuce.  Pretty straightforward.  Sometimes I eat green things for lunch.  Not too many though, cause holy fiber these days!

//Bulk dried mango.  This one is a treat for me.  I LOVE dessert, but it doesn’t love me back so much.  The bulk dried mango is probably one of the cheapest sources of dried mango you will find without any added sugar.  Added sugar and chemicals are usually the trap with things like Craisins and mango.  This is more like fruit leather, just cut up and dried out for a few days.

//365 Black Chia Seeds.  Chia has been this pregnant lady’s best bud as of late, but it can be super expensive.  Whole Foods has an in-house brand, which is a whopping $3 cheaper than the other brands.  Great source of soluble fiber, protein, and a little burst of energy as well.

//Fruit mixes.  This one is a pricey luxury because I wasn’t loving any of the prices on produce anywhere this week and I need fruit.  So I ate like half for dessert the other night, and brought the other half in to supplement my lunch.

//Grape Leaves.  This baby can deal with Mediterranean food for sure.  These are a great snack, and delicious!

For a grand total of about $81.  My priciest items were definitely the fruit and the chia, and I escaped without kombucha or a cookie that would have driven the bill way up randomly – so I should be set for a while, minus the more perishable things (fruit and lettuce), which I will need to make a run for next week again.

Do you have any special foods needs?  (Veg, Gluten Free Options)?

Where do you do your shopping for fruits/veggies?

 

14 Weeks

| cheriarmour

Hi!  I hope you had a great weekend.  I miss you.  Lots of fun things this week!

Baby is the size of a: Large Lemon

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain: I have gained in total, 5ish pounds, but that really fluctuates depending on what I eat/drink.

Sleep: Not as constant.  I can get through the day without a nap.  My night time sleep is usually interrupted by a bathroom break in the early hours of the morning.

Best moment this week:  Definitely more energy.  I got through a pretty good workout on Friday with Jill, and it felt good to actually do something that I can draw some strength and energy from.  I also taught another Pump on Friday morning – so I feel like some of my mom fog is lifting.

Food cravings:  Not a whole lot. I would like some pickle chips.  But they’re too hard to acquire and hard on the stomach.

Food aversions:  Cooking meat.  The smell is so appalling to me.  I feel like I can particularly smell blood in red meat, which is so scary.

Symptoms:   Just tired, and a little lazy 🙂

Looking forward to: More blogging this week.  You guys into it?

13 Weeks

12 Weeks

Returns (I guess a sorta PSA?)

| cheriarmour

There are a few things I’m wildly passionate about – kinda pet peevy things that have bugged me forever.

One is people not putting their effing shopping carts back at Harris Teeter, which I’ve mentioned before.  It’s kind of a trigger for me.  Like I wrote into the local paper about it.

The second is returns.  Or why I can’t stand the abuse of return policies.

And I think I’m sort of sensitive to this having worked pretty extensively in retail.  We have a really really generous return policy, and unfortunately. what that means is that sometimes folks really abuse the policy, and use it as an opportunity to use us a a closet.  Which totally blows for us (the retailer) because we don’t always get credit on things returned to us so we take an L.  Some of that stuff is built into the prices.  Some of it isn’t, and it drives prices up.  Not a fun place to be.

So yesterday, a person in a group I’m a part of on mentioned that they got a notice from Amazon because as a runner, they’d been ordering shoes, and sending them back, due to some issues with some foot pain and whatnot.  Which I get, but also, I understand completely where Amazon is coming from.

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Now, Amazon isn’t super transparent about what the magic number is that will get you one of those fun notices, but it seems like by communicating early and asking if everything is okay with your account, they’re sending the message that they get it, but you can’t treat them like a personal shopper.

Which I totally get. I have, we all have, been in a spot where you have to return something because it’s just not working, defective, or not what you thought it was, but when you’re staring at 4, 5, 10 returns in the span of a month, you really need to question if there’s another way you need to start going about purchases.

So I know places like Amazon, Lululemon, and REI cracking down on their return policies is so annoying, but super necessary.  And if you find yourself starting to become a chronic returner of an item, or a category of item, it may be time to switch up the game plan.

Onto happier things!

What are your favorite places with the BEST customer service?

I continue to be impressed by Amazon – I broke my Kindle, and they really were apologetic, and asked what they could do to help me fix it.  I totally ended up buying another because they were so nice to me.

FitBit – I lost the band on the Flex Twice – ended up spending MORE money because of how awesome they were to work with.

Lululemon – I checked in with one of their educators to find some good maternity stuff, and because they know their products so well, they were able to give me immediate word on what would work throughout the pregnancy.  I will spend some money there for sure!

Getting the hang of it.

| cheriarmour

So, back in November, I went again for my BodyPump certification.  I went for it like the July before I got married, in ’14,  but I let it lapse…in the hustle and bustle of us getting married, I never did my video (I did, but that’s another story), and sort of let it lapse.

[I recorded the video, and we discovered that the camera shut off midway through, and I never refilmed.]

But I went back, did the course again in November, passed, turned in my vid, passed, and started picking up a few classes here and there.

And let me tell you, even though I’ve been teaching for over 6 years at this point, that shit was/is hard. 

When I started teaching, I started with all freestyle classes.  Zumba, then I moved into Toning, and Cycle.  All things I went to trainings for and received credit, but things that really gave you the freedom to play with BPM, music, adding cardio pieces, and generally, screwing up with minimal detection from your class.  Seriously.  I actually restarted a song last night because I blanked.

[Enter Les Mills]

About two weeks ago, I had a mortifying experience with an early morning class.  The class starts at 5:45am, and due to a music disaster, and a late start, I ran into class 3 or 4 minutes late.

First (huge)  mistake.

To my horror, one of the best Pump instructors I’ve ever taken from in my life happened to be in the class.  She had started the warmup, and for that I was grateful, but immediately, I started shaking.  I’d barely had time to shower, I was late and already making a terrible impression, and suddenly, I had the feeling that I was doing to forget everything I knew.

And I did.

I blundered through every. single. track. My music was off.  My counting was off.  I forgot huge chunks.  And I was mortified.

Never, in my entire life, have I struggled so much with a format, and now, never in my life have I wanted to prove myself to myself so badly.  So, I’ve started by attending more classes (something that falls by the wayside sometimes when you’re directing a group fitness program), team teaching more, and subbing more (which exposes you to a new group that you can talk to, and if you’re really good, they’ll ask for you back when your teacher can’t be there. If you suck, you’ll hear it).  But this is hard. And in it being hard, it is 100% infuriating, since I’m strong in other formats.

All that said….how was your Monday?  What did you work out?

13 Weeks

| cheriarmour

13 Weeks

How far along:  13 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Small Peach.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain: I haven’t weighed myself at all this week.  My boobs are still huge, and I’m definitely getting more of a belly, but I really just look kinda chubby/bloated rather than pregnant.

Sleep: Constantly.  I could sleep any time of the day.  This has not changed at all, except I have to get up early like every morning to go to the bathroom.

Best moment this week:  More energy this week.  I got through all the week, except for Friday without naps.  AND we went to Ikea this week and bought some stuff for the house that we’ve definitely needed to buy since we bought the house.

Food cravings: None really.  I didn’t do any pickle chips this week, which sound awesome right now, but those require going somewhere and I’d rather sit on the couch and do stuff from here.

Food aversions:  Not really!  I’m staying away from fried stuff so my stomach doesn’t kill.

Symptoms:  A little tired, and I’ve had a few headaches this week.  Something about blood volume increasing.  I got them a lot super early on, and they went away for a little while, and they’re back.  You can’t take a whole lot other than Tylenol, so it’s just kinda living through it.

Looking forward to: Getting our Ikea stuff set up this week.

***

12 Weeks

If you want to keep moving, make it happen.

| cheriarmour

Working out this winter has been really hard for me.  I am by no means the poster child for the best worker-outer of all time.

I’ve done it, but it’s been really hard.  It’s a few things I think.  I finished the Chicago Marathon in October, which was amazing.  But once I did that, I felt a little…draggy as it pertained to my workouts.  I got them in, but didn’t really run more than 10 miles following that.

And then, before I found out I was pregnant, but was pregnant, I was really dragging.  I would go to Flywheel for a class, and sort of wonder why I wasn’t really making waves on the leaderboard.  All makes sense now…

But I’m starting to get to the point in my pregnancy where my energy is coming back. My motivation isn’t always there, and that’s annoying, but I do what I can to at least get moving, motivated by the fact that I’m teaching my baby good habits, even in the womb.  (Which is actually a thing, if you’re thinking about having kids/currently in the process of cooking one).

So yesterday, I taught my early morning BodyPump class, and fully intended to hop on the treadmill to get more steps in, but I was really lazy, and ended up picking up some email that I really needed to catch up on, and before I knew it, it was afternoon, and my brother and my husband were asking what we had around the house to eat.  I popped a lasagna in the oven, and while it cooked, I grabbed a step (like a step aerobics step), turned on a 136 bpm mix that I’d just gotten for class, and went for it for like 20ish minutes.  I didn’t run a marathon or solve the issues surrounding world hunger, but it was enough to get my heart rate slightly elevated, and keep me feeling not-crappy for not doing something to get my blood pumping.

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All that is to say…

Austin and I get some ribbing from folks, a lot of times family, when we make time while we’re at home to work out.  It doesn’t hurt our feelings obviously, but it’s one of those things that just makes you go “hm” because it seems like, for a lot of people, fitness is the first thing to go when things get messy.  Long day?  Skip the workout!  Happy hour later?  Skip the workout!  Favorite show’s coming on?  Skip the workout!

Which seems really silly when we think about the things we do not and would not skip.

We shower, brush our teeth, go for mani/pedis, go to triva Tuesdays at the wing place, never miss Keeping Up with the Kardashians.  All things that are required in some of our minds.  But we skip something as simple as marching up and down on a step for 20 minutes.  Why?

What if we bumped working out up on our priority list – made it less of a negotiable, and more of something we hate to miss?

What if we made working out, something that we wanted to happen, instead of something that we dreaded?

Need some ideas?  Check out this dope article I read and Well + Good the other day, How Busy Women Make Their Workouts Happen.

How do you find time to move?  

Do you find yourself bumping your workouts down on the priority list?