Pregnancy Week 37: Swingin'

I really wasn't feeling it this morning with the whole "exercise" thing (LOL) and was in the middle of planning a strength session when I decided to just start swinging the KB. I was thinking on Tuesday that I hadn't swung the KB in a while, and how good it would be for me to do some swings. Well, as it is with most things that are worth doing, it took me a few seconds to get into the flow, and then realized that it felt so good that I wanted to continue! This is what I did:

Activity:
High volume KB swings with 10 kg: 2 x 500 using various two- and one-handed swing variations
Side planks advanced position 8 x 20 each side

I had a midwife appointment today. Looks like the Cheat Desserts I've been having entirely too frequently this week have helped me move the scale! I weighed in a 122.6 pounds (gained about 1 pound since last week! ha!) and my fundus measured 35 cm (I can't believe how much my uterus/the baby has grown in the last week!). The baby is still low in my pelvis, and I am 2 cm dilated.

Lunch:
Medium spinach salad with green and red bell peppers, cucumber, olive oil & balsamic vinegar
1 scrambled egg
1 orange
1 GF paleo chocolate chip raisin scone (with organic ground flaxseed and chia seed substituted for 1/2 C almond flour)

Snack:
2 See's candies Milk Chocolate Cal Brittle

Cheat Dinner with parents, Adam and Asher at Gustav's Pub and Grille
Appetizer sampler: I had 2 crab cakes, some rye bread w cheese fondue, and 1/4 potato pancake
NY Grilled Salmon with sweet potato and beets: I had one of the two salmon pieces, all of the beets, most of the potato and some of Adam's fries. I also ate his dill pickle half.

Fluid:
7 cups water

Pregnancy Week 37: Active Rest

Pregnancy insomnia continues...I was up at 4, seemingly wide awake, but then pretty much crashed at 6 a.m., when my alarm went off to get up for this morning's workout. Well, I nixed that idea, went back to bed, and was happy that I got a few more minutes of sleep. I was able to get a little workout in later on in the day, but let me just say, for the record, that I am pretty much done with this pregnancy gig. I know, I know. Most women carry their babies until 40 weeks (40 WEEKS!!!) and I've got nothing to complain about, since I've been feeling great for the most part and have been blessed to be able to continue with exercise.

Activity:
2 rounds of modified Shoulder smoker with 10 kg: Clean, then Military press descending ladder R/L 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
Planks 5 x 1 minute
1 hour walk with Asher in double stroller

Breakfast (again, no appetite, couldn't figure out what I wanted to eat):
1 banana
1 plum

Morning snack (since breakfast was obviously lacking in quantity and culinary interest!):
Handful Roasted Mixed nuts

Lunch (3 p.m.):
3 sunnyside up Omega 3 eggs with 2 handfuls sauteed organic baby spinach, 2 spoonfuls salsa, 1/2 avocado
2 handfuls Organic Dark Chocolate chips

Afternoon snack:
2 slices Organic Fuji apple

I took a nap for an hour at 8:30, then was a little hungry, so had "dinner":

Dinner (10 p.m.): Bowl of leftover fish soup
The corn tortilla chips were calling me (they've been calling me ever since we got them on Sunday for our Superbowl Cheat meal! My staple used to be chips and salsa, but I have only had that once this entire pregnancy, last Sunday being the first time, since corn is not on the Paleo approved list). The opened bag is still sitting on the countertop in full view. I had entirely too much....used it to scoop avocado so I could start feeling "full". On Sunday, when I had chips for the first time this pregnancy, my fingers got slightly puffy. Thanks to the Paleo diet, I haven't had any puffiness or swelling during this pregnancy, so it was really a difference after I ate those corn chips! Just waiting for the puffy fingers to strike again now! I tried to salvage the poor nutritional content of the meal (just the massive amount of corn chips I ate...the Fish soup was Paleo all the way), I had 8 ounces of Monavie w/ glucosamine, hoping the antioxidant benefits of the various berries in the juice would redeem me somehow. I am feeling very full right now and a little sick....who's betting that labor will start tonight of all nights?! I have since hidden the chips....

Fluid:
7 cups water

Pregnancy Week 37: RKC Snatch Test

Welcome to Full-Term Pregnancy! I am officially 37 weeks pregnant today, which means that if I were to go into labor at any time from now on, nothing would be done to stop it! I mentioned previously that Asher was born at 37.5 weeks. This new little one will likely be making an appearance sooner rather than later as well.

Since I may not be pregnant anymore come Tuesday (my snatch workout day), I decided to do snatches today. The particular workout is the Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) Snatch Test. At certification, each candidate must snatch a KB of designated weight (corresponding to the candidate's bodyweight) 100 times within a five minute time period. Multiple hand switches are allowed, as is putting down the bell. As with my first pregnancy, being able to complete this snatch test near the end of the pregnancy was particularly important to me. I am very blessed to be able to attempt it today:



Activity:
Five minute RKC snatch test (10 kg). I chose to do 20/20/20/20/10/10 R/L. In Feb 2010, I recertified, completing the snatch test with the 12 kg in 3:22. Today, I misspoke at the end of the video saying how much time I had left. I think I got my snatches done within 4 minutes...

Breakfast:
2 sunnyside up Omega 3 eggs w/ 1/2 avocado
2 GF paleo chocolate chip raisin scones (We got our first shipment of Honeyville Almond Flour, so I baked a double batch of the scones...compared to Bob's Red Mill almond flour, Honeyville is more fine, and has an aftertaste of sweet almond extract, very light), fresh from the oven!

Lunch (3:30 p.m.):
Cheat lunch at Red Robin Restaurant. I was having mild contractions at the time and didn't feel up to eating my usual (Bonzai burger). I had the soup/sandwich combo of New England Clam Chowder (cup) and BBQ chicken wrap (without Ranch dressing). I also had a few of Adam's steak fries with ketchup and a few slices of apple that came with Asher's meal. Water. Contractions continued throughout lunch.

Evening snack (not hungry):
10 blueberries

Fluid:
7 cups water

Pregnancy Week 34: Solo Run

I used to love running in the rain. Well, running in any weather condition was fun, but running in the rain was particularly wonderful. Then I got Priya and running in the rain wasn't as fun. Priya had a habit of running in front of me. This allowed her to kick back dirty rain water on my legs; fun for her, not so fun for me. And then, I got to "remember" our run throughout the day as the house would smell like wet dog... Now Odin likes to run out to the side with occasional lunges in towards my legs to wipe his wet, muddy underbelly off on my running tights. Sometimes we'll make it through an entire run only to have him rub on my legs at the very end and completely soak my tights with muddy doggy-smelling water. Thanks, guys. When we bring Asher into the picture, it's really just the fact that the poor kid gets wet while buckled into a stroller. We don't have the rain cover, nor do I feel like spending the money to purchase one anytime soon (though, living in the Pacific Northwest, I would be smart to do so, wouldn't I?!). I usually dress him in a water-repellent jacket and pants, cover him with his quilt, and keep the sun/wind canopy down as far as it will go. Once the poor kid's face was all wet by the end of our run... Needless to say, I try to avoid running in the rain when I don't have anyone to watch him. So, I was glad to have my parents' help with Asher while I ran...in the rain! It was great!

Activity:
2.0 mile run on 0.5 mile hilly loop (2 laps clockwise, 2 laps counterclockwise)

Breakfast:
(pre-run) 1 GF paleo Chocolate chip raisin scone
3/4 banana

Lunch:
cheat lunch with parents at McGrath's (my first time!)
Halibut fish and chips w/ ketchup
Garden salad, no dressing
Asher's bowl of New England style clam chowder
2 coconut prawns
2 chunks of carrots from Asher's seasoned vegetable side selection
2 pieces of See's candies (I love samples!)

Evening snack: (I wasn't hungry 7 hours later at dinnertime)
1 Ruby grapefruit
1 banana w/ almond butter

Fluid:
7 cups water

Pregnancy Week 28: Unplanned Rest Day & Cheat Meal

I intended to do a strengthening workout with kettlebells this morning, but went to sleep way too late and woke multiple times during the night thinking that I had been awake the entire time... Pregnancy sleep is, oftentimes, an oxymoron!

Activity: Rest Day

Breakfast: 2 sunnyside up Omega-3 eggs w/ 1/2 avocado and 1/2 tomato
4 ounces Monavie w/ glucosamine

Lunch: Leftover Salmon chowder and brussels sprouts
1 slice Pumelo
2 squares Hershey's Intense Dark chocolate 72%

Dinner: Unplanned cheat meal!
My parents treated Asher and me to dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, thinking that the description of the entree would fit the Paleo diet. I thought I was ordering a filet with a side of salad, miso soup and rice (I planned to pass on the soup and rice).....but I got something entirely different! My entree was sea bass covered in some sort of creamy crabmeat/fish balls mixture on top of a few stalks of asparagus on a bed of white sushi rice w/ seaweed. There was decorative creamy-something all over the plate as well (those who know me know that I am not a "creamy-food" person: for example, I don't like Ranch dressing, mayonnaise, or alfredo sauce, so you can imagine how I felt when I saw the entree!). Artistic, but not what I had envisioned based on the menu description! After some internal wrestling over consuming this meal, I decided to make things easier for everyone, especially after the hectic day we'd all had, and eat the darn thing. Dad gave me his grilled salmon and one slice of steak also.
*****
Initially, when I started the Paleo diet, it was to support Adam in his quest to become healthier, feel, look and function better. I didn't think gluten made me feel badly and I loved pasta, bread, and cheese! After two weeks of eating Paleo, I remember claiming that I felt no different. However, after every cheat meal (we've had 4 so far...5 including today), I am reminded how different I actually do feel when I eat Paleo-style! I can stuff myself (stomach space is prime real estate in this pregnant mama!)--thought it doesn't take much these days--with Paleo-type foods and not feel uncomfortably full, bloated, gassy. At the end of a Paleo-meal, I just find that I'm not hungry anymore. Contrast that with how I feel after I eat grains or dairy....bloated, painfully full, and gassy! (I used to think being bloated at the end of the workday was typical and something to be expected, so prior to eating Paleo, I thought my sensations were all normal!) It's amazing how we can trudge along day by day doing the same things we've always done and claim that we feel "fine", not knowing that if we were to tweak things here and there, or try something totally different, we might discover how much better we might feel, look and function! I'm sticking with this Paleo thing!!

Pregnancy Week 25: KB strengthening

Activity:

Bodyweight Pullups (wide and narrow grip) 4x4

Followed by 10 cycles of the following:
KB Swings (14 kg) x 60
Bodyweight Sideplanks (advanced position) x 18

Today was my first appointment with a midwife; I recently changed my prenatal care provider from an OB group to a midwifery group that offers waterbirths at a hospital. I weighed in at 120.2 pounds (up from 107 pounds pre-pregnancy, and 116 pounds at my last appointment 6 weeks ago).

After the appointment, Adam and I caught the second showing of the latest Harry Potter movie (it was great, as you might expect), and then joined my parents for a dim sum lunch to welcome some traveling distant family members. Yes, my weekly cheat meal came a day early, and I made the most of it!

Breakfast:
2 sunnyside up Omega 3 eggs w/ 1/4 avocado
1 slice gluten-free Cranberry pecan bread

Lunch (the cheat meal):
various dim sum items chock full of gluten, also some Chinese broccoli
1 gluten free Cranberry pecan chocolate chip cookie

Dinner:
Vegetable & Sausage stirfry: napa cabbage, yellow and red bell peppers, Chicken and Apple sausage
1 Fuyu persimmon
8 ounces Monavie w/ glucosamine (that's the only "juice" we have in the house, and the pregnant lady wanted juice!)

Fluid:
7 cups water

Pregnancy Week 25: Stroller Run

I felt low on motivation this morning (maybe it was the Chipotle's vegetarian burrito bowl and chips I had for the weekly cheat meal last night, maybe it was from the lack of sleep), but somehow managed to get my morning going...and the rest of the day was great!

Activity:
40 min run with Asher in jogging stroller, light rain, mostly flat though I ran up every incline I could find!

Breakfast:
my mild aversion to vegetables has been lifted....yay!
Large bowl Vitamix drink (1 carrot, 2 handfuls baby spinach, 1 honeycrisp apple, 2.5 bananas, 6 Tbsp organic golden ground flaxseed, 2 Tbsp chia seed, 1 C coconut milk)

Lunch:
2 sunnyside up Omega 3 eggs w/ 1/2 avocado
1 Fuyu persimmon

Dinner:
2 C roasted brussels sprouts (salt, pepper, dried dill, dried basil, olive oil; 350 degrees for 30 minutes)
"some" (very little...maybe 7 slices) thin sliced Tri tip cut beef, cooked under low temperature w/ coconut oil

Fluid:
6 cups water