Yikes, has it really been 4 months since I posted a blog? I’m afraid to say it, but yes, it’s true. I’ve had to take a bit of a personal hiatus from most things social-social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blogging), being social outside of the house, in addition to a break in my sports nutrition business. It’s not because I got tired of it or needed a break. The opposite is true. I’ve missed being me and providing helpful sports nutrition tips and recipes.
I’ve always prided myself on being a type A person, a go getter, a “nothings going to stop me” kind of person. But I’ve found the one thing that stopped me. It wasn’t that I was too busy, it wasn’t that I was recovering from another hamstring surgery, it was…I’m pregnant! And boy, do I have a whole new respect for mothers and pregnancy. This has been a rough ride. I am now 17.5 weeks pregnant (due the week of Christmas), so almost half way. I thought I was going to be one of the lucky 25% who didn’t get morning sickness since I thought it started before 8 weeks. The joke was on me though. Mine started at 8 weeks and lasted through 16 weeks. Longer than some, but shorter than others. And don’t get me started on the word “morning” sickness. Mornings only would have been a blessing.
I detest complaining and boy do I feel like I have been complaining a lot lately. Waaa, I don’t feel well, I’m nauseous, I’m going to vomit. And so on. Since I work from home, it’s mostly my dogs who hear it. Brett’s been traveling a lot for work, so in a way, he got to miss out on a lot of my bad days. Lucky guy!
But this past week I have seemed to turn a page with nausea and fatigue, so I’m looking forward to feeling a bit more normal again, in addition to eating more than just watermelon, cheese and crackers. Seriously. I have been eating a whole watermelon every few days (just myself). It’s one of the only foods that tasted good and didn’t upset my stomach. I’m also looking forward to making new and delicious recipes. Another benefit for Brett is that he was gone so much that he didn’t have to suffer with making his own dinner of plain pasta or frozen pizza. Though writing that, he enjoys those. For someone who truly loves making new recipes and cooking, It has been strange to not even be able to handle the thought of food.
Thankfully, as I mentioned, the nausea has seemed to pass. I’m getting back to normal and while the fatigue is still there, it’s not too bad. So I’m planning on getting back to regular blogging and I’m looking forward to sharing an athlete’s perspective on being pregnant. For men, women who have kids, women who never want to have kids or anyone not interested, I apologize now. I will still be doing general sports nutrition as well, however my main reason for starting this blog was to help others suffering with challenging athletic injuries and to outline my journey back to help others. Along those same lines, if I can help a pregnant athlete to feel more comfortable with being pregnant, I’m excited about that. I had so many questions that I wish I had answers too. Mostly on what I was feeling, what I could really do athletically, how to not hurt myself or the baby, etc. Thankfully I have a wonderful OBGYN who was a former Div1 runner. I chose her partly for that reason.
I am by no means an expert in pregnancy. This is baby #1 and I’ve only been at this for 17.5 weeks. One thing I’ve learned is that everyone is different and not one pregnancy seems to be the same. That’s ok. My hope is to share my experiences (good or bad), my learning as I go and maybe some funny stories too. I’ll never claim to have all the answers, but it’s bound to be a fun and wild ride. I’m still training, though that will be several other blog articles. Here’s my first public pregnancy pic: (We haven’t shared on other social media we’re pregnant yet)
(This pic was a few days ago after I had to buy a new swim suit-I sized up one size).
Unfortunately I don’t have a before swim suit pic, though I can tell you I’m bigger. Brett’s fascinated with my new stomach and likes to poke it and laugh as I walk by. Kind of like the dough boy poking his stomach and giggling. Though Brett’s giggling 🙂
Similar to sports nutrition, there are many different views on pregnancy and athletics or pregnancy and weight. Having had an eating disorder part of my goal as a sports nutritionist has always been to help prevent eating disorders and to teach healthy views around food and exercise. I have to admit that the thought of gaining weight and not being able to lose it was kind of scary. That’s one thing I’ll cover. Another big issue that bothers me is so called fitness experts and bloggers who seem more concerned with not gaining any baby weight or as soon as they have their baby their proudly exclaim 1 week later that they are back to normal weight. Of course that’s great, but remember, we’re/you’re growing a human life. This isn’t all about us now. It’s about them too.
I’m excited to share my experiences (hear some of yours), some current research, some nutrition and of course to keep sharing some sports nutrition research as well. It’s already been quite a journey and I’m looking forward to what’s coming next.
Fueled and Focused 