I promise-- I will blog regularly when I'm running again. The other day, I actually sat down and made out my workout schedule for after this baby arrives, and it made me feel so much better about life. Having that little sheet of paper with a plan written out helped me feel like I was still doing something, even though, technically, I'm not really doing anything (other than, you know, growing a human).
The doing nothing-ness was weighing on me. But I was so tired, and my body just felt heavy. I was irritable. Grumpy. My body hurt, and my brain felt cloudy. Ugh, pregnancy, right?
So the husband came home from work last week, the chitluns were in bed, and we decided to watch something on Netflix. Unable to find something that wasn't depressing/raunchy/violent, we settled on Forks Over Knives, which I'd wanted to watch for a while.
Not the best thing to watch after you've just gone grocery shopping.
The husband and I have been pretty good eaters. For a while, I was even vegetarian, and gave it up when I ran into complications with my first pregnancy, attributing it to the lack of protein. I've gone for long spurts of no sugar, and then gone back to sugar, and then off, and then back-- and I know I feel better when I'm not eating it, but I used pregnancy as an excuse. I'm so uncomfortable and giant anyway, why not, right? It's one of those life pleasures that I can still enjoy when so much else is taken off the table (like running. Or wearing clothing that fits and doesn't make me feel like a sack of fabric). The husband has a degree in Exercise Science, and he was in the process of applying for graduate school in Health and Psychology of Physical Activity. We ate only whole grains, lots of fruits and veggies, no trans fats or corn syrup. Doing pretty well.
But then we learned about The China Study.
And there went dairy. And meat.
As soon as the movie was over, I looked over at the husband and said, "Well, that's that. Let's do this." We both knew we needed a boost, something to get us back to eating what and how we knew we should. We'd gotten lazy with both of us working and never seeing each other, having two toddlers, and my pregnancy. So the next day, we stocked up on almond milk, more fruits and veggies, and beans, hoping to stick to the information we were reminded of regarding the benefits of sticking to a whole foods, plant based diet.
I had some anxiety. I knew the first three days after giving up sugar are the hardest, and I had become pretty dependent on my chocolate fix. But it was actually surprisingly easy. I noticed a difference after the first day-- I felt satiated longer, my mood was better, and while I still was sleepy at the end of the day, I didn't feel heavy. I didn't feel cloudy. I didn't run out of patience at bed time.
My joints even felt better.
I have been so surprised by how much better I feel over all. Prone to depression and anxiety, which seems to heighten with pregnancy hormones, I feel a lot like I've taken a Prozac-- I just feel level, normal, better able to see the happy. The stress is gone. The irritability is gone. The desire to slap someone is gone.
I feel awesome.
I'd heard from fellow runners that giving up dairy has done wonders for their performance, and I was considering doing it for that reason. Since I'm not able to run right now, it seemed silly to do it until after the baby is born. But if I had known that making this change was going to be such a boost to my mood, I would have done it long ago. Sticking to eating this way has proven so far to be very easy, because I'm so motivated to keep feeling this great. Thirty-four weeks pregnant and feeling great? Yes, please.
My concerns about the kids were that they would not adjust well to eating this way. We haven't been terrible with what they eat, but they do like their cheese and yogurt. The almost-three-year-old also drank his weight in milk every day, which was pretty much his only intake. But they have actually done so well with the transition-- they eat the stuff we're eating, and they love it. I made a giant salad, and actually thought, "There is now way I'm going to be able to eat all of this." It worked out well, though, because my little birds were at my feet, begging for another bite. SALAD.
It's wonderful.
I have also made these a couple times, and they've been a hit with the chitluns (and the adults-- a batch doesn't last a day in our house). Easy peasy, and so great to just grab and go!
No Bake Peanut Butter Balls
2 C raw oats
3/4 C peanut butter (all natural-- we also used almond butter in a batch, and SO YUMMY)
1/4 C honey
1/4 C flaxseed
1 t vanilla
1 C craisins (or chocolate chips, or raisins, or nuts, or whatever you want)
Mix all together in a bowl. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes to harden. Mold mixture into balls. Ready to eat right away!
Love it. I'm feeling good about all of this.
Ahhhhh.
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