Back to the grind

Tonight’s class wasn’t too bad.  I cheated and did the 6:30 workout but went to my usual 7PM nutrition class – I’m sneaky like that.  We’re down to only 4 of us now.  Derek and I both did the 6:30 class but Michelle and Ahmad showed up expecting the 7PM class to go on as usual.  We quickly talked them out of the torture they were going to be in. 

I ended up pulling the emergency stop off twice by accident and wiping out my entire workout… grrrrr.    Talk about depressing.  Megan worked us harder than Sheila usually does but it was a good workout.  I got my butt kicked by the nutritionist because I don’t eat enough protein.  Seriously, protein at every meal?  Dunno if I can make that happen.

I’ve found I sleep better on nights that I work out.  Funny because I was worried that working out from 7-8 would keep me awake.  Great… Ben is making me watch the Devil’s Rejects.  This is gonna keep me up…

My Friday Night of Pure and Utter Torture…

The whole class at the gym thing is working out fairly well; I’ve noticed that my stamina and speed on the treadmill has improved steadily with each class.  Remember the first night where I was amazed that she made us go 30 minutes at a 2% incline?  Well now I’m able to go 3-4 minutes at either an 8% incline or a 10% incline.  I’m rather proud of myself, thankyouverymuch.  So here I am, feeling great about my level of fitness until that warm fuzzy feeling was completely and utterly destroyed on Friday night.

Our regular instructor was on vacation communing with nature or something so she told us we could either go to the 6PM class OR we could join a different class that meets at the same time as our class.  I wasn’t able to make the 6PM class with Senorita Drill Sergeant so I opted for the 7PM Team Fitness class.  Luckily, my buddy Derek from the 7PM class was there with me so I didn’t have to go it alone.

Turns out that the same woman who does the 6PM class is the trainer for the 7PM Team Fitness class.  I knew I was in trouble when the first thing she made us do were crunches – lots of them.  Regular, bicycle, twisting – and I couldn’t do any of them because it required me to be on my back, a no-go.  What’s her solution for me?  PLANKS.  Timed planks.  Imagine my arms wobbling, butt trying to creep in the air, and all the blood being out of my toes and it still wasn’t long enough for her.  From there the rest of the class (and me) did – guess what? – MORE planks.  We even did Superman planks – regular plank followed by lifting the left arm and right leg, then right arm and left leg.  Repeat.  My stomach muscles still hate me this morning.

Then we moved on to the resistance machines.  It was essentially a speed workout.  We paired up with a partner (Derek and I stuck together on this one) and split the use of 2 machines.  If Derek was doing the tricep machine then I was using the glute machine.  We did three full rotations but each set only lasted 45 seconds with 30 seconds inbetween to switch.  We got 1 minute to travel between stations but it was craziness.  I couldn’t figure out why I was so overheated and pink.  When I started to feel nauseous I said that enough was enough and told the trainer that there was no way I could continue.  She told me that this class focused on Level 4 – essentially working at your anaerobic threshold (AT). 

What?  I was *supposed* to feel that way?  Didn’t sound safe to me so I hopped on the closest treadmill (oohh.. it was padded!) and finished the last 30 minutes of the class varying between 2.9 and 3.6 speed and between 4% and 6% incline. 

Derek was a trooper and made it through the entire class but said that he would be joining me on Monday for the 6PM Team Weight Loss class.  He was sore immediately after finishing the class.  I am STILL sore this morning; I couldn’t even put dishes away on the top shelf this weekend because my upper body is so beat up 😦 

I’m going to do the 6:00PM class with Drill Sergeant woman tonight but arrive in time for the treadmill portion and go to my normal 7PM nutrition class.  Thank goodness it’s only 1/2 an hour with her tonight.  I miss Sheila.

We’ve hit Week 13…

So Week 13 isn’t all that much different for me from Week 12 except that I can finally eat a full meal about once every 3 days instead of just picking at my food.  The meat aftertaste is still there so I’ve been subsisting on Apple Jacks, Raisin Bran, and grilled cheese – all meatless.  I tried some orange pork at Ben’s parents house yesterday and had 2 small pieces so hopefully it’s getting better. 

I can actually stay awake through an entire football game now! I was able to watch the Steelers/Bengals game in its entirety.  I did, however, still fall asleep during last night’s Tampa Bay/Seahawks matchup but I think it’s because I got up at 5:45AM.  At least that’s the excuse I’m using.

This getting up in the middle of the night thing is starting to get old although it *has* motivated me to keep the bedroom floor clean.  There’s nothing worse than stumbling into a pile of clothes that you need to throw in the washer -or worse yet – stepping directly on a piece of half chewed rawhide while you’re trying to make your way to the bathroom in the utter darkness.  I may have to get Ben to trade me bathrooms (and sides of the bed!) until after the baby gets here to make my life easier.  Yeah right – I have as much chance of that happening as climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro.

Here’s what’s happening with baby this week…

~~This is the last week of your first trimester and your baby weighs 14 to 20 grams. The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 2.6 to 3.1 inches. Your baby is now about the size of a peach. Fetal growth is amazing from now through about the 24th week of pregnancy.~~

~~Tissue that will form your baby’s bones is being laid down, especially around the head and limbs. The nose and chin are becoming more prominent. Your baby’s eyelids meet and fuse together and they will not open again for nearly four months. The eyes started out on the side of your baby’s head and they are now moving closer together on the face. The ears come to lie in their normal position on the sides of the head. The sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gums, and vocal cords are beginning to form.~~

I’m not sure if I’m ready for this ‘amazing fetal growth’ through week 24, but we’ll take it as it comes.  I’m still fitting comfortably into my work clothes (thank goodness) but will probably weed through my closet this weekend trying on stuff.  I need to do it anyways since fall is (finally!) here.  Time to put away all the capri pants *sigh*.  Hopefully I will be able to fit into them next spring… wishful thinking.

 

 

Just a gut feeling…

I know that I have a 50-50 chance of getting this right, but I have this feeling that we’re having a boy.  Don’t buy the blue stuff yet… we’ll have to wait until early December to find out.  What a perfect Christmas gift, eh?  As GI Joe says, “Knowing is half the battle!”

12 Week Milestone

Wow!  It seems like this is going so quickly!  I actually had to break down and buy my first pair of maternity jeans this weekend.  Mine were getting just a little too uncomfortable.  Luckily, I lost some weight before purchasing the majority of my work clothes so those should be good to go for a few more weeks (or months?) at least.

Most of my first trimester symptoms have now completely disappeared except that I’m still having problems eating a full meal.  Also, a new weird thing is that all meat (fish, pork, beef) has a weird aftertaste for me.  I’m learning to get by without it or just a few bites but it’s definitely a strange new development.  Ben is getting more understanding about me not eating his cooking – I blame it on the baby.

Shiloh (our Australian Shepherd) is getting more and more clingy and wants to be with me all the time.  Hopefully she’ll understand why I won’t be spending more time with her when the baby gets here – oi yoi yoi… I’m  not looking forward to it.

Anyways – here’s what’s going on with baby:

 ~~ Your baby’s crown-to-rump length is almost 2.5 inches and she now weighs between 8 and 14 grams! In just three weeks, your baby’s size has more than doubled and begins to look a lot more human. Even though you won’t be able to feel your baby moving at this time, you can stimulate him and he will squint, open his mouth and move his fingers or toes. ~~

~~By the end of this week, your uterus is too large to remain completely in your pelvis. You might be able to feel your uterus above your pubic bone. The uterus will continue to grow throughout your pregnancy and will return to its usual size within a few weeks after delivery.~~

No wonder I needed new jeans.  More baby news to come next week…

Team Weight Loss – Night 1

So yeah… I joined this Team Weight Loss system at my local gym hoping to get more in shape before having the baby.  What I didn’t realize is that there’s a pretty decent nutrition component to it as well.  We get 1/2 hour with a nutritionist every week in addition to our managed workouts.  In essence, I’m getting my own personalized nutrition plan for what exactly I’m supposed to eat (ex: X starches, X fats, X proteins) per meal so that I can eat healthily (is healthily a word?) throughout the second trimester.  The best part?  There’s only SIX people in my class so we’re getting near one-on-one training and attention

With all that good stuff said, here’s what happened the first night:

30 minutes learning about what’s going to happen with the program, going through all the paperwork, reviewing homework (who said anything about HOMEWORK?).

Remaining 30 minutes spent on the treadmills for our ‘endurance test.’  Essentially, they wanted to see our base fitness level so we had to walk (or run) on the treadmills at 2% incline for 30 minutes.  At the end of that time Sheila checked the distance that we covered so that we can compare it in weeks 6 and 12. 

Wednesday’s class involves weigh-in (oh no!) and measurements which I think include our body fat.  I’m betting that I’m the only participant in this class whose waist measurement is going to INCREASE instead of decrease 🙂  We’ll work on cardio and strength training for Wednesday and Friday.

Week 11…

This week I just *feel* bigger.  In fact, I’m going shopping this weekend because I’m kind of ‘inbetween’ my regular pants and not quite ready to take the step for maternity pants at only 12 weeks!  My shirts seem to be too short which is weird.  Maybe I’m shrinking them in the washer but I don’t think so.  I’ll definitely be looking for longer t-shirts and shirts I can wear to work.

Also, I’m getting full in 5 minutes.  Ben made a great dinner last night and I was only able to eat 4 or 5 bites before I was just absolutely done.  Poor guy – I think I hurt his feelings but I can’t help not being hungry and/or can’t eat any more. 

Tenderness and the nausea seems to have subsided for now but it flares up whenever we drive past a Chinese restaurant.  I get weird pains every now and again but Dr. Goist tells me it could be from round ligament pain – just the uterus growing and shoving things out of the way.

Here’s what’s going on with baby: Your baby continues to grow and is now approximately the size of a large lime! The crown-to-rump length of your developing child is 1.75 to 2.4 inches. The weight of the fetus is approximately 8 grams at this point. The growth of your baby is phenomenal now and your baby’s length will double in the next three weeks.

This is the last week of the embryonic period. From now on, your baby will be called a fetus. Your baby’s fingernails appear this week! External genitalia are beginning to show distinguishing features and the development of male or female will be complete in three weeks. The placenta‘s blood vessels increase to provide your baby with the nutrients and oxygen he needs for continued growth. Your baby’s ears are gradually moving from the neck towards the sides of his head. Inside of your baby’s abdomen, the intestines are developing. Because the intestines are so large, some of them project into the umbilical cord and they will return to the abdomen within the next week or two.

Say hello to my little friend

Here’s our very first ultrasound picture taken at 10 weeks, 2 days.  Our first appointment went well – Dr. Goist was able to answer all of our questions and even made some suggestions – one of which is to get more exercise.  She told me that she would be okay if I actually *lost* weight while I was pregnant as long as the baby is developing how it should week by week.  That’s what encouraged me to sign up for Team Weight Loss at the gym.

I’ll keep posting how I’m feeling week-by-week… new things are popping up all the time.

Fitness & Baby Drama…

So I’m getting ready to hit the second trimester of my pregnancy and realized that I need to do something about my fitness, my nutrition, and essentially getting off my ass.  I figured that I could either try to do it myself (like that has worked oh-so-many times before) or I could finally admit that I can’t do it alone and ask for help.

Enter Sheila, my personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness.  Ben and I got a free training session with her when we first joined a few months ago and she put together a pretty easy-to-get-into program for us where we could work out together.  Seriously – it included throwing medicine balls at each other!  Ben got mad when I accidentally threw it at his head once.

 She had initially approached me about Team Weight Loss, a 12 week program where you set a weight loss goal and then with the help and motivation of a personal trainer, a nutritionist, and 12 – 15 other people who are in the same boat as you, actually achieve those goals.  Typically, participants set a weight loss goal of X pounds and Y body fat % that they want to lose in those 12 weeks.  However, since I’m pregnant and technically should be *gaining* weight instead of losing it, they’re going to base my reward (returning a $150 joining fee) on attendance instead of weight loss or fat loss %.  

I’m hoping that this is the key that will motivate me to go to the gym every M-W-F night at 7PM.  Oh yeah – did I mention that there is another pregnant woman who will be in my class?  I’m hoping it will be an instant pregnancy friend.

Anyways, expect to see weekly updates on my progress.  I think we weigh in weekly or something.  I’ll also post baby updates as they occur.  I should probably post the first sonagram picture that we got from 10w2d.