a fit and healthy pregnancy.

joe and i had a great conversation last night about our health and fitness. we are both feeling pretty icky lately. our eating habits haven't been great and we haven't made an active lifestyle a priority. this has led to us having even less energy and just wanting to hunker down and watch tv on the couch after long days at work and running after our active little boy.

after we had bennett, we were both motivated to lose the baby weight (yes, dads gain weight during pregnancy too!). using weight watchers online and being more active, we both lost quite a bit of weight and got to a place where we were both feeling pretty good.

in south carolina this past spring

then we moved. and i got pregnant again. and things just haven't been on a great trajectory for us lately, weight-wise.

naturally i have to gain some weight with pregnancy, but considering i'm not small to begin with, i certainly don't need to gain a ton. with bennett i gained about 40 pounds total, but i had lost 20 of those pounds by the time i got home from the hospital. i retained a lot of fluid toward the end of pregnancy thanks to the the 100+ degree heat we had that summer.

i started this pregnancy about 8-10 lbs less than i weighed when i got pregnant with ben. so far with this pregnancy i think i've gained about 12 lbs (i'm 17 weeks).

i don't remember exactly what my weight was to begin with, but i think this is a close estimate. during my first trimester i honestly ate whatever i could possibly stomach the thought of. most days it was carbs, carbs and more carbs. veggies and fruits sounded repulsive to me. looking back i'm sure i could've done a better job with portions, but honestly i was just trying to get through the day most days.

now that i'm feeling a lot better and have [at least some] more energy, i'm ready to focus more on healthy eating and exercise. talking about it with joe and hearing that he's wanting to make these things more of a priority as well really got me excited. it helps so much when we're both working toward the same goal. we can keep each other motivated and support each other when we're feeling discouraged. we also talked about how we want to set a good example for ben when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. we're both all about moderation and balance, a good mix of making healthy choices and enjoying splurges. we want bennett to learn that, too, so we need to be better about practicing what we preach now while he's little.

i'm going to start cooking more and focusing on healthier recipes. i have historically done a good job of choosing "lighter" options and making healthy substitutes like using low fat ingredients in place of full fat, bulking up dishes with veggies, etc. more recently, though, i admit i haven't been as intentional about that. i enjoy cooking, trying new recipes and finding ways to make our favorite foods healthier. i'm never going to be satisfied eating grilled chicken and plain vegetables every night.

joe's going to cut back on sweets/afternoon treats and start eating breakfast again. he often skips breakfast, and when he's out of the habit he just simply doesn't feel hungry in the morning. but then he reaches the mid-afternoon slump and hits the gas station or drive-thru to help make it through the rest of the day. he has noticed that when he's consistently eating breakfast, he has more energy and doesn't fall victim to the afternoon snack trap quite as easily.

we're both going to make exercise a priority. whether it's bundling bennett up in the stroller and getting out for a fast-paced evening walk, throwing in a workout dvd, or hitting the gym, we decided we're going to make the time and support each other. i have summer sanders' prenatal fitness dvd and just ordered a prenatal barre workout dvd to try. also, we are thinking about joining the shoreview community center, which is less than a mile from our house. joe can stop after work and get in 30 minutes of shooting hoops or jogging on the treadmill. when i start staying home, i can take bennett to the nursery there while i get in a workout, or we can go splash around at the pool together, etc. when joe and i have been gym members in the past it's been so far from our house and it eventually just became a pain to make it there regularly. the convenience of being within walking distance to the community center will [hopefully] leave us with few excuses to make it work.

my goal is to keep my weight gain to about 25 lbs. this time around. my body may have other ideas, but i think it's realistic (and within the healthy range determined by my OB). i'm close to the halfway mark in my pregnancy and i'm about at the halfway mark to 25 lbs.