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28 weeks preggo! Total Weight Gained: (-2 lbs) |
To be honest, I haven't had much time to spend with God lately, nor do my daily Bible study and I'm really feeling the effects of it. I woke up feeling discouraged about the destination I'm trying to reach (you'll read more about that below) but this morning, a friend posted the following quote on Facebook:
You may think you’re on a detour, but God knows the best way for you to reach your destination.
— Barbara Johnson
*Sigh* Thank you, God, for your little love note to me today! :) I needed that.
FOOD/FITNESS
Ah yes, here we are. The "meat and potatoes" (pun intended) of my burden right now.
I've been meaning to update my page titled "The Endo Diet" and promise to get around to it very soon. When I started this blog, I didn't realize how deep my rabbit hole was going to go and how much it would evolve. Therefore, I'm going to change the name of that page to something about the evolution of my diet. Here's your first weigh in readers: What's a good name for that page?
When I got pregnant this past October, I was seeing a Naturopathic Dr to try to help me with my issues of keeping my Endometriosis and PCOS in check via supplements and my diet. During that time, I developed Gestational Diabetes (for the 2nd time). For reasons I won't get into, I left that practice and God led me to an amazing Kinesiologist, who's prices were similar to what I was used to paying AND he was closer in location to me! Score!
Before I get into what happened at my initial appointment, I need to stop and tell you that my focus of my health changed here. There was some concern amongst my Dr's that I'm just starting my 3rd trimester and have put on NO weight. (In fact, I'm down 2-3 lbs from when I first got pregnant). I have also developed Anemia. Lastly, I discovered Hypnobirthing again and Waterbirth. (Click on the links to learn more about each). The more I learned, the more I knew that I wanted THAT kind of birth! There are so many benefits to each one! One problem... you must be a low-risk pregnancy (meaning, my G.S. had to be under control) to qualify for a waterbirth. Also, my OBGYN doesn't do them. I would have to switch clinics and see a midwife & deliver at a hospital that was twice as far from my house. But, I knew in my heart that I wanted a waterbirth, so I took the plunge. I saw the Kinesiologist & had my records transferred to the midwife clinic.
The Kinesiologist
One thing that really bothered me about the Naturopathic Dr was that he never did any sort of testing on me to see how my body was reacting to the supplements that he was giving me (which were expensive!) I was peeing neon yellow (which told me my body wasn't absorbing everything) and was developing kidney stones (painful!), among just feeling overall run down (I attributed it to the pregnancy).
One of the first things the Kinesiologist does is "test" you for certain things. It was amazing to watch him do this! First, he adjusted me (he's a Chiropractor, too) to make sure everything was in alignment. He had me hold my right arm straight out at a 90 degree angle and told me to not let him push it down, which I did - he was unable to push it down. Then one-by-one, he had me hold the bottle of the supplement I was taking and again asked me to not let him push my arm down. And one-by-one, my arm was easily pushed down. I think there were maybe 2 supplements where he couldn't push my arm down. The reason I was feeling so crappy on the Naturopathic Dr's supplements? My body was rejecting them!
This testing continued with different forms of bottles of things: gluten, dairy, soy, corn, sugar, beef, etc. I was shocked at the results! There were a few things that I wasn't surprised about: I have a sensitivity to soy (thank you Endometriosis) and sugar (thank you Gestational Diabetes and PCOS). I also knew that I had a sensitivity to petrochemicals (pesticides, hormones, etc found in non-organic foods & non-grass-fed meats). What I didn't know was that I also have a sensitivity to corn! I was also shocked to find out that my body can tolerate the following: gluten, dairy and beef! If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know that I'd given up dairy and beef for quite some time now.
So, what does this mean for my diet?
- NO soy whatsoever
- NO sugar whatsoever (including ALL forms of natural sugars - only exception is Stevia)
- NOTHING with corn or a form of corn in it whatsoever
- ADD in organic whole-fat dairy
- ADD in hormone-free, grass-fed meat (Eek!)
And even though my body can tolerate gluten, he recommended that I get my carbohydrates from organic starchy vegetables (minus corn, of course), organic/hormone-free dairy and limited whole grains from the following list only: (almond flour/meal, amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, oat, quinoa, spelt, wild rice) and organic fruit (NO bananas or any tropical fruit) to help control the Gestational Diabetes.
I must admit, I was OVERWHELMED! I'm pretty sure I had an emotional breakdown the next day! It wasn't that this list was that far off from what I was already doing, but I had gotten a bit relaxed in the natural sugar department and the thought of eating meat again was too much for me to take! But, you pray, have your meltdown and then remember that this isn't just about you. I have a life growing inside me, that has increased chances of developing the same health struggles that I face. It's my responsibility to give her (yes, it's a girl!) the best start possible. So, back to meat I go (but only the hormone-free, grass-fed kind). Which, by the way, I am now on a hunt (again, pun intended) for the cheapest & easily accessible of this type of meat. Your second weigh in readers: If you buy meat (beef, chicken, turkey), where have you found hormone-free, grass-fed for the cheapest per pound?
Next, we move onto supplements. The Kinesiologist completely overhauled what I was taking, based on his form of testing. Here's a picture of everything I'm now on...
- D3 Serum - 3 drops per day (My Midwife reduced it down to 1 drop per day)
- CoQ Quinol* - 1 tsp / 2 times per day
- Premier Greens Mix* - 1 T / 3 times per day
- Premier Digest - 1 capsule / 3 times per day
- Whey Protein - 2 T / 2 times per day
- Max Stress B* - 1 tsp / 2 times per day
- Ferrous-Fumuro Chelate - 1 tablet / 1 time per day
- Pre/Post Natal Vitamins - 2 tablets / 2 times per day
- Total Alpha Lipoic Acid - 2 tablets / 2 times per day
Note: These are supplements and amounts based on MY personal body. You should always seek a professional before beginning any new supplements.
After I started this new regimen, I am feeling soooo much better! However, the lucky one's above marked with an (*) are the ones I'm having the most trouble with. And again, that's where you come in. The CoQ Quinol & Max Stress B are both liquid vitamins. The dose he has me on, make them extremely potent and they don't taste good. I'm like a kid, where I have to plug my nose just to get them down! I've tried mixing them in just water, in keifer w/my whey protein, in milk w/the greens mix, etc. Help! What are some suggestions for how to get my nasty liquid tasting vitamins down?! The problem I'm having with the Premier Greens Mix is again, the amount he has me on tastes so potent. I've tried just mixing it with water, whole organic milk and today I tried this...
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| Lemon Tea mixed w/1 T Premier Greens Mix |
The problem I've been having is that it never fully dissolves in whatever I'm mixing it with, so it's like drinking something hairy-tasting. I thought maybe mixing it in with hot water would cause it to fully dissolve. And then I thought squirting some fresh lemon juice in it might help with the flavoring, too, except I'm out of lemons, so I settled for lemon tea. It was a great concept and it did help with the taste, but it didn't help with the dissolving issue. I got halfway thru my glass and found a big-hairy-mess at the bottom. yuck. Any suggestions on how to get my Premier Greens Mix product to fully dissolve and taste better?
Being on this new plan, my lunches have looked more and more like this...
I was craving something sweet, so I went with a new twist on my dressing... Meyer Lemon Oil and then something a little more decadent... I added Coconut Butter! (Sorry, my picture of the Coconut Butter I use didn't turn out)
Raspberry Lemon Decadent Salad
1-2 cups organic spinach
approx 1/4 c organic cucumber, cut into thirds
a couple grape tomatoes (preferably organic), cut into fourths
1 T slivered almonds
1 organic hard-boiled egg
approx 1/2 c organic raspberries
1-2 T Meyer Lemon Oil
1 T coconut butter
Toss. Eat. Enjoy.
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Yesterday, we made a little pit stop at Trader Joe's to check out their meat selection and prices and of course, left with all of this...
I couldn't WAIT to try the peanut butter, since it doesn't have anything "extra" in it, like sugar. So, I created this lunch...
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| Anne's Goat Cheese & Beet Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing leftover Scalloped Potatoes made w/Cream & Onions 1 c 1% organic milk (they were out of the whole milk) 1 c organic strawberries w/1 T Trader Joe's Peanut Butter |
Since I'm no longer allowed sugar of any kind (except Stevia), I've started to learn to appreciate fruit and it's natural sugars as my desserts. I always eat my fruit last now & savor it.
In fact, I usually eat my meat, vegetable & dairy first, then eat my carbs and save my fruit for last. Something about how the body breaks down the foods and uses them.
The Midwife
After a much researched & anticipated wait, I finally got to meet with the midwife this week!!! I was so excited! Except my balloon immediately deflated when she walked in the door and the first words were, "Since you have Gestational Diabetes, you immediately do not qualify for a waterbirth." I was devastated. I explained to her that I had previously called to make sure that I could still do a waterbirth, so long as I didn't need insulin to maintain the G.D. She scratched her head and brought out a sheet of paper that contained the list of immediate risk-out's for waterbirth... meaning, if you have anything on the paper, you're too risky for a waterbirth. Low and behold, I had ZERO! She scratched her head some more and concluded with, "Well, you're not the typical G.D. case. Most G.D. patients will risk out of waterbirth for the mere fact that they gain too much weight. But since you haven't gained anything, I think it might be ok." YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! "However, [boo] I must warn you that it will ultimately be up to the midwife on-call the day you deliver. If she's not comfortable with you delivering in the water, she gets the final say." Stink. Well, I'll take it. As long as it's still as option.
She then proceeded to tell me that midwives typically only deal with low-risk patients (which I am not). So, the way that it works is this: I check my blood-sugar levels 4 times per day. If I have more than 3 "high" readings in a week, I automatically get sent to their Endocronologist. The Endocronologist then evaluates me and decides if I can continue being seen by the midwives. If not, I'm "kicked out" of their clinic. WHOA! No pressure to have a perfect diet or anything. So, enter emotional breakdown AGAIN.
This is where I stand today. I'm avoiding ALL sugar (except stevia) and pretty much get my carbs from starchy vegetables, milk and fruit. My blood sugars have been EXCELLENT! NO high readings! So, all's well with the world, right? WRONG! This morning I woke up with Ketones in my urine.
Ketones are measured through your first urine stream of the day. It tests to see if your body is breaking down stored fat for energy. If they are present, this is considered a "high" reading. :( It basically means, my body is not getting enough carbs to use for energy. Grrr! I can't win.
So, here's my last cry for help from my trusty readers... How can I get in more carbs that won't make my blood sugar sky-rocket? Keep in mind the list that I typically should be getting grains from (amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, oat, quinoa, spelt, wild rice). I'm not opposed to eating things like bread and the like, but the problem is that almost ALL breads or bread products, contain sugar or corn, in some form or another. I am not completely familiar w/all the grains in my approved-list, so any help or recipes you guys can direct me to, would be so much much appreciated.
And lastly, the stress of everything I've written today can really get me depressed and down and frustrated. Your prayers for my mental health, as well as my physical health (and the baby's) would be much appreciated.
Thanks for letting me lean on you today! Hugs!
~Amykinz
