As I said in my original post about Becoming My Own Client this is a challenge with a four month old. I imagine that it doesn’t get much better until she moves out, so what am I going to do for the next 18 or so years?
So why is sleep important?
When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy. These cravings are often a result of being sleep-deprived, going to bed late, waking up early, for months and years on end. So getting more sleep would help with goal #3.
Sleep helps to improve memory, prevent weight gain, improve your mood, strengthen your immune system, and cardiovascular system.
Action Steps:
First off I need to go to bed when I am tired. Most nights I push myself to stay up later so that I can finish up freelance or coaching work, spend time with Neil, workout or just relax. Instead of pushing myself to stay up I need to go to bed when I am tired, even if that’s 8:30pm.
The second thing I can do is nap during the day when possible. E is getting to be a better napper which means that instead of running around doing 500 things while she sleeps I need to take a moment and sleep if I am tired. It really is true you do need to sleep when the baby sleeps.
Are you getting enough sleep? Challenge yourself to go to bed 10 minutes earlier tonight and every night this week.
So on Monday we took a deeper look into Goal #2 to increase my energy now lets move on to Goal #3: Break my sugar craving.
Sugar is addictive for 2 reasons. 1: eating a small amount makes you want more. 2. Suddenly quitting causes withdrawal symptoms like headaches, mood swings, cravings and fatigue.
I honestly was never a huge fan of sweets until my pregnancy and then something changed. I read somewhere that when you are pregnant with a girl you crave more sweets and for me this ended up being true. I wanted everything sweet especially fruits, coconut milk ice cream and chocolate. Unfortunately this craving has stuck with me postpartum. Now my goal is to kick the sugar habit.
I have already been making strides to improve this by not making Oh She Glows amazing chocolate chip cookies once a week, or should I say have Neil make them for me. It was awful at one point we were making them at least once per week. I am glad to say it’s been about five weeks since we made our last batch -win!
Although it has been five weeks since I enjoyed those yummy chocolate chip cookies it hasn’t stopped me from making a number of other baked goods, enjoying coconut ice cream and chocolate. I have been using natural sugars as much as possible and my cravings have been reduced but I am still craving a piece or two of dark chocolate most nights.
Action Steps.
Eat Balanced Meals. Make sure to create meals focus on vegetables and then have ¼ of your meal be a whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, barley, millet, bulgar, etc) ¼ should be high quality protein such as beans, tempeh, or tofu. Additionally, add 1-2 tbsp of a healthy fat (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nut butters, nuts, etc); this will help to feel satisfied and curb your cravings.
Replace processed snacks (anything with a long ingredient list or filled with sodium, sugar and HFCS) with whole foods such as fruits, nuts, veggies, etc.
Think before eating. When a craving comes on rather than give into it try to deconstruct the craving to figure out the actual cause.
Now that I’ve laid out my goals in my Becoming My Own Client posts it’s time to put things into action. I am purposely going to skip over, Goal #1: Lose Weight. I’d like to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by October 2013, because my action step to make this happen is to focus on working on goals 2-7. As you will come to see that all of my goals overlap with one or more other goals, to be successful I must find balance in all aspects of my life.
Increase energy by eating more greens
Goal #2: Increase my Energy.
en·er·gy/ˈenərjē/
Noun:
The strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.
A feeling of possessing such strength and vitality.
Synonyms:
power – vigour – vigor – vim – zip – strength – pep
Action steps to increase my energy:
Reduce or eliminate caffeine. Caffeine can cause dehydration and the rise and fall of blood sugar which can cause mood swings and cravings. I don’t have a lot of caffeine, most days just one cup of coffee but more and more I am finding myself having a second cup of coffee to “make it through the day”. That being said my goal is to replace that second cup of coffee with a glass of water or herbal tea.
Drink water. If there is one thing that most people don’t do enough of it’s drink enough water. Most Americans are in a constant state of dehydration which can have a number of negative effects including cravings.
Eat dark leafy green vegetables. Greens a filled with vitamins and nutrients that make you feel refreshed and energetic. They help improve circulation, purify the blood and strengthen the immune system. I love greens but for some reason I don’t eat enough. My goal is to eat dark leafy greens, such as broccoli, collards, bok choy, kale, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, arugula and dandelion greens, 5 days per week.
Use gentle sweets. I am going to avoid processed sugars and use natural sweeteners like maple syrup, agave nectar, dates, and coconut sugar. Also I am going to increase the number of sweet vegetables such as yams, carrots and beets, that I eat to help reduce cravings for sweets.
Get physical activity. Simple activities, like walking or yoga, can help increase energy by doing as little as 10 minutes per day. I have increased the frequency of my workouts but now I want to do more yoga and increase intensity.
Get more sleep and rest and relaxation. A tired and stressed body craves energy and often we turn to food for energy instead of what we really need- a nap. Lately I have been staying up later at night once E goes to sleep but really I need to go to bed earlier so I get more rest.
Take time for myself. Finding activities that restore your energy, such as a walk, a bath, a museum, or a movie helps to increase energy. I haven’t been taking nearly enough time for me so my goal is to take 30 minutes per day to do something just for me.
While pregnant with Edith I developed a sweet tooth and an addiction to bagels with tofutti. Now 4 months postpartum and although I have kicked the two…err sometimes four bagels a week and I am only having coconut ice cream every 4-6 weeks rather than once per week. That being said I’m still far off from where I used to be and after thinking things through I came to an important conclusion.
For the last four months I have been completely focused on E and a little less focused on myself (diet and exercise included). Now that we have a little bit more of a routine (although still ever changing) I am ready to create goals to help improve my diet, fitness and energy levels. A few things I need to consider are making sure I am eating enough calories for nursing and increasing the foods that help my milk production (that’s a whole other blog post).
Okay so first things first I decided to fill out my very own health history just like I would ask prospective clients to do. So lets take a look at the first part.
As you can see my weight is quite a bit higher than I would like and that I put on a good amount of weight while I was pregnant and although I have lost a bit I am far from my pre-pregnancy weight. Goal #1: Lose Weight. I’d like to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by October 2013.
Another notable thing to point out is that my energy levels are lower than desired. I know you’re probably saying umm yeah you have four month old of course you are lacking energy and while that is true I know that I could improve upon this. Goal #2: Increase my Energy.
As I noted above I am a bread and sweets addict. The funny thing is although I have always been a lover of all things bread related I was never a huge sweets fan until my pregnancy. I too often gave into this craving during pregnancy and it has stuck with me. Goal #3:Break my sugar craving.
May 2011
Okay so lets evaluate the section above, as you can see starting at the top I need to get more sleep. E who was a good sleeper is suddenly sleeping from about 7pm-10pm, 11pm-1 or 2am, 2:30a-4a and then she wants to be up. Honestly I don’t know where I am going to get more sleep because I usually have dinner around 7/7:30pm and then I don’t want to go to bed immediately after so I usually stay up until 9:15-10pm. Napping during the day is difficult to do as well so really until we can get E back on a better schedule this is going to be a challenging goal but alas it’s still my Goal #4.
Next lets talk about the gluten sensitivity….yes I am addicted to bread and have a minor gluten sensitivity. I say minor because a small amount doesn’t bother me but there is a fine line between feeling fine and feeling bloated. So Goal #5 eat less gluten.
Goal #6 is to increase the intensity of my workouts. I have actually already started working on this my participating in the Best Body Boot Camp. I have been making an effort to increase the intensity, duration and get back to running. I’ll discuss this goal more as well as my others in follow up posts.
39 Weeks 3 Days (the day I went into labor)
Okay so here we are the last section and my final goal to improve my diet. During my pregnancy I ate really well with the exception of the first trimester when all I wanted were bagels and citrus. Then the baby arrived and if you’re a new mom you know how challenging it can be to make a good meal when you are home alone with a baby. I also hate that we end up eating dinner about 2 hours later than we used to because of Neil’s busy work schedule and E’s desire to go to bed at 6:30. That being said Goal #7 eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and raw meals and make an effort to eat dinner earlier.
3.5 Months Postpartum
Even though I’m a health coach and I know all the things I am “doing wrong” sometimes you just have to sit down and really practice what you preach. I plan to follow this post up with a more in-depth look at my goals and the action steps I need to take to accomplish these goals.
What are your health goals? How do you plan to accomplish them?
Now that E is in more of a consistent nighttime routine and we aren’t spending 60-120 minutes trying to soothe her to bed and bounce our brains out (so over the exercise ball) we finally have time for ourselves. During the week we we end up filling our time trying to catch up on work or cleaning but on Friday nights we are free to take the night off from our chore and work duties.
That being said we don’t really have the money to spend on a sitter and to go out to dinner so we have decided to have date nights in. That being said we need ideas! We were thinking about having every Friday night be dinner and a movie night but we need ideas for movies and meals to go with them. Our only requirements are that they have to be movies that are already out on DVD or Netflix and meal ideas have to be relatively budget friendly and vegan(izable).
So what are your suggestions? What is a good movie you have seen lately or a recipe that you think we should try? Or do you have a good themed movie and meal idea? Send your ideas our way and we will feature a new date night each week!
I thought I was busy before I had a baby but although I stopped working at my part time office job to become a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom I am still busier than ever. My days require constant refueling to get me through my days because being a mom is a 24-7 job that I absolutely love but I am thankful that I have an amazing partner to help me out because when he is on dad duty I can get work done, make us meals and shower.
To help keep me energized throughout the day I try and get up early and make a nice big bowl of oatmeal and enjoy a mug of tea or coffee and a large glass of water. I have found that having a nutritious and filling breakfast really helps me start the day right.
After completing our early morning routine I like to try and either get out for a walk with Edie or do baby yoga with her and if I’m lucky and she decides to nap I like to get in a more intense at home workout. A good workout gives me an energy boost to help me make it through the late morning and afternoon.
My last refuel of the day is making time for me in the evening. I love my husband and my daughter but I just need a few minutes of peace and quiet at night that is just for me. When Neil gets home I hand over parenting duties to him and I jump in the shower to relax, refresh and of course clean up! This then helps me make it through the remainder of the evening.
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This is a sponsored post, produced in collaboration with Bliss and Starbucks. I received a Starbucks Refreshers sample to review. The opinions shared in this post are my own.
As a former 9-5er I know what a challenge it can be to enjoy all that summer has to offer during the week. However there are a number of things that you can do to enjoy the longer days and warmer nights (and not just on the weekend).
Join a team. Or in my case have my husband join a team so I can go to his games. Often you will find adult recreational league sports teams and even many companies have summer sports teams to play on. In our area you can find softball, soccer and even kickball leagues for adults to participate in during the week. Neil plays softball once per week and it’s a great way for him to get out, enjoy the weather and socialize during the week (as well as stay active).
Run clubs. Join (or start) a summer run club. One of the greatest things about summer is that it stays lighter out so much later which allows for running outside to be more accessible after work. Many athletic stores, running associations and even some towns/cities have summer group runs that are after work (and some before).
Farmers Markets. What better way to enjoy summer than to also enjoy locally grown food? Often we think of going to weekend farmers markets but did you know that many areas also have afternoon/evening weekday farmers markets? This is the perfect opportunity to get outside, do a little shopping and enjoy summers bounty!
Local Studios. Check out what type of summer events are happening at your local yoga studios or Lululemon. In our area we have one studio that offers AM yoga on a dock at the waterfront and our local Lululemon has a number of outdoor fitness events that go on (and most are free).
Local Events Calendar. Check out your town/cities local events calendar to find out what fun summer events are coming up for the week/month. Often you will find outdoor movie nights, carnivals, live music, brewers festivals and so much more. Locally we have a movie night in the park once per month in June, July and August and every Thursday night there is Summervale a fun little event down at a local cooperative farm that features local food and lots of activities.
Eat Outside. Take advantage of the weather by dining al fresco! You could plan to pack up a picnic to take to a park or down by a lake after work, head out for dinner at one of your favorite restaurants or make a home cooked meal and enjoy it on your porch (patio, balcony, lawn, etc). This is as great way to really enjoy summer and to create a fun dining experience for your whole family.
Q: What are you favorite ways to take advantage of all that summer has to offer?
