Tag Archive | maternity

My Fitness Pal

Apr18

my fitness pal 2So before Thanksgiving, my husband and I went on a meal plan from a local health restaurant. We got 4-5 meals (mine were 4 plus my liquid egg breakfast, see previous post) everything was meticulously calorie counted to ensure weight loss and to stay within your calorie content maximum. The only problem was you have to be very disciplined, and while I thought I was, I just couldn’t take having very little variety. I mean, there is only so many times a day you can eat tilapia. I also felt suppressed by not being able to go out and eat anywhere else, or have lunch with my friends. I needed a better solution.

I recently read an article that showed a guy who was on the Paleo diet and got FAT! Like Fat Fat. The diet just didn’t agree with him, and then he lost tons of weight eating ice cream and Subway. How you may ask? Well weight loss is about creating a deficit between how many calories you eat and how many you burn. You have to have a 500 calorie deficit for 7 days to lose one pound of fat.

So how can you eat what you want, live your life, eat out, and still lose weight? Well I used the My Fitness Pal app. It’s a free app you can get on your smart phone that allows you to add the food you eat each day to lose weight. You put in all your information; height, weight, age, how much you want to lose, etc. It tells you how many calories a day you can eat, and you put in food and exercise. You can even scan the barcode on pre-package foods, and ingredients you cook with.

Even if you go over your calories every single day, and don’t lose any weight you still are becoming aware. You will be amazed at how many calories some of your favorite foods have for the good and the bad. It’s amazing how you can scarf down your total caloric intake in just a few donuts or go well over with a dinner out and a glass of wine. If you are aware, you can at least make a choice. my fitness pal

I personally have had successful weight loss using My Fitness Pal and exercise. Do you want to know the best part about My Fitness Pal? It’s FREE!!!!! That’s right it’s a free app. You have nothing to lose, but your excess weight. However try to avoid using the preprogrammed calories in the app, because anyone can put anything they want it. So, when eating in chain restaurants look up the calories on their website and when cooking at home, scan labels.
Good luck losing weight!!!!

I know this is going to sound gross….

Apr8

eggs2But I assure you it is not! I like most busy moms on the go have little to no time to eat. If I don’t have to get up to go to work or somewhere else (ha ha, that rarely happens anymore) I sleep until my son gets up and we get up and ready for the day together. Well, he gets up and needs to be fed, changed, dressed, etc. and there is no time for me to make myself anything for breakfast. I’m sure, as most new moms, I was trying to get healthy and get back into shape, so I needed an easy and healthy option for breakfast on the go.

Now, I wish I could put this all on being a mom, but the truth is I am notoriously late. It is my plight in life to be constantly running late. I used to make protein shakes and smoothies for breakfast thinking I can drink them while I got ready or driving in my car, but no matter how much prep work I did the night before it took forever to make them in the morning, even with my time saver “the bullet.” Plus I never had time for a morning coffee because I was trying to consume my shake.

So my husband and I worked with a local health restaurant after our son was born to have healthy meals made that would aid in weight loss and ease the stress of meal planning and preparation. I was given a great alternative for breakfast, although I admit it sounded disgusting at first.

Egg Whites International Pasteurized Egg Whites are highly pasteurized liquid egg whites that you can drink. Now you are probably thinking about Rocky swallowing raw liquid eggs right now, but it’s not like that. These eggs are cooked, so there is no risk of salmonella or anything thing else that could make you sick, and they are pure protein. They give all the benefit of eggs without having to cook them and without all the “bad” stuff in eggs. They don’t have a smell, or a taste, they only have a milky like texture. They come in a pump container that you keep in your fridge and each pump is equal to one egg.

I promise you it isn’t as icky as it sounds. I have swallowed them shot style, it wasn’t delicious t but it wasn’t gag worthy either.

So what do I do with these liquid eggs you may ask….I add them to my coffee! That’s right I put them right in my coffee with a little stevia and almond milk or I make myself a latte and add them to that. You don’t taste the eggs. So the best part is, you get your caffeine fix, you get pure protein, and you save time because you are drinking your breakfast. So while I’m feeding the baby, or driving to work I have a delicious and nutritious breakfast without all the fuss. I get the protein I need and my metabolism gets a kick start from the coffee or espresso. You might be wondering if I feel full following drinking the eggs and the answer is yes. It’s not an” I just ate a full big breakfast” full feeling, but it’s the fullness of a protein shake or smoothie.eggs4

It’s been a total lifesaver for me and it’s aided in my weight loss/healthy life style. If you can get pass the idea of drinking eggs you are golden. I get mine from the local health restaurant, but you can order them online, and some health food stores carry them as well.

One word of advice though, don’t re-heat your coffee once you add the eggs, or you end up with little chunks. I learned the hard way! 🙂 YUCK!!!!!

Hot Tots!

Apr3

My husband and I religiously watch the Shark Tank; it’s one of our very favorite shows. We also constantly order various products off the show.

hot tots 4I always wanted to have a little boy so I could spike his hair into a mohawk. I think there are few things cuter than a little guy with spikey hair. So when I was pregnant with my son and had serious heartburn, I figured he was going to be born with hair, so I ordered my Hot Tots infant hair gel.

Hot Tots is an all-natural organic, hypoallergenic, soy and gluten free hair care line designed by a regular mom for infants and toddlers. I felt confident in using this product for this reason. So I ordered it and sure enough my son came out with hair and as soon as I thought he was old enough I spiked it. I would say he was about 3 months old when we gave him his first Mohawk. It was adorable.

I really love the Hot Tots Sweet Pea Serum. It’s easy to use, gives great hold, and smells fantastic. I know it’s safe for my sweet baby’s skin, hair, and eyes if he sweats and it dripped. My little man was “The Bird Man” for Halloween, if any of you follow basketball specifically the Miami Heat; you know who I am talking about. He had his awesome mohawk and fake tattoos and he was the talk of the neighborhood.

If you have girls or boys look into this line for your little ones. Not only is it a great product, but your supporting another mom and her small business.

Hot Tots has several other products in its line, so check them all out.

http://hottot.com/

The Baby Friendly Necklace

Mar19

Let me preface this by saying, I truly thought I would be the last person on earth to wear a necklace my child would chew on. However, I decided to give it a try after fighting a constant battle to find something clean for him to chew on, and being frustrated by him pulling on my necklace or not being able to wear one.chew beads 1

Sometimes you need a necklace as an accessory, but if you have ever had a baby, or if you are planning to have one, you know that they pull on everything they can get their hands on…hair, sunglasses, and especially necklaces. But in another effort to not lose my identity, and become a frumpty dumpty, I wanted to be able to continue to accessorize and wear necklaces. That is when I heard about chew beads, and I thought how ugly are these necklaces going to be, but they totally aren’t! They are definitely fashionable, functional, and add a pop of color to your outfit!

I also was fighting a constant battle of my son throwing things out of his stroller and being unable to keep toys, pacifiers, and teethers clean for him to chew on. This gave me control over the cleanliness of what he chewed on.

I foresee what your concerns are going to be. 1) Will my child then start chewing on all my necklaces? I have not had that problem. My little guy is able to distinguish between the rubberiness of this necklace versus a traditional necklace, and hasn’t tried to chew on other necklaces, pull yes, but not put in his mouth. 2) Will people know that my necklace is actually a teether for my child? Absolutely not! I have gotten tons of compliments on my necklace from unsuspecting people.

I have had two problems with the necklace, the first will probably only happen to me, because I’m a total germaphobe. I had some one come over to me give me a compliment and touch the necklace. It’s almost comical because of the length I was going to give my son something clean to chew, that I was wearing necklace to be able to protect it and then someone touches it. Yes, I know I’m crazy! The other may only affect others with hair similar to mine. I have long, fine, tangly hair to begin with and I have had it get caught in the clasp of this necklace, which isn’t the most comfortable thing. I remedied this situation by wearing my hair up and trying to keep little wispy pieces up as well. But, in the interest of full disclosure and honesty I wanted to tell you the problems I have had.

You can check out all the chew bead styles and colors on their website at http://www.chewbeads.com/ . I personally picked mine up at a Swoozie’s store, you can check out their website to find a local retailer near you.

Your Hospital Must Have

Mar10

I will finish out my pregnancy blogs with what you must have for the hospital and this will be my last blog about what you need for pregnancy and delivery, at least until I remember something else I wanted to write about. 😉 Next I’ll be dispensing my favorite beauty tips and secrets for looking great, especially when you are low on time.

So what must you have for your hospital delivery? Your own hospital gown! I know I may sound like a lunatic, but trust me… you want your own gown. You may, like my husband, think that they give you a new gown when you check in, let me assure you that this is not the case, at least not at the hospital where I delivered. There a few things happening here, 1) someone else has given birth in this gown before, 2) someone had surgery in the gown previously 3) someone was sick in this gown.  There are varying levels of grossness here depending on how squeamish you are, but the common denominator… blood and dottily fluids, yuck!

The nurses will try to talk you out of wearing your own when you get to the hospital. They will tell you that you are going to ruin your gown; this is a great opportunity to practice non-attachment and go in knowing that you will be throwing it away when you’re done. Or maybe you won’t, I only had one small dot of blood on mine and was able to wash it and not have to throw it away, but either way I was ok knowing it was a one-time thing.

I purchased mine from a local baby store that carried maternity items. I got the gown and a matching robe. It was a great investment because I knew no one had worn it before and I looked much cuter in my pink and green Lilly Pulitzer-esk  gown than the ugly blue one provided by the hospital. I suggest ordering online, getting it at a local medical supply store, or looking at boutique children’s/maternity stores. You’ll be happy you did!

P.S. – If you want to make your husband happy, a foam mattress cover or egg crate on his cot or fold out bed will make his hospital stay after baby 100xbetter!

Please feel free to comment below with your must have hospital stay items.

Tips and Tricks For Your Pregnancy Wardrobe

Mar8

There are a few things maternity that you will inevitable have to buy; mainly jeans, if you want to wear them, you have to buy maternity jeans. If you are going to spend money on one item my suggestion would be this one. Pick out a pair or two of really stylish well-fitting jeans you love and buy them because you will wear them a lot.  You can pair different tops with them and get a lot of use out of a pair or two.

I personally live in sunny South Florida so the weather was hot for most of my pregnancy. I wore a ton of dresses; I found them to be the most comfortable. I would buy maxi dresses and empire waist dresses. I found Old Navy and Gap to carry a ton of non-maternity style dresses that were inexpensive, comfortable, and functional. I will tell you that if you wear them as much as I did, they will have to be thrown away after your pregnancy, because they won’t look so good anymore. However, they serve their purpose and won’t break the bank. I personally found small boutiques that carried these types of dresses that were not only super cute, but affordable and easy to wear.

I highly recommend drawstring anything. I wore a lot of drawstring pants, my favorites were the Lilly Pulitzer Beach Pant and Beach Short, but there are a lot more affordable pants out there.  I loved linen drawstring pants and shorts; they were comfortable and gave the ability to dress up or down.

I used to work for lululemon, so I happen to have 4 pairs of Still Pants. They were wonderful during my pregnancy. I’ll tell you a secret; I always wore these pants to work.  If you wore a longer shirt that covered the pockets, they totally passed as dress pants! The only problem is the logo on the back of the leg. People will stop you all day long to tell you that you have something stuck to your pants. It’s actually their reflective logo in case you are jogging at night, so no one runs you over, great idea in theory, not so much in practice when you are trying to wear workout clothes as work clothes. 🙂 But, regardless these pants are awesome because you can fold them over; pull the drawstring through and feel and look great. Pair these pants with the Portofino shirt from my last post and you are ready to go. The down side of these pants is the price, at $98 they are crazy expensive for “workout” wear.

Also, while we are talking about pants, let’s talk about those bands that go over your pants. The purpose is to be able to continue to wear your normal pants by leaving them unbuttoned or unzipped with this band over top. It was a total waste of money for me. However, I have friends who swear by them. My understanding is that it depends on the person and pregnancy. It could work great for one pregnancy and not at all for the next one for the same person! I don’t know, I bought one, spent about $25 bucks and it didn’t work at all. I suggest trying a hair band first. Simply loop the band through the button hole and then attach both loops to the button. Wah-La you can now leave your pants unbutton/unzipped with more room. If that doesn’t work maybe try an old tube top you have laying around, and if all else fails, try the bands they sell for this purpose, but eventually you’ll have to break down and buy new pants or elastic/drawstring waist pants. But in the interim this should help.

I highly suggest long tank tops, maternity or non- maternity. They are awesome for layering or wearing alone. I personally like Liz Lange for Target cotton shirts and tanks. They were affordable, stylish, and comfortable. I like them for before and after pregnancy also because I love long tops.

Belts and necklaces are your friends. I wore tons of longer necklaces when I pregnant, I don’t know what it was about them, but I felt they pulled outfits together when you have a belly. Belts were my friends also, especially wide ones. I used them with empire waist maxi dresses to break up the color or pattern and look really pulled together.

The last tip I have is for bras. I had to buy new bras at least three times during my pregnancy. What a pain. I don’t care who you are, what size you are, or how much or how little weight you gain. Your rib cage will expand! I bought a bra extender, this helped to eliminate having to constantly buy larger bras. I highly suggest investing in one of these, you won’t regret it! I personally got mine at Nordstrom, but I’m sure amazon has a plethora of options to choose from.

I hope you find my tips and tricks helpful! Several of my suggestions can be wore before and after pregnancy as well. I am all about spending money on things you can continue to use after your pregnancy and sometimes that means spending a little bit more for quality products.

Please feel free to comment with your tips and tricks and any questions you may have. Happy Shopping! 🙂

www.gap.com

www.oldnavy.com

http://www.lillypulitzer.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&keyword=beach+pants

lilly pants

http://search.lululemon.com/search?region=us&asug=&w=Still%20Pants

lulu pants

http://www.express.com/clothing/Apparel/Portofino+Shirts/cat/cat1040025

http://www.target.com/p/liz-lange-reg-for-target-reg-maternity-long-lean-basic-tank-top-assorted-colors/-/A-14592209#prodSlot=large_1_6&term=Liz+Lange

Target tank

http://shop.nordstrom.com/sr?origin=keywordsearch&contextualcategoryid=2375500&keyword=bra+extender

bra extender

The Dreaded Stretch Marks!

Mar2

It only seems fitting to have my inaugural blog post start the same way my journey as a mom startetummy butterd with a casualty of pregnancy…the dreaded stretch mark! I have to be honest, I was not a big fan of the idea of gaining weight and getting bigger during pregnancy. I was the girl in the gym the day before my due date squatting furiously in an effort to get the party started. I was in the gym my whole pregnancy, we are talking doing push-ups from the floor at 9 months pregnant! I know I am a nut case! 🙂

So having stretch marks was not an option! I had read about a product that guarded against stretch marks and even helped the ones you already had. I figured let’s give it a shot, and at least I tried something. I gotta tell ya, I made it out with NO STRETCH MARKS!!!!!!! I was religious in my application and started early, like before anyone knew I was pregnant(maybe 10 weeks), and used two products every time I showered, morning, night, and anytime in-between. oil

Now, The Spoiled Mama products are a little on the pricey side, but I tell you they are worth every red cent! Plus, they do have a rewards program so they hook you up with a discount when you re-order plus a sample of their other products with each order.

I used both the Bump Gloss and Tummy Butter from my knee up to my neck! I’m telling you, NO STRETCH MARKS! The stretch marks I had on my outer thighs from puberty started to disappear too! I couldn’t ask for anything more. We are talking scars more than 15 years old fading away.

I think the trick is that you need to start early, and keep using after you give birth while your skin is shrinking back to its original size! These are the keys to success! Definitely give these products a try.

Check out The Spoiled Mama products at http://www.thespoiledmama.com/