Things That Have Changed
In the spirit of being as healthy as I can be with this whole pregnancy thing, I've made a few dietary changes that I'm hoping to stick with. Here's a quick run-down of the main ones:
The Big Switch to Decaff: My daily skim lattes have been an immense source of pleasure ever since Jake bought me an espresso machine Christmas 2006. They're such a nice jolt to my day, and I make a pretty damn good one, if I do say so. I couldn't find a decaff espresso at my grocery store where I usually grind my beans, so I had to pay a bit of a price hike to get the right beans from a local coffee shop. The nice thing, though, about getting decaff beans at a good coffee shop is that they're decaffeinated using the natural "swiss water process" as opposed to chemical decaffeination, the way cheaper coffee companies do it. The beans smell pretty good, and they make a decent cup of coffee, but dang, I MISS the jolt. I really-really-really miss the nice latte wake-up. I've been trying to pretend that nothing's changed, but I catch myself regularly yawning around 11am, and this never happened when I had my caffeine hit in the morning. And, though I'm enjoying the lattes, the missing payoff has me wondering whether they're still worth it. Without the caffeine, aren't they just additional calories that I really don't need? During the years that I worked as a barista, we covertly referred to a decaff skim latte as "a why bother." And, now that I'm drinking them, I'm really starting to think---Why bother?
The Big Switch to Natural Sweetener: For years, since my college days, I've been a fan of Equal. I'm a double-packet-in-my-coffee kind of girl, and sometimes use it on unsweetened bran-y cereals. I've never cooked with it, but otherwise, it (or its generic counterpart) has had a daily presence in my life. When I started investigating more natural/organic approaches to food, I briefly questioned Equal, but shied away from thinking too much about it. I figured I had made enough changes for awhile, and could circle back to analyze Equal again some other time. As soon as I saw that positive pregnancy test, though, I tossed all the Equal in my cabinet into the trash. It was instinctual---suddenly that yummy sweet chemical felt as evil as the pro-natural publications claimed it was. Instead, I have made the switch to an all-natural sweetener called Stevia. It's made from the leaves of some kind of plant, and is naturally non-caloric. It has no chemical compounds used to simulate the sweetness of sugar, and is proclaimed to be 40 times as sweet. It has become a part of my lattes along with the decaff, but it's taking some getting used to. Sadly, it tastes absolutely nothing like Equal, but I'm determined to get myself accustomed to it. It's also on the pricey side, and is only available in health food stores, but I really feel a bit more proactive having taken the Stevia plunge.
The Big Switch to Water: I've always been a pretty good water-drinker, but I'm also a Pepsi One drinker. It's the only diet soda that actually tastes GOOD to me, and it's become a rare day that I drink anything else when I'm in a soda mood. Even before the positive pee test, though, I had cut down on my soda drinking, in the spirit of better hydration and health and all that. Now that there's this little person sharing in my dietary indiscretions, I have further cut back my Pepsi One indulgences to just a couple of times per week. I miss a lot about it---the taste, the caffeine, the bubblies.
I'm also trying to convince myself that water with dinner at restaurants is perfectly okay. I mean, I know it goes well with the food and all, but I've been pouty about missing my red wines. I've been growling in remembrance of the thai restaurant we went to in New York on the last Saturday night before I got the positive test result. I ordered pinot noir, but the server brought me pinot grigio. In the spirit of not being a jerky customer, I didn't send it back, but chugged it down like koolaid (which, honestly, all white wines taste like to me.) I grumble now because, damnit, if I'd known that night that that was to be my last glass of wine for 9 months, I sure as HELL would have sent that sucker back.
Being pregnant has also really fueled my organic tendencies. I find that it's now a lot easier to suck it up and pay the extra cash for organic meats, which had previously been a hesitation point for me due to the steep cost. On the one hand, I'm dismayed that my own better health wasn't motivation enough to make some of these changes, but then I realize it doesn't matter that I hesitated before. I'm glad I've made the changes now, and though Snippett may be the weight that pushed these decisions to their full realization, I certainly got the train moving on my own before she showed up. We're just a stronger team together than I was by myself, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.
The Big Switch to Decaff: My daily skim lattes have been an immense source of pleasure ever since Jake bought me an espresso machine Christmas 2006. They're such a nice jolt to my day, and I make a pretty damn good one, if I do say so. I couldn't find a decaff espresso at my grocery store where I usually grind my beans, so I had to pay a bit of a price hike to get the right beans from a local coffee shop. The nice thing, though, about getting decaff beans at a good coffee shop is that they're decaffeinated using the natural "swiss water process" as opposed to chemical decaffeination, the way cheaper coffee companies do it. The beans smell pretty good, and they make a decent cup of coffee, but dang, I MISS the jolt. I really-really-really miss the nice latte wake-up. I've been trying to pretend that nothing's changed, but I catch myself regularly yawning around 11am, and this never happened when I had my caffeine hit in the morning. And, though I'm enjoying the lattes, the missing payoff has me wondering whether they're still worth it. Without the caffeine, aren't they just additional calories that I really don't need? During the years that I worked as a barista, we covertly referred to a decaff skim latte as "a why bother." And, now that I'm drinking them, I'm really starting to think---Why bother?
The Big Switch to Natural Sweetener: For years, since my college days, I've been a fan of Equal. I'm a double-packet-in-my-coffee kind of girl, and sometimes use it on unsweetened bran-y cereals. I've never cooked with it, but otherwise, it (or its generic counterpart) has had a daily presence in my life. When I started investigating more natural/organic approaches to food, I briefly questioned Equal, but shied away from thinking too much about it. I figured I had made enough changes for awhile, and could circle back to analyze Equal again some other time. As soon as I saw that positive pregnancy test, though, I tossed all the Equal in my cabinet into the trash. It was instinctual---suddenly that yummy sweet chemical felt as evil as the pro-natural publications claimed it was. Instead, I have made the switch to an all-natural sweetener called Stevia. It's made from the leaves of some kind of plant, and is naturally non-caloric. It has no chemical compounds used to simulate the sweetness of sugar, and is proclaimed to be 40 times as sweet. It has become a part of my lattes along with the decaff, but it's taking some getting used to. Sadly, it tastes absolutely nothing like Equal, but I'm determined to get myself accustomed to it. It's also on the pricey side, and is only available in health food stores, but I really feel a bit more proactive having taken the Stevia plunge.
The Big Switch to Water: I've always been a pretty good water-drinker, but I'm also a Pepsi One drinker. It's the only diet soda that actually tastes GOOD to me, and it's become a rare day that I drink anything else when I'm in a soda mood. Even before the positive pee test, though, I had cut down on my soda drinking, in the spirit of better hydration and health and all that. Now that there's this little person sharing in my dietary indiscretions, I have further cut back my Pepsi One indulgences to just a couple of times per week. I miss a lot about it---the taste, the caffeine, the bubblies.
I'm also trying to convince myself that water with dinner at restaurants is perfectly okay. I mean, I know it goes well with the food and all, but I've been pouty about missing my red wines. I've been growling in remembrance of the thai restaurant we went to in New York on the last Saturday night before I got the positive test result. I ordered pinot noir, but the server brought me pinot grigio. In the spirit of not being a jerky customer, I didn't send it back, but chugged it down like koolaid (which, honestly, all white wines taste like to me.) I grumble now because, damnit, if I'd known that night that that was to be my last glass of wine for 9 months, I sure as HELL would have sent that sucker back.
Being pregnant has also really fueled my organic tendencies. I find that it's now a lot easier to suck it up and pay the extra cash for organic meats, which had previously been a hesitation point for me due to the steep cost. On the one hand, I'm dismayed that my own better health wasn't motivation enough to make some of these changes, but then I realize it doesn't matter that I hesitated before. I'm glad I've made the changes now, and though Snippett may be the weight that pushed these decisions to their full realization, I certainly got the train moving on my own before she showed up. We're just a stronger team together than I was by myself, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.
posted by deanna at 9:24 PM
10 Comments:
Good for you!!!! You are doing the right thing for both you and the baby.
Some tips: Try a bit more protein in the morning - maybe cheese. That tends to get you through the morning doldrums. As I have an allergy to caffiene (developed about 12 years ago), I never get that jolt artificially, and have had to find alternate methods. Brown rice cakes with peanut butter for breakfast also does it for me.
Re: Sweetener, moderation is key. I'm a splenda girl myself, and could have it in moderation. Another alternative you might want to consider is sugar itself. While it has higher caloric content and is not as good metabolically, it is better than the alternatives (and personally I can't stand Stevia, but that's just me).
Re: water, this is the most important. You really need to force yourself if you are not a big water drinker. Dehydration happens much easier, and you can end up going into ketosis (mild) if you don't drink enough. It's better for the baby, so make sure you have at least 10 8 oz glasses a day. Trust me, you will pee your brains out soon enough even without the water, so you'll have to deal wtih that anyway:)
And that's my assvice for the day!
Good job, De! :)
Miss X
I need several of these to rub off on me.
I second Roni about the morning protein to prevent the 11am snooziness.
It's adorable, seeing you making all this extra effort to eat healthily for Snippet's sake. Snippet is a very lucky teeny tiny person.
Wow, I am away from the internet for awhile and I miss the good news. CONGRATS!!!! I am so happy for you (wiping tears away) I haven't even read all your entries. I'll have to keep chekcing in now to see how you and Snippet are doing.
OMG! Deanna - Im so thrilled for you and so are the rest of your exiled friends :) We are all thrilled.. please stop by and tell us how you are doing. When I read about your pregnancy I couldnt stop smiling all day at work!
Soon you will join the realm of sleepness nights and the intense joy of staring at your child's eyes....
Cassandra xxxxx
Wow! Congratulations! I'm waaaayyyy behind on a lot of blogs, but I'm so happy I stopped by here today. I'm incredibly happy for you and Jake. Yippeeeeee!
Good for you!
I always used to roll my eyes at those stupid "a baby changes everything" commercials. But I had no idea how much they could change things before they were even freakin born. I'm doing SO many different things now...all for this little bean.
And water is hard, I know I need to drink more, but when I get up to be 3+ times per night...I really don't want to!
The morning fatigue you're experiencing now has a LOT to do with the pregnancy and will start to disappear around your 2nd trimester. I was really good about no caffeine in early pregnancy, but now have about 1 can every couple days. I agree with the protein, though. It gives you sustained energy - unlike carbs and caffeine where you tend to crash afterwards. I like PB in the morning. Drinking enough water is SO hard to do. Even now, my urine is so dark and concentrated - with my increased effort. Once you are into your third trimester, do NOT feel guilty about having a glass of wine on a rare occasion. It won't hurt Snippet - h/s will be relaxed right along with you. We often encourage women in early labor who aren't changing their cervix to go home and have a glass of wine to relax.
Regardless of your reasons for making the changes, it's important that you're making them! Be proud :)
Deanna- I stumbled across your blog a couple days ago searching for HSG costs and infertility issues. I want to say congratulations on being pregnant! But I also wanted to say that you should really look into the stevia. I work at a pediatric clinic and was reading a new medical journal that found stevia can cause reproductive abnormalities in children. The FDA does not approve it for use as a sweetener. I'm not sure about an unborn baby but please look into this. A happy and healthy pregnancy to you!
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