Day 1 - Monday, March 3 Meals

Day 1 - Monday, March 3

7am - Piece of organic sourdough toast with almond butter and organic blackberry jam

9am - Small mason jar of organic oatmeal, organic plain yogurt and a handful of frozen raspberries (see attached pic), 1 small coffee at work

11am - 2 small handfuls of Artie's Raw Nut Mix (from the Superstore) which includes: almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios and walnuts

12:30pm - Bowl of homemade carrot, ginger, cumin soup (with onions and garlic), 20 Mary's crackers with organic hummus

3pm - handful of raw nut mix, 1 organic apple

7pm - baked chicken breast with pasta sauce and parmesan cheese, side of quinoa spaghetti

……..

My blood sugars were in the 4's all day - seriously, between 4.4 and 4.9 all day, but then 3 hours after going to sleep I woke up to my blood sugar being 12.4 - so I bolus'd and woke up at 3.9…which is perfect for me. NO idea how this keeps happening but I'm tracking it very well and meeting with the diabetic team next week. But other than that, the numbers were perfect all day :)

……..

*Exercise: 15 min walk in the morning (just over 1 km), 15 min walk at lunch (just over 1 km), 15 min of yoga (short vinyasa sequence), 30 push-ups, 30 dips, 50 squats with weights, 30 lunges with weights

……..

I had such a busy day that after dinner I relaxed for a bit, checked some emails, did my exercises and then had a nice epsom salt bath. We went to bed earlier than usual but it was well deserved!

Here is a pic of the breakfast oatmeal I made for the week:

Recording my Meals for the Week

So I've decided to record all my meals for this week - each day I'll post what I'm eating, how I'm feeling (which hasn't changed much) and how my blood sugars are responding, changing or staying the same.

The only issues I'm having right now have to do with sleeping - I keep waking up throughout the night with sharp pains in my hips and have to switch sides quite often. Needless to say I'm not getting much sleep as a result but I'm trying different methods of using pillows and hopefully we will be getting a new much-needed mattress soon!

So far I don't have many cravings, no food aversions at all and actually have less of an appetite rather than a larger one.

I'm still keeping active everyday with walking at least 3-5km, 15 min strength-training workouts at home and either prenatal pilates or 30-45min prenatal yoga classes at home. I'm joining Goodlife again though because the weather has just been so cold lately I'm feeling like I need more cardio. It's not always easy to get the amount of walking in that I want to, but at least I have my commute to ensure that ;)

At 24 weeks this week I'm feeling great, a little stiff in the mornings and tight around my growing bump in the evenings. I've gained 17 pounds so far which isn't too bad, and all of my clothes pre-pregnancy still fit - other than my bras ;)

The only thing that worries me slightly is the need for more insulin, which can lead to more weight gain and just not an overall great feeling. So far the only changes that have happened are through the night - instead of being low for the first 5 months I am now rising mid-night to around 8 or 9…which is quite odd but I'm taking it day by day for now because things can change so much!

Hopefully people will find this helpful, whether Diabetic or Pregnant, or not.

Happy Monday and Happy March! The first post will come tonight :)

Healthy Pregnancy

Being a Type 1 Diabetic for 26 years now has not only taught me a lot about the importance of one's health in general, but also discipline and to appreciate the health you do have in the present moment.

Since becoming pregnant I have maintained amazing control because really it's the most important thing to the health of my baby and me. 

I can't lie and say this hasn't been difficult - testing before and after every meal, 8 times a day, counting each carbohydrate that I consume and adjusting my bolus rate as accurately and quickly as possible. 

The other difficult thing is that during every woman's pregnancy things change, nothing remains the same the entire time and that is truly the case with my body's need for insulin.

But, after my last appointment at the diabetic pregnancy clinic I go to my A1C was 5.9, my thyroid was perfect and the rest of the bloodwork was great. Plus, the baby is doing very very well and is not growing bigger than the average at all which is a major concern with diabetic pregnancies.

I really contribute these results to everything I've mentioned above: my discipline, gratitude and my knowledge and passion for good health. My sugars have never been this good and I really feel amazing being pregnant, this has truly been a miracle for my husband and I and only motivates me to continue this type of control in the future! 

Here is my most recent photo at 23 ½ weeks (just short of 6 months) too bad I look so serious haha: 

Smart Snacking Vending Machines

This is amazing, and well over-due if you ask me.

I stumbled upon this website when a friend posted it to Facebook and I think it's brilliant - although not all the products are actually as healthy as people want you to believe, 90% of them are, but you do have to please everyone's tastes when it comes to vending machines ;)

I love how if you purchase this machine you can choose your own menu items as well - from Larabars, Luna Bars to Coconut Water and Pure Mango Juice.

http://smartsnacking.ca/products.html

Hopefully these will start to pop up everywhere making healthy snacks on the go available to everyone whether you're in a hospital waiting room, out shopping at a mall (and you're pregnant and about to eat anything in sight) or just need to grab something at college between classes.

Check out their website to learn more today :)

http://smartsnacking.ca/home.html

Kate

Carbs for breakfast

If you're like me, I went from smoothies and grapefruit for breakfast to needing more carbohydrates (breads) for breakfast when I became pregnant.

I wouldn't call it a craving as much as just a smoothie and fruit left my stomach feeling empty in less than an hour, so I would need something more substantial.

If you have been following me for awhile you also know I try to eat as gluten-fee as well as flour-free as much as possible. 

So yesterday when I woke up wanting pancakes so badly for Sunday morning brunch I had to improvise without eggs or pancake mix!

Luckily I'm resourceful and stock a random selection of gluten-free flours for muffins and flatbreads when I'm in the mood for cooking ;) So welcome:

Amaranth Cinnamon Pacakes 

2 cups of amaranth flour

½ cup of flax meal

2 tbsp of cinnamon

3 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp cane or coconut sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp coconut oil

½ cup of water

3 cups of almond milk

Mix dry ingredients together then add wet ingredients, stir until mixed not necessarily smooth and cook in a pan with coconut oil over medium heat - top with butter and maple syrup or whatever you fancy!

You could also add cardamom, ginger and clove to make it more of a chai flavour too yum!

Hearty, yet fresh and light lunch

In the midst of winter and yet another winter storm, sometimes craving comfort food only comes naturally.

This week however I have been dreaming about spring, ok and summer too, so I decided to stick to some hearty, yet fresh and light lunch ideas!

Today's lunch and a dill chickpea veggie salad:

1 cup of rinsed canned chick peas 

Large handful of fresh dill chopped 

Small handful of fresh parsley chopped

Chopped orange pepper

Green onion

Sliced kalamata olives

Black pepper

Avocado 

Sprinkle of goat cheese

Mix the above together with the juice of half a lemon and olive oil, and scoop onto two large handfuls of organic spinach! 

It's hearty, delicious, easy and healthy!! 

The daily lists

So I do have to say that the daily lists of things I need to do and take since becoming pregnant are pretty extensive.

Taking care of your body, mind and spirit during pregnancy are very important things and takes practice. Here is my daily list as not only a pregnant woman, but a Type 1 Diabetic woman:

- testing blood sugars 8x per day at least, once before every meal and once after every meal and having my sugars between 4.7 and 6.3 all the time which is very difficult but I've actually been accomplishing this pretty much 80% of the time

- take my thyroid medication upon waking up and not having any calcium or magnesium within four hours of this pill which includes of course all dairy products

- take my three prenatal mutlivitamins daily as well as 2 folic acid supplements and 3 vitamin B complex pills

- take a tbsp of my omega oils at night and a tbsp of my calcium / magnesium liquid supplement

- make sure to get at least 30 min of physical activity every day: I include my 2km of walking to the street car in this and try to practice at least 30 min of yoga at night, usually prenatal vinyasa as well as my at-home workouts which consist of squats, push-ups, lunges, planks, arm exercises and weights

- make sure to connect with the baby twice daily and practice gratitude at the same time morning and night which I basically turn into a five min mediation whether it's in the shower or sitting or lying in bed

- ensure my meals are as healthy and clean as possible

- and finally, work!!!

So it's a bit of a long list but I seem to be doing pretty well so far. I have also been reading nightly different pregnancy books on yoga, midwifery and other subjects

Xoxo

Happy New Year and…we're expecting!

Seeing as it's a new year, and things have changed dramatically in the last few months I felt the need to write a long post and let you all in on some spectacular news:

My husband Will and I are expecting!!!! Here are the little babe details:

Due date: June 26, 2014 (although I've also been told the 27 and 28)

*Note: because I'm Type 1 Diabetic and considered High-Risk, I'll be induced two weeks prior to my due date at 38 weeks

Today, I'm officially 17 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

I feel amazing, completely normal. All of my tests at the 3 month mark were normal and the OB said I have the health of a healthy 15 year old which made me feel really great! I've gained about 8-10lbs now and I can feel my mid-section expanding slightly, but I'm still wearing all of my clothes just some of my jeans are a tighter (and most of my bras) - I cannot wait to start sporting a small bump, should be about another month - let's hope anyway!!!! ;)

A lot of things have changed in my life not only due to finding out I'm carrying another person in my body, but since I started working at this amazing new job downtown my schedule has changed, my commute has changed and therefore my life has changed.

Unfortunately, I had to stop volunteering at the Power Yoga Canada Oshawa due to my new work schedule and life, and I had to stop practicing as well. Most pregnant women are not advised to practice hot yoga during any trimester, although depending on your level of experience some still do. Being high risk I was advised by both my OB-GYN and Naturopath to refrain from practicing hot yoga.

This was literally the hardest thing I had to give up - next to red wine of course! I have been practicing some non-heated yoga classes, and signed up for yogaglo.com again because they have some amazing prenatal classes!

I've been doing my own workouts at home and following this amazing blog fitinheels.com for extra at-home workout ideas. I've also been walking about 3km a day but I'm really looking forward to getting more of a sweat on - think spin class (but I will take it easy), riding the bike and I'm also thinking about doing some sort of swimming further along in my pregnancy because I love the water!

In terms of food, the only things I've been craving are salmon, spinach, goat cheese, apples and eggs. Actually, the week I found out I was pregnant I had eaten eggs 4 days straight for every meal - I didn't think anything of it until I reflected after the test was positive and something clicked…I had an aha moment!

I truly didn't have any pregnancy symptoms that were obvious like nausea or morning sickness. I was tired about a month in and the tiredness lasted about 6 weeks and normally hit around 9pm. Around 9 weeks along I felt a bit relieved and then at 10 weeks I felt normal again, I could actually stay up past 10pm!

My diabetes is another story altogether - my sugars are going in stages. Some weeks they are very controlled and I'm in the 4's and 5's, like a normal person, every single day. Then they will jump up into the 9's and I'll have to adjust my bolus rates a bit. I have my new Accu-chek pump and love it - and I am really trying as hard as I can to get my numbers perfect as it is the most important thing for me during this pregnancy. Not only does my health depend on it, but so does my baby's, and that is something I don't want to mess with. My A1C before I was pregnant was 7.6 and 3 months in I got it down to 6.9 which isn't too bad, but it needs to be much better. It is interesting though how my sugars were very low for about a month and a half which happens to non-diabetic women as well.

In terms of meals, I am eating the same but having more substantial breakfasts. My typical day looks something like this;

7am - Green Smoothie with banana, spinach, pumpkin seed protein, chia seeds, hemp seeds, frozen raspberries, fresh ginger and water

9am - amaranth porridge with cinnamon and home-made granola

11am - almonds, small apple with almond butter

12:30pm - soup, small salad, half a sandwich or quinoa salad

3pm - mary's crackers, carrots, celery with hummus

7pm - brown rice pasta with sautéed kale, olives, tomato sauce, veggies or baked salmon with baked sweet potato slices, steamed broccoli

10pm - small bowl of organic greek yogurt with granola

Supplements: I have to take 4-5mg of folic acid a day being diabetic so I ensure I get at least that amount in supplements but also consume healthy meals full of nutrients

- Pre-Natal Multivitamins (3 per day = 1mg folic acid and all other supplements required)
- Folic Acid (2 pills per day)
- Advanced B-Complex AOR brand (3 per day = 1mg folic acid and all B vitamins)
- Calcium/Magnesium Liquid (1 tbsp)
- DHA Nutrasea Oil

I'm going to continue some posts along the way mainly talking about my diabetic journey with pregnancy. There are so many things to discuss when it comes to pregnancy that every woman goes through - but the diabetic journey is different. I hope you will take what I write as valuable and helpful information as most of it will be encouragement for a happy and healthy journey!