Alexistrophic
Member
Continued from my previous journal here: New journal for a new chapter in my life!
My (middle) name is Alexis. I’m 39, live in the tri-state area (NJ and NYC). Until recently, I was single, living with my mom, and just kinda going through the motions…
Then this happened:
To be fair, this is the culmination of YEARS of hard work on myself. I went to therapy, read books, went to singles groups searching for “the one”, and slogged through YEARS of bad dates and heartbreak… Met my soon-to-be husband, A, in June of 2018. It was not all easy, but it was good and worthwhile. We both worked on ourselves and learned to become better people to get to where we are now.
My History with Food:
Graduated college, worked in publishing for a bit, then decided to take a chance and moved abroad. While I was overseas, I definitely turned to unhealthy and disordered food behavior to help cope. Was overseas for 2.5 years and able to gain a measure of recovery. Won’t say those days are completely behind me, but I’m definitely better than I was.
Pregnancy so far:
I’m 13 weeks 4 days… excited, but not gonna lie: not super thrilled about gaining weight.
First few weeks were BRUTAL: nauseous and absolutely NO energy. Protein made me gag. Only foods that appealed to me were carb heavy comfort foods like pizza, breadsticks, soup…
Also, apparently the stomach gets smaller during pregnancy which means that I need to eat smaller meals more often… The “more often” isn’t a problem… the “smaller meals” part IS a problem. I have been intermittent fasting for 5-6 years and I’m used to eating only 1 - 2 large meals…
PLUS there’s a whole list of foods to avoid during pregnancy due to many different concerns including high mercury in tuna and listeria in things like raw fish/lunch meat. (the listeria concern grinds my gears because listeria is most commonly found in bagged salad and cut fruit from delis due to poor refrigeration…)
Here are the things I miss most:
Weekly exercise routine:
Nutrition:
I’m aiming to stay at or under 1500 cals per day
Sample Meal plan:
7-9 AM - breakfast - cottage cheese + low sugar jam + toast or banana (300 cals)
11AM - lunch - hot turkey avocado sandwich (300 cals)
2PM - snack - avocado + saltines (130)
5PM - dinner - cabbage, egg, cheese bake (400)
7PM - snack - grapefruit (100)
9PM - small snack - 5-10 saltines (100)
Total = 1330 cals
Daily Check In - 3/4/22
Activity -
Nutrition = B (yesterday)
Good Stuff:
Not so great:
My (middle) name is Alexis. I’m 39, live in the tri-state area (NJ and NYC). Until recently, I was single, living with my mom, and just kinda going through the motions…
Then this happened:
- October 2021 - Got engaged in Paris
- February 2022 - Got married in Cocoa Beach, FL (2-22-2022)
- March 2022 - Pregnant! (due in Oct, but will probably be early.. Kid is growing fast!)
To be fair, this is the culmination of YEARS of hard work on myself. I went to therapy, read books, went to singles groups searching for “the one”, and slogged through YEARS of bad dates and heartbreak… Met my soon-to-be husband, A, in June of 2018. It was not all easy, but it was good and worthwhile. We both worked on ourselves and learned to become better people to get to where we are now.
My History with Food:
Graduated college, worked in publishing for a bit, then decided to take a chance and moved abroad. While I was overseas, I definitely turned to unhealthy and disordered food behavior to help cope. Was overseas for 2.5 years and able to gain a measure of recovery. Won’t say those days are completely behind me, but I’m definitely better than I was.
Pregnancy so far:
I’m 13 weeks 4 days… excited, but not gonna lie: not super thrilled about gaining weight.
First few weeks were BRUTAL: nauseous and absolutely NO energy. Protein made me gag. Only foods that appealed to me were carb heavy comfort foods like pizza, breadsticks, soup…
Also, apparently the stomach gets smaller during pregnancy which means that I need to eat smaller meals more often… The “more often” isn’t a problem… the “smaller meals” part IS a problem. I have been intermittent fasting for 5-6 years and I’m used to eating only 1 - 2 large meals…
PLUS there’s a whole list of foods to avoid during pregnancy due to many different concerns including high mercury in tuna and listeria in things like raw fish/lunch meat. (the listeria concern grinds my gears because listeria is most commonly found in bagged salad and cut fruit from delis due to poor refrigeration…)
Here are the things I miss most:
- Sashimi
- Lunch meat (heat for 30 seconds to kill any bacteria)
- Avoid canned tuna
- Rare steak
Weekly exercise routine:
- 30 mins walking x 5 days per week
- 15 mins of sunlight per day
- Ideally, I’d also add in 30 - 60 mins of toning 3-5x per week, since these body changes are no joke! (I do the Tracy Anderson Method Pregnancy Project, but I know that can be a little controversial around here!) I love it!
Nutrition:
I’m aiming to stay at or under 1500 cals per day
Sample Meal plan:
7-9 AM - breakfast - cottage cheese + low sugar jam + toast or banana (300 cals)
11AM - lunch - hot turkey avocado sandwich (300 cals)
2PM - snack - avocado + saltines (130)
5PM - dinner - cabbage, egg, cheese bake (400)
7PM - snack - grapefruit (100)
9PM - small snack - 5-10 saltines (100)
Total = 1330 cals
Daily Check In - 3/4/22
- Weight = 146.8
- (Max desired weight range = 166 - 168 BMI = 24.8)
Activity -
- 30 min walk
- 15 min toning (TA PP)
Nutrition = B (yesterday)
- Cottage cheese + low sugar jam + banana
- ½ Hot turkey avocado swiss cheese sandwich
- Avocado + saltines
- Grapefruit
- Saltines
- Low sugar ice cream + cake icing (eek!)
- Egg, cheese, cabbage bake
Good Stuff:
- Energy is coming back slowly (walking in the morning REALLY helps!)
- Able to stretch and really feeling my range of motion
Not so great:
- Still super tired
What sort of dancing do you do, Alexis? I love dancing, but most of it is done in the kitchen. Your food looks delicious & nutritious.