Greetings!
Short intro: I've been eating a whole foods, plant-based diet on and off since 2008. I started with Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live, migrated to Dr. McDougall, and now eat somewhere in between the two plant-based diets. When I stick to it, I feel great! I'm not congested, my digestive system works properly, and I don't wake up in the morning hating myself for eating a lot of junk I shouldn't have the previous day.
I love eating this way and overall my health is good, but I think there is room for improvement. I still don't experience the super immunity many plant-based eaters seem to have and I'm currently heavier than I think I should be. In July of this year, I weighed 117 lbs (I'm 5'3") which puts my BMI at 20.7. That is definitely within the healthy BMI range, but it's not really in the "low range" (closer to 18.5) and I have lots of visible fat on my body, especially around my belly (more than 1"), putting me at a risk for health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes (Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live, pg 24).
Anyway, I've had food/exercise/health blogs in the past (I used to be an avid triathlete) but stopped them once I had accomplished my goals (finding peace with food, finishing an Ironman triathlon, etc). But now I have a new reason to start again:
I'm pregnant.
I am currently 11 weeks pregnant with my first child. I fully believe I should be able to stay plant-based for the entire pregnancy, but I am concerned about getting enough nutrients and also gaining too much weight. I think one should be able to eat a plant-based diet and not gain more than the recommended amount, but I am finding this a little harder in reality. For the past month, I've been nauseous, eating copious amounts of junk food, and have already gained about 7 lbs, when my doctor told me I should have gained no more than 3 lbs in the first trimester! Yikes.
So I'm committing to a full 21 days of logging my food intake as motivation and to continue on the plant-based path. I will be using cron-o-meter to track my intake and nutrients, which has been tweaked a little, according to the recommendations in this Jeff Novick thread. I am a little obsessed with numbers and using cron-o-meter motivates me to make sure I get all of my nutrients in without going overboard. I want to be clear that I am not trying to lose weight while pregnant. I am just trying to track my nutrient intake and make sure I gain the appropriate amount of weight (25 - 35 lbs suggested by my OB) without gaining too much (I know too many people who took "eating for two" literally!). I am also particularly interested in tracking my fiber intake because I am currently dealing with an issue I never dealt with before becoming pregnant: constipation. Yuck!
Why 21 days? Sure, I'd love to track for longer than that, but I have a couple of reasons to just do 21 days. Three weeks is long enough to spot patterns and it's not so long that I find this to be a chore and give up. Plus I am traveling overseas at the end of 3 weeks and will not be able to realistically track my intake then.
Feel free to follow along as I try to have the healthiest pregnancy I can. I welcome comments and love to hear about others' experiences.
Short intro: I've been eating a whole foods, plant-based diet on and off since 2008. I started with Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live, migrated to Dr. McDougall, and now eat somewhere in between the two plant-based diets. When I stick to it, I feel great! I'm not congested, my digestive system works properly, and I don't wake up in the morning hating myself for eating a lot of junk I shouldn't have the previous day.
I love eating this way and overall my health is good, but I think there is room for improvement. I still don't experience the super immunity many plant-based eaters seem to have and I'm currently heavier than I think I should be. In July of this year, I weighed 117 lbs (I'm 5'3") which puts my BMI at 20.7. That is definitely within the healthy BMI range, but it's not really in the "low range" (closer to 18.5) and I have lots of visible fat on my body, especially around my belly (more than 1"), putting me at a risk for health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes (Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live, pg 24).
Anyway, I've had food/exercise/health blogs in the past (I used to be an avid triathlete) but stopped them once I had accomplished my goals (finding peace with food, finishing an Ironman triathlon, etc). But now I have a new reason to start again:
I'm pregnant.
I am currently 11 weeks pregnant with my first child. I fully believe I should be able to stay plant-based for the entire pregnancy, but I am concerned about getting enough nutrients and also gaining too much weight. I think one should be able to eat a plant-based diet and not gain more than the recommended amount, but I am finding this a little harder in reality. For the past month, I've been nauseous, eating copious amounts of junk food, and have already gained about 7 lbs, when my doctor told me I should have gained no more than 3 lbs in the first trimester! Yikes.
So I'm committing to a full 21 days of logging my food intake as motivation and to continue on the plant-based path. I will be using cron-o-meter to track my intake and nutrients, which has been tweaked a little, according to the recommendations in this Jeff Novick thread. I am a little obsessed with numbers and using cron-o-meter motivates me to make sure I get all of my nutrients in without going overboard. I want to be clear that I am not trying to lose weight while pregnant. I am just trying to track my nutrient intake and make sure I gain the appropriate amount of weight (25 - 35 lbs suggested by my OB) without gaining too much (I know too many people who took "eating for two" literally!). I am also particularly interested in tracking my fiber intake because I am currently dealing with an issue I never dealt with before becoming pregnant: constipation. Yuck!
Why 21 days? Sure, I'd love to track for longer than that, but I have a couple of reasons to just do 21 days. Three weeks is long enough to spot patterns and it's not so long that I find this to be a chore and give up. Plus I am traveling overseas at the end of 3 weeks and will not be able to realistically track my intake then.
Feel free to follow along as I try to have the healthiest pregnancy I can. I welcome comments and love to hear about others' experiences.
