Food for thought...

Lately I have been super busy with school work as well as still trying to have a life, and get lots of bits and pieces done around our house before wee one joins us. My priority is my teaching job and doing the best job I possibly can before I go off to have this baby. I am absolutely loving my job and my students - I teach 9 and 10 year olds - and my school is totally the best!

The only problem is, this job is very tiring, not to mention growing a wee baby... Which means that there is less energy for workouts. I have still been pumping up the jam (doing pump class) 1-2 times a week at the gym but my running has turned to run/walks, and inconsistent. I don't mind this but I do need to do better with my consistency.

Ever find this a struggle? Starting an exercise regime/plan and struggling to stay consistent?

This evening I went for about a 6km walk. It was only ever going to be a walk as I really just did not feel like wearing my support belt today, and I just get a wee bit too much discomfort if I try and run without it. I loved the walk but really felt like running the second half especially. Was quite a nice change though to just walk.

If you are a newby to exercise or are really just trying to create some great habits and consistency in your workouts, this website here  has some excellent tips...

"Once you have decided on the type of exercise you want to engage in, creating consistency means being realistic about how much time you need to devote to your regular exercise regimen. Create a workout schedule that involves at least a few minutes a day for a warm up, 20 minutes for a cardio activity and additional time for strength training and a cool down. You might write down your schedule to solidify your commitment to your exercise plan."

Great advice to people starting out, or you can take some gems from that if you are a bit like me at the moment and struggling to fit everything in.

Tim is away tonight on a Managers retreat thingee so I came home and had a nice dinner of fish and veges... So good! After that, however, I decided that I was allowed to indulge in some fruit salad with ice cream and caramel sauce. YUM!

Treat city!!

Don't get me wrong, I am trying to eat really well during my pregnancy and I am not buying into everyone's comments that 'It's ok, you're eating for two so you can eat whatever you want'. This is somewhat true, I am eating for two, however the second person is only teeny weeny and only requires an extra 300 calories from my behalf, so the 'eat-what-you-want-because-you-are-pregnant' excuse doesn't really cut it. I am a bit more partial to indulging in treats a little more often than I used to though. I think I could actually live off ice cream!

Now that I have had that little burst of thought, here's a preggy pic update to keep you happy... Or unhappy if you're not into that stuff??

6 months preggers and check out the bump!

As I mentioned, Tim's away, thus the reason for the cheesy selfie! And thus the reason for eating treats on the couch whilst (supposed to be doing school work but am blogging) watching this victorious victory speech live from Barack Obama...

Got to say, although I am not American and can't vote so it doesn't really even matter, I am a bit of an Obama fan (sorry to all the Romney fans out there). So good on you Obama, and great victory speech. Yip, NZ might be small and totally a gazillion miles away from any other country but we do get some of the world news over here you know :)

American readers (and anyone else) - What do you think about Obama's success in this election? 

I don't really know too much about politics, but I do enjoy hearing people's opinions on the matter and sometimes even share my own... Would you believe I share my opinions?? 

That's about all for now but please, keep watching this space for my guest posts and my giveaway coming up, as promised!  

Half way and wearing a smiley...

So this week we are officially half way! Yip, 20 weeks into this whole pregnancy thing and I've got to say, although there are some undesirables that come with pregnancy, there are a lot more things that are enjoyable and I am enjoying it! For now... hehe.

I think my stomach has just exploded though and one undesirable = clothes I could fit last week, I can no longer fit. One enjoyable = I get to buy new clothes, so it's not all that bad. Running, however, has become a little more uncomfortable now as I am just a tad bit bigger, even with my smiley belt on.

Because I just know how much you all LOVE seeing what I look like first thing in the morning!

 A few weeks ago I bought a tummy support belt to wear whilst running. When I mentioned it in a previous post a friend asked me if it was only for pregnancy - No, it's not. You could wear one if you needed to support your back or something like that, but I think they are most commonly worn during pregnancy, and it's great that they support your belly and your back at the same time!

The one I am wearing in the picture above is called a 'smiley' belt, which comes from this website here. It is neoprene, aka wetsuit, material so is a little bulky under my shirt and quite thick which makes you sweat like crazy underneath it. It does help with support though.

"Wear a Smiley Belt during pregnancy to support painful back and pelvic joints or use as a belly band to reduce abdominal heaviness and relieve low back strain."

I got it to help with the 'abdominal heaviness' but found it was quite good for supporting my back too, even though I didn't even realise it needed support. I think it was definitely worth the buy and is even good to wear on long walks, etc. Because I am going to be at my biggest through the hottest months, I am a little unsure of how I am going to go with running and wearing the belt all that time. I guess we will just have to wait and see how that one turns out :)
 

After my run, without the belt on.

I know I had said I would post posts like this one under the CRG Baby tab above, but I am having some issues with figuring out a few things to do with it. So until I can sort it out you will just have to excuxe the occassional baby posts popping up on my main blog page.

Oh, I also just have to tell you, we had the half way scan this week and in it we saw this...

I know these scans are so hard to tell what is going on in them at the best of times, but cock your head to the left and you will see that our baby is giving us a thumbs up... The coolest thing ever we think! As for the sex - we did not find out, although it was rather tempting once we were in there.

Do you have any helpful hints for running/exercising during pregnancy?

What were your favourite and least favourite parts of pregnancy? 

The perks of a teacher and a banker...

At the moment it is school holidays which, you guessed it, means two weeks off!! Well, sort of anyway, maybe it's more like 2 weeks to get the teacher's work done without any students around...

I was supposed to be at school most of this week planning for the term to come, however I couldn't resist tagging along on Tim's work trip to the 'big smoke', a.k.a Auckland. I am from a reasonably small city so it's always exciting getting to go with Tim and stay in some swanky digs and pretend like I am posh.

We arrived late Monday night to this delightful little apartment which is right in the Viaduct...

My little setup in the corner to do school work (or stalk some blogs, whatever)

On Tuesday morning I thought I'd get up and go for a wee run, reliving some of the glory from the Auckland marathon course, since I won't be running it this year.

I thought you'd like to see what I looked like first thing in the morning with a 19 week bump and wearing my ugliest race tee shirt, so I took this photo for you. And because I thought you'd like to see the most unflattering photo of me that I think has ever been taken... Ha!

I ran about 4km but didn't wear my belly belt, so then walked the other 4 kms. Now when I run I just look a bit like a fat kid trying to catch up to all the other kids miles ahead in the cross country... Yikes! I can't really go too far without the lovely ol' belly belt on as it starts to get a bit uncomfortable/sore. On my walk I enjoyed sites like these:

The Viaduct where all the fancy peoples' boats are parked

A lovely shot of the Sky Tower in behind all the swanky boats

After I got back I did some school work in the apartment and then got dolled up to do some window shopping and have lunch with my sister in law... Coz that's how I roll when I am a lady of leisure...

Just threw this one in so you know that I didn't look as horrid as that first pic ALL day!

 This morning I got up nice and early to head home so I could hit my fave mall on the way, then get some hours in at school. Yip, posh time was over! But before all of that I parked up at a sweet little cafe and had this delicious and nutricious breakie...

You just can't beat good muesli, fresh fruit and natural yoghurt to start the day!

Now I am home and Tim won't get back til tomorrow so I'll probably just eat ice cream for dinner... Oops!

Oh, and I just HAVE to tell you about the BEST yoghurt I have just discovered! I saw it advertised in a magazine a few weeks ago and hadn't managed to find it in the two supermarkets I usually go to, but then tried another one and found it. I was delighted! Here it is... If you want to find it in Whangarei you can only find it at Countdown at the moment. Hopefully everyone else gets it soon because I normally nevs evs shop there.

Collective Skinny Greek Yoghurt... YUM!!

 They had about 6 or so different flavours to choose from, like tart cherry, passionfruit, and more, but I wasn't going to buy all of them so just chose berry flavour. It was sooo good. It's got no added sugar OR sweeteners, it's low in fat and high in protein and it's just so good! Goes really well with some fresh fruit and probs is super delish on muesli in the morning. The only problem is that the tub isn't big enough and it's more in the price range of the gourmet yoghurts... Will have to be my sneaky indulgence.

This was the wee treat I got when I took off the lid. So true!

So that's the start of my school holidays in a nutshell. Not too exciting, I know, but on Friday we are heading off on our real holiday for 5 days to relax and catch up with some of Tim's family down in the Coromandel... Bliss! Can't wait.

If you're on holiday right now, what are your plans? Doing anything exciting?

What's your favourite yoghurt or your sneakiest indulgence?
 

Running with a bun...

And by this I don't mean running while eating some bread, which I know some of you are dreaming of, but running with a bun in the oven!! Yup.

I know some of you out there might be thinking 'how risky' or 'is it worth it' or 'why do that to yourself and your baby???' I know those are all valid things to be thinking or asking and trust me, I have done my research. In my research I couldn't even find any negative effects of running during pregnancy even when that's all I tried to look for. As long as it is something you have done before you are pregnant... That is the only thing you need to remember. DO NOT DECIDE TO START RUNNING FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER FINDING OUT YOU ARE PREGNANT! Otherwise, go for it!

Here's a tiny snippet of what I did manage to find out in my research...

The Complete Book of Running for Women, written by Claire kowalchik, has a really big section on running and pregnancy. It has awesome info.

My favourite quote from the book: "Not only is running during pregnancy safe for you and your baby, but it can also offer several health benefits..." Claire also goes on to talk about how "...many women are discovering that running during pregnancy is a positive and healthful experience for themselves and their babies. Experts now agree not only that running during pregnancy is safe for mom and baby but that it can actually enhance your well-being and and maybe even that of your child."

How awesome is that!?! Claire also talks all about the physical rewards, oxygen, aerobic advantages, well-being, running programmes, cross-training for pregnancy, stretches and exercises, and SOOOO much more! It is great, if you are wanting to know all about it I suggest you read this book, or one similar that has lots of info in it.

In short, if you are a runner, running during pregnancy is just fine or both of you, unless you have been told otherwise from a doctor.

source

There are also some amazing women whose blogs I follow who have ran or been very physical throughout their pregnancies. If you are a pregnant runner then you should totally follow them. You can find them all here...

Janae at this wonderful blog here, is an amazing runner who ran the whole way through her pregnancy and now has a gorgeous 6 wk old baby girl. She is a huge inspiration!

Hanna, who you can check out at her blog here, is just a week behind me in her 3rd pregnancy and has an amazing and inspirational story to share about her running and weight loss journey.

Katy, who has this fab blog, has a whole bunch of awesome workouts that can be done at home or the gym, all through pregnancy. She also has a whole bunch of great workouts for non-preggers chicks too.

There are sooo many other great blogs where you can get great inspiration, advice and workouts for pregnancy but I definitely recommend you check out these ones. I follow them daily and they are some of my faves. Thanks wonderful girls! x

Just a lazy Sunday morning...

I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't the favourite child before, I most definitely am now, now that I am preggers... Not ashamed to admit it and not ashamed to milk it! Haha. I have to claim it while it is there because when my brothers start having babies, or even my little bro gets married, I'll be old news.

Anyway, this weekend Tim has been away so last night I thought I would go hang with my folks, and since I was going to be there, might as well stay the night. Yip, favourite child got a nice wee desert made just for her -  was nice enough to share it with them though :)

I played my hockey final yesterday and unfortunately we lost, but the other team really deserved to win, I must say. Then after that, and having some shots of water with my team mates who were having shots of who-knows-what, and my ginormous plate of the world's best wedges, I headed out to my parent's for the Masterchef final... I know, don't be jealous of just how exciting my life is!

And this morning, this is what I got to wake up to...

Beautiful!

My parents live next to an airport so I got up and walked around it before going to church this morning. I loved it. This is where I grew up so always love being back there and going through my old running tracks. I was planning on running this morning but was just a tad score after the big finale yesterday so a nice cruisy walk it was.

Which brings me to the next part... Running with a bubba... It's not quite as easy as running senza bubba! Who would have thought?!? So I have ordered myself a belly support belt and when it arrives I will have a little run to see if it helps relieve some of the weight pull. Will let you know how that goes.

So how was your Sunday?? Was it a lazy one? 

Do you love going back to where you grew up? 

Who's the favourite child in your family?