Week 15: Attack of the Mac'n'Cheese Cravings

I had a doctors appointment this week, thought it was a quick check-up, but I got a sweet surprise. I got to hear our baby’s heartbeat! It was very surreal! I never really think about these little things that happen as the baby grows because I want to stay present in every moment of my pregnancy and not have expectations. It was a very happy moment for us. Our family is growing, and I couldn’t be happier in the direction our lives are moving. I also only gained 1 lb in a month since my last checkup, and we were told we find out the sex of the baby in September. A lot of great things to look forward to.

I have decided to go back to school, online for convenience, to get certified for personal nutrition and child nutrition with Shaw Academy. I am so grateful for this opportunity! I feel like it will be the filler of gaps in my nutrition knowledge, and that it will continue to help my healthy cooking skills grow. I am curious to see what I will be learning versus my own personal experiences with eating healthier and choosing a healthy lifestyle based on my trials and errors. I am going into it with an open mind for learning, without any expectations. It looks like I will complete my courses by the end of September. Which is great that I will be done before the baby comes.

I started out this week eating well with 2 salads a day, one for lunch and one for dinner. This weekend my husband and I were out to eat at some restaurants in Columbia we’ve been wanting to try. Bengals was more of a sports bar than I had thought, but the gluten-free chicken and chips were a nice treat to myself. After that, we walked around First Friday in downtown Columbia to enjoy the local artist and businesses. We finished our night at Nash Vegas watching live country artists, and having the bartender and fellow drinkers tell me how strong I was for being there and not drinking. This made me laugh, I enjoyed my ten glasses of water and running to the bathroom every 30 minutes, at least until January I can enjoy it.

Saturday Ryan’s grandparents had their 50th Anniversary Party at Nelly’s Restaurant in Moberly, MO. I had a huge salad from their big salad bar and black tea. Before the party, my husband and I worked on setting up my yoga studio in our home for me to teach private lessons out of. I felt great working and being on my feet, I am just starting to notice small amounts of low back pain if I stand still too long. That night we had a Netflix marathon and ate a bag of potato chips, ending the cheat weekend off right. Sunday started my mac’n’cheese cravings, and I have been eating it for a meal every day since then. I pour it on raw chopped kale, cherry tomatoes, and jalapenos. Delicious! Now I am craving more.

I am still teaching around 10 yoga classes/private lessons a week. I try to practice for myself 5-6 times a week separate from teaching. I am still doing small catering, meal prep and private chef work for clients as well. I ran one time this week, 5 miles, and kept my run to that since I managed turnover for my friend’s cleaning business on Thursday, Friday and Monday and was on my feet for 6-8 hours each day doing that. I think getting back onto my feet for those days gave me an energy boost to be up and moving all day again. That went away slightly after the first trimester had me lying down sick so much. My body has adjusted back to be active all day again!