Bradley, part 2

Oops, I'm a week late. So last week was our second Bradley class. Dan was back in town for this one, so no more feeling like a teen mother. This one was about nutrition, and to be honest, I was half thinking of skipping it. If it hadn't been Dan's first class, we probably would have. I feel like I know what I need to know about good nutrition, so didn't really see the point in sitting through a 2 hour class. That is not to say I practice good nutrition all the time, but I do pretty well, and feel like I have a pretty firm grasp on it.

I'm glad we went though! I did learn a few things. The class focused around good nutrition during pregnancy, which is (or should be) obviously not the same as good nutrition when you are trying to lose weight/maintain weight/train for an event/etc. For instance, I did not know that a daily protein intake of at least 70g has been linked to a drastic reduction in your chances of developing pre-eclempsia. And pre-E is bad, if you develop it, they pretty much just make you deliver your baby right then and there. We dont want that. There is a whole slew of pregnancy maladies that proper nutrition can virtually eliminate, but that is the biggie.

Aside from the protein, they arent so much concerned with hitting a specific number for calories/fat/carbs/etc, but there is a list of stuff that I'm supposed to eat every day. Including:

• 4 servings of dairy
• 2 eggs
• 2 servings of leafy green vegetables
• 1 serving of other vetetables
• 4 servings of grain, one of which should be whole grain
• 1 vitamin C source
• 3 servings of healthy fats
• 1 serving of fruit

Huh. Not hard, and mostly in line with general nutrition guidelines, but takes some planning ahead. I have ALWAYS been bad about getting my fruits and veggies. I just dont do it. I like raw fruits and vegetables, I am just not nearly as good as I should be about eating them. And the eggs, I like eggs, but who eats 2 eggs a day? That one is going to take some work. I also LOATHE whole grain products. I know, i know, that is not the PC thing to say. You're supposed to think they are super delicious and taste better than white bread. But, they dont. So I will have to figure out a way to choke those down.

So, our assignment for the week (and Dan is supposed to do it too) was to keep track of everything we eat, with the main goal of getting enough protein. I have done this off and on over the years, but typically when I'm trying to lose weight or lean up (down?) or something. Through using several online sites, I've found that www.sparkpeople.com is the easiest to use. So I logged back on, and of course had to right away change my daily "goals". Last time I used it, my daily caloric intake was 1,600-1,850 cal/day. Yeah. That one got altered quite significantly.

I actually had no problem hitting the protein goal (except for Saturday, but lunch at the bar + baby shower food + BBQ does not really light up the ol' nutrition scale). Everything else, uh, not so much. To give myself credit though, I did buy some whole grain english muffins, and on Sunday made myself a breakfast sandwich. It would have been much better on a regular english muffin. But whole grain, yay! And egg, yay! And bacon, not so yay. But hell, I had to dress up that cardboard somehow.

24w