Will this pregnancy ever end?

Sorry, friends. I've been neglectful with my blogging. I'm huge, miserable, and ornery. I've got a week and a half until my due date and we're doing everything to get this baby here. The other night I sat on an exercise ball to try and make the baby descend. When I got off my back seized up and I had to crawl to the bathtub!
But the baby's growing great, I love feeling her (or him) move, and we're thrilled to be almost there.
I hope you're all having a wonderful, healthy summer. Someday soon I'll have some brain power return, be able to write fitness articles, and get excited about being fit again.

Exercise Through the Hard Times

I usually enjoy exercise. I love pushing myself through a hard workout. I love getting sweaty and having a reason to shower. I love knowing that my muscles are strong and I can keep up with my wild boys.

At my current state, I consider vacuuming a challenging cardiovascular exercise. How did I regress from running marathons to absolute slothfulness? I decided I needed another angel in my life and am expecting my fourth baby in August.

There are times in all of our lives that fitness has to take a backseat – sickness of a child, taking care of an elderly parent, overload at work, a new baby. I’m sure you all have a list of your own. The ironic thing is at these times we need exercise more than ever. Why?

• Exercise decreases stress by increasing your health and overall sense of well-being.
• Exercise is meditation in motion – you can forget some stresses as you exercise and often be able to focus better on the problem later. I also find that solutions come to me as I’m out on a run or bike ride.
• Exercise increases the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Anything that gets you moving quickly can give you that “runner’s-high.” I often get sluggish and tired in the afternoon, but if I go on a short walk or dance with my kids I feel much better and can usually avoid crashing on the couch. (I said usually, sometimes the nap is a necessity!)
• Exercise improves your mood – Regular exercise can increase self-confidence and lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety.
• Exercise helps you to sleep better – people who exercise have lower cases of insomnia and sleep is improved because you experience smoother transitions between sleep cycles and you stay in the stage four (deepest sleep) cycle longer.

But what do you do when life is on overload and you barely have energy to get dressed each day? I suggest you employ the normal tricks to help you fit in fitness:

• Make a workout date with yourself on your calendar.
• Lay your exercise clothes out the night before. (I always feel so guilty when I have to put them away clean.)
• Place the alarm clock across the room so you have to get up.
• Find an exercise buddy who motivates you.
• If possible ride a bike or walk instead of driving.
• Chores count too – yard work, housework, cleaning the car, anything that gets you moving will burn calories and help you feel better (guess I shouldn’t joke about vacuuming being exercise).
• Park at the end of the parking lot and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Sign up for an exercise class or a triathlon to get yourself motivated (If I pay for something I’m guaranteed to do it because I hate to waste money).
• Do little spurts of exercise – dancing with your children, lifting weights while you watch television, walking or doing calf raises while you talk on the phone. Every little bit counts and a few minutes here and there can add up to great results.

Use all of these tricks and any others that work for you, but also realize that you are going through a hard or busy time and give yourself a break. If you don’t get to the gym on a morning you promised yourself to go, remind yourself that you probably needed sleep or some snuggle time with your child. Don’t beat yourself up. Focus on the positive and recommit to getting out of bed tomorrow.

Yes, I can barely waddle around the block, but soon I’ll have a gorgeous baby. The prize is well worth the pain. Every one of us is going to go through trials (many worse than the discomforts of pregnancy). If we focus on the positive, try to take care of our health, and rely on the Lord we can use these hard times to make ourselves a better person, we can come out smiling on the other side.

(i) Exercise: Rev up your routine to reduce stress by Mayo Clinic Staff

(ii) How does exercise improve sleep by Scott White

(iii) How to fit exercise into your busy schedule by Ehow Staff Writer

7 Things You Should Never Share

Found an article on Nursingschools.net about 7 Surprising Things You Should Never Share. Good stuff to know. I have no qualms about sharing my keyboard, nail clippers, and hairbrush with my family or anyone else who may need them. Maybe I'd better be more careful!

Feeling Huge

This pregnancy has really done a number on my self-esteem. Even though I'm trying to strength train and do cardio I'm gaining a lot of weight, my muscles have all gone to squish, and I have cellulite on the front of my thighs (we're not even looking at the back anymore). Have you ever seen cellulite on the front of someone's thighs? Disgusting.

I know I'm growing an angelic baby and I am thrilled about that.

How do all of you keep things in perspective when you're expecting, hormonal, aching, and wondering if a second bowl of ice cream isn't a fabulous idea?

Sunshine Award

My sweet friend, Vicki, at Reading at the Beach, gave me The Sunshine Award. Cute, huh?

This award is passed on to those bloggers that inspire others and show positivity and creativity, so I picked blogs that I enjoy visiting and inspire me.

The rules for accepting the award are:

This is what I've done and the nominees should do the same if they choose to:

1) Put the logo within my blog or on my post

2) Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers

3) Link the nominees within my post

4) Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog

5) Share the love and link to the person whom you received this award from.

Here are my nominees (there are definitely more than twelve worthy blogs out there, but I'm running short on preschool-no-guilt time).

Books and Needlepoint

Michele Ashman Bell

One Librarian's Book Reviews

There's Always a Reason to Bake

Sometimes Hard but oh so Worth it

DiscomBobulated Running

Sugar = Poison?

The past couple of days I've consumed an entire piece of The Cheescake Factory's Black-out Cake. If you've ever seen one of these slices, you'll understand why I'm disgusted with myself. They're bigger than a dinner plate and richer than Ghirardelli chocolate. Yesterday I seriously could not move out of my chair. I was so weak and sick it terrified me. I started wondering if it was the sugar overdose. I did some research online and found everything from cautions to too much sugar during pregnancy because of gestational diabetes to an article that basically equated the effect of sugar on a fetus to be as awful as alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine.

Oh, the guilt!

The hard thing is there isn't a lot of solid research out there, but I guess I understand that. None of us would want to be the guinea pig to see what hurt our baby or not.

So I've decided to be careful about excess sugar for the next few weeks and see if I feel better. I'm not giving up jam on my toast but I did hide the rest of the Black-out Cake in the outside freezer!

Any advice? Have any of you noticed an adverse effect from sugar on you or your children? I definitely feel gross if I eat too much and I think my children get whinier, but I've really never equated sugar with poison as some of the articles I read suggested.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Cami

Lessons Learned from The Biggest Loser

Many of you know that I don’t enjoy television and have a hard time allowing my children to watch the tube. Of course, my husband comes to their rescue, recording Discovery Channel shows like Cake Boss and Dirty Jobs in an attempt to keep his children “normal.” My husband also forces me to watch at least one or two episodes per season of The Biggest Loser.

I have to admit it is an hour well spent (he’s an expert with the remote control and can condense any two-hour segment into an hour - it’s an impressive talent). The Biggest Loser is inspiring. It is amazing to watch those men and women put mind over body, losing weight by pushing themselves harder than most of us can comprehend. It is touching to see them changing their bodies and their lives.

Here are some lessons I’ve learned from my brief exposure to The Biggest Loser:

1. It is okay to kick your own butt. As an exercise scientist I always worry about pushing a client too hard, making them too sore, inducing an injury. I am always and will continue to be very careful about the types of exercise I do or recommend because some exercises are just begging for an injury. That said, it is wonderful to experience some soreness the day after a great weight lifting session. It is extremely effective to do intense cardio and intervals. Most of us realize that you aren’t going to see results without pushing hard. The Biggest Loser has proven that you can see amazing results by going hard and not quitting when it hurts (in a good way).
2. When we see the contestants on The Biggest Loser shedding multiple pounds a week, we think we should be able to do that too. Don’t. A pound or two lost a week is a manageable goal and a lot healthier in the long term. The Biggest Loser contestants not only have amazing personal trainers, but a physician monitoring them, personal chefs, and I’m betting on trained rehabilitation specialists to minimize injury and maximize recovery. Many people turn to crazy crash diets, pills, or surgeries to help them lose weight quickly. Good old diet and exercise are always the best plan. In some extreme cases, surgery may be necessary or a physician-recommended medication or an extreme diet while working with a qualified dietitian. But for most of us the basics of eating healthy, whole foods in small servings and strength training to increase metabolism and improve appearance and cardiovascular exercises for heart and lung health and to burn extra calories are really the best way to go. Most of the time extreme weight loss is put back on as quickly as it came off.
3. It is a far better plan to stay in shape and eat healthy rather than let yourself go and have to fight back to your ideal weight. We all have times in our lives when we pack on some extra poundage, but if we can get back on track as soon as possible it really will prevent many health problems and avoid the horrible yo-yo’s of crash dieting.
4. Believe in yourself. When contestants from The Biggest Loser return home most of them have been able to keep off the weight because of a good support system, but some of them have not. A supportive group of friends and family will make weight loss much easier, but you have to believe in yourself first. You have to be healthy because you want to be. Not because your spouse or parent is nagging you to be. Take care of yourself because you care for yourself and because you care for your loved ones and want to be healthy and strong for them.
5. Never give up. Feeling good about yourself and being healthy are worth the struggle. Obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong struggle for most of us. Sometimes it’s a miserable fight, but when you look at the rewards of feeling great and being there for your family – it’s a fight worth fighting. Good luck in the battle!

Cami Checketts is an author, exercise scientist, wife, and mother to three and three-quarters children. Her latest novel, The Sister Pact, is in stores now. www.camichecketts.com