Baby 3: Third Trimester Recap + Freezer Stash

I’m typing this sitting on my yoga ball and breathing through some Braxton Hicks contractions; we are one-ish week away from meeting our little man! Since I wrote about the first and second trimesters of this pregnancy plus all three trimesters with my second pregnancy, I didn’t want to take a blogging break before writing about this final trimester.

The Scoop on Trimester #3

To sum this third trimester up in one word: hot! It has been a blazing hot (I think record-breaking!) summer, and because of that I have experienced some swelling, but nothing too major (my first pregnancy I had pitting edema in the dead of winter) and I am so thankful for the modern miracle of central air conditioning! With that being said, exercise this trimester was a little tough. I still did my short home workout every weekday morning, plus swimming here and there, and this trimester I also added in some prenatal yoga and tried to do squats throughout the day. The girls and I typically get out for a short walk several mornings a week, and in the last few weeks I’ve made sure to do my curb walking; hopeful to get Brother in a good position for delivery. Physically I have been tired, but thankful to have had an active pregnancy to keep the aches and pains at bay.

In regards to food, I didn’t have any specific cravings that I can think of, but I made sure to take my prenatal vitamins more regularly, and in the last few weeks have been making lots of nice cream with dates to help ripen my cervix. I’ve also been drinking at least two cups of red raspberry leaf tea a day to help strengthen and tone my uterus for the [prayerfully soon] delivery. I give into my crunchy/salty cravings often with plantain chips, and my sweet cravings with nice cream or dark chocolate almonds. Yum! I am not about depriving myself, just finding alternatives that taste and feel good!

Prepping for Postpartum

Before having our second daughter, I stashed our freezer with homemade meals, and I started making double batches of several dinners this month to do the same. Some meals I have in the freezer are:

• spaghetti sauce (easy enough to boil some noodles and toss this veggie-laden sauce on top)
• chili with extra veggies (similar to this recipe)
• sweet potato meatballs
• egg and bacon breakfast tacos
• protein pancakes
• salsa chicken for taco bowls
• curried chicken with roasted sweet potatoes
• frozen pizzas – yep!
• frozen chicken nuggets – also yep! Both easy to toss in the oven and I know the girls will enjoy
• plenty of bags of frozen vegetables that can steam in the microwave (even though this is usually my favorite way to cook frozen veggies)

In the pantry I have:

• pretzels
• larabars
• other granola bars and applesauce pouches for the girls
• seaweed snacks
• packaged rice to toss in the microwave to help round out our meals
• canned tuna (so delicious mixed with this chipotle mayo, relish, and red onions)
• sweet potatoes and russet potatoes for making baked potatoes

In the fridge I have:

• boiled eggs
• hummus (for pretzels – yum!)
• overnight oats with flaxseed and brewer’s yeast for lactation

I think that is everything! I am praying for a peaceful transition in our family and a calm postpartum experience. All of you experienced parents of 3+ kiddos out there send me your tips! Until I come back to write Brother’s birth story… enjoy your pinch of crazy!

This blog contains affiliate links; if you purchase using the links, it is of no extra cost to you, just a small commission for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!

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Some Thoughts: Pre-pregnancy body, vanity, pride, and health

Hello people of WordPress! I have not blogged since Halloween… oops. November and December passed in a flurry of holidays, then on December 27th, my husband and I got a late Christmas gift of a positive pregnancy test. Yep, Baby #3 will be joining our family in about five months!

Since those fateful two pink lines I’ve been… well, exhausted. This pregnancy has been (ironically) the easiest nausea wise, but the toughest exhaustion wise. I’ve basically floated through the first 1/4 of 2022 just trying to get the daily tasks done, and consequently I’ve fallen off the blogosphere.

I’m now 17 weeks pregnant and starting to get some energy back, so hopefully I’ll be back to monthly blogging… at least for the next five months! I’ll get a first trimester recap up soon, and have a couple of kitchen hacks (not exactly recipes) coming too, but I thought I would jump back into blogging with some thoughts about body image.

17 weeks pregnant with Baby #3

It’s hard to imagine that 2021 was a whole year and some months ago, but let’s back up to there. At the start of 2021, I was still about 15 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, and Selah (Baby #2) was almost one. But I wasn’t too worried about it; I thought with all my exercising with Fit4Mom I’d drop the weight once Selah was weaned. Well, thanks to covid, the Fit4Mom franchise I worked for lost all members and I lost that workout avenue. Shortly after that, in February, we started getting Selah involved in Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) for her gross motor delay. She was 6 months behind developmentally and needed weekly physical therapy as well as bi-weekly feeding therapy because she was unable to use a cup due to poor muscle tone. I also was taking her to twice weekly chiropractor visits, and we had frequent meetings with our ECI case manager at the beginning of services. So at that point, we had 3-4 appointments per week, I was dealing with the stress of knowing my baby has something “wrong” with her, I was juggling two children, two part-time jobs, faced with the loss of one job and a workout avenue in one, and was still nursing my almost one-year-old probably 6-8 times a day because she had no other source of hydration. It was a very stressful start of the year for me as a mom, and really for my whole family. As most people do when times get stressful, I let some things go; in my case that was working out and cooking from scratch for my family. I started buying a lot more packaged goods, and even though I tried to make “healthier” choices, there are so many added ingredients that aren’t ideal. Add that to my complete lack of exercise and my stress with Selah’s needs and I quickly gained 10 pounds. I felt terrible about myself; I was only five pounds away from the weight I was at 40 weeks pregnant!

I beat myself up mentally for a while, but then I started actually seeking the Lord about weight loss, and was convicted that I was being vain. My body is actually here on this earth to serve Him; not to be thin or even strong. Now I knew that I wasn’t taking care of myself the way I should, so I just started doing a ten minute workout every day and walking when I could. A year later this is still my current workout plan, and I feel great about it! This is something that is sustainable for me no matter how crazy life gets, and I feel wonderful starting my day off with exercise, even if it’s not “hard core”. I continually need to go to the Lord in prayer about my attitude regarding my body and my health because I can easily get swept away in sinful, vain thoughts; this vanity can be in the form of pride or self-loathing.

Once I got back down to a weight I was comfortable with and felt I could maintain I realized that I may never be back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and that’s okay because I am not the same pre-pregnancy Molly! I was able to take part in the miracle of bringing another baby into the world, and it’s okay if my body reflects that.

And now, here I am blessed with another life to carry, and Lord willing, birth safely into our family! I have already gained a healthy 7ish pounds. I am a good bit heavier than I was at this point in my pregnancy with Selah, and probably around the same weight I was with Z, and I’m still working on being okay with it, honestly. But I know it is okay! I do my ten minute workouts, I walk a few times a week, I cook frozen veggies (one of the delicious kitchen hacks coming!), and I eat grilled cheese sandwiches and dark chocolate semi-regularly! All I can do is take care of myself for the glory of the Lord, for the furtherment of His Kingdom, and as an image bearer of Him. Eyes off of me, eyes on Him.

“…Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Meal Plan Month: January Meal Plan 1

Happy New Year! I’m glad to be back with my first blog of the year! Enjoy a poorly lit photo of my family over the holidays. The girls’ dresses (and Z’s big purple bow from Santa) are just too cute not to share!

Before the holidays I was trying to plan out some easy blog content for 2021 and posted a poll on my Instagram (follow me here) asking if people would like to see meal plans. The result was unanimous – everyone that answered said “yes”.

Since everyone usually tries to get healthier at the start of the year, and since we’re all cooking more due to restaurant shut downs (although, let’s be honest, DoorDash was the real hero of 2020), I figured posting my meal plans for the month of January would be a fun way to kick the year off on A Pinch of Crazy!

If cooking more, eating healthier, saving money, or trying new recipes are some goals you have for the year, then follow along for the month! Hopefully you can get some ideas that will work for you and your family, tweak what needs tweaking for you, maybe scrap some things all together, and just maybe find a new family favorite!

I will start this meal plan month off by sharing how I usually plan our meals for the week. Over the weekends, we usually eat “last week’s highlights” (my husband’s cute name for leftovers) or go out/get food delivered. Over the weekend is when I begin planning for the following week. To start with, I take a little “kitchen inventory” in the pantry and fridge to see what we have – this little jumping off point ends up saving a lot of money, reducing waste, and fuels my kitchen creativity. The three categories I usually check for are carbs/starches, protein, and produce. Once I plan meals based on what I have, I make a grocery list for items I still need. Then I usually pick up my groceries on Monday so I start the week off with a well stocked kitchen.

So after Christmas and New Year’s Day I actually didn’t have much in the way of leftovers, but I will share what I did end up starting with.

• Carbs: brown rice, a few potatoes/sweet potatoes, oats, instant grits (a treat for my hubs), and a can of crescent roll dough
• Protein: turkey bacon, almond butter, chick peas, tahini, some cheese, and a package of little beef sausages
• Produce: carrots, greens (kale, spinach, and lettuce), cauliflower rice, blueberries, apples, and bananas – this is not really “produce” but I also had a half full jar of green curry paste

Starting with those few ingredients I planned five dinners (leftovers on weekends), and leftovers are used for lunches. I also planned a few breakfast items to meal prep for the week and wrote down snack ideas. These meals are all things I share with my two girls, but I will make sure to include which modifications, if any, were needed for our nine-month-old. Baby and I also eat dairy free (though I am starting to introduce a little here and there), so I will include modifications for that, too.

Breakfasts:

• Pigs in a blanket
• Grits
• Baked oatmeal with almond butter, blueberries, and bananas *this is the only breakfast I fed to the baby, and I added less maple syrup so it wasn’t too sweet for her*

Snacks:

Classic Garlic Hummus

• Hummus with carrot sticks or crackers *I put the baby’s hummus on toast or rolled up in nitrate free lunch meat*
• Boiled eggs (I only did 6 since they weren’t for breakfast)
• Cliff bars for grown-ups, Z bars for our oldest
• Apple slices or bananas with peanut butter
• Pouches and mandarin orange cups for both girls
• Puffs for the baby
• Christmas candy

Dinners:

Roasted Chicken with Carrots

• Monday: Roasted chicken with carrots and potatoes *This recipe is for a whole chicken, but I used just drumsticks and chopped the carrots and potatoes to roast underneath them.*
• Tuesday: Brown rice risotto with mushrooms, kale, and shrimp *I made this dairy free, but topped with cheese for those that could have it and subbed in my chicken stock in place of veggie broth*
• Wednesday: Green curry chicken with coconut lime cauliflower rice, topped with avocado and cilantro *I don’t really have a recipe for this, but I just heated some shredded chicken with the cauliflower rice, added a couple tablespoons of the curry paste, poured in coconut milk, and squeezed a lime in. On this day I also took a meal (chicken tacos) to a friend so I boiled a bunch of chicken, shredded it, and seasoned it like taco meat. This is the chicken I used for the curry; it turned out great!*
• Thursday: Lettuce wrapped mushroom swiss burgers and fries *Again, no real recipe for the burgers, but I usually season the ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and smoked paprika then cook them in my cast iron skillet. We will top them with sauteed mushrooms and onions, swiss cheese (I will omit this for Baby and I), greens, dairy free ranch, and use lettuce in place of buns.*
• Friday: Breakfast for dinner – turkey bacon (will not give to Baby), scrambled eggs, toast and/or leftover potatoes from burger night
• Saturday and Sunday: last week’s highlights!

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• A couple of days we had outdoor picnics with friends so I packed sandwiches/lunch meat, hummus, fruit, and crackers for the girls and me
• Our oldest went back to her Mother’s Day Out program this week so for her lunch I packed crackers with uncured salami and cheese cubes, a mandarin orange cup, and avocado and cucumber slices

Alright I think I covered it all! My grocery list for this week was basically proteins and snacks, plus of course a giant box of diapers and other essentials such as paper towels and foil. I ended up spending more than I usually do because I actually shopped in person for once and took advantage of coupons I saw to stock up on snacks and essentials; that brought my total for this week to $189. Since I got so many snacks this week, I am hoping next week to get the grocery bill down to less than $100. I’ll come back next week and share!

I hope you were able to get inspired for some meal ideas for your family this week, and that maybe you are able to save some money and try something new. Bask in the freshness of a new year…and enjoy your Pinch of Crazy!

This post contains affiliate links; if you purchase using the links, it is of no extra cost to you, just a small commission for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!

Second Trimester Recap

Ahh the second trimester. Also known as the “honeymoon trimester”. As I sit here and type this “honeymoon trimester” recap, I am nearly 34 weeks pregnant, feeling our baby girl tap dance on my internal organs, and feeling like there is no way I’ll be able to make it to my due date… I am certainly thankful to carry life in my body, but no one likes the last few weeks of pregnancy – kind of a blessing in disguise because by the end you are so ready to deliver!

My creativity and motivation so late in pregnancy is close to 0 so, similar to how I wrote a First Trimester Recap I wanted to recap my second trimester, including all things exercise, food, and family related!

What I Ate

So to be fair, I was in my second trimester during the holidays and when the flu struck our house, but I was just wanting us to stay healthy, enjoy some holiday treats, and try and eat nutritious foods for myself and Baby. So we did have a lot of carbs, yet again, and I ain’t mad about it! Some foods I ate frequently during the second trimester were:

• Marbled Peppermint Bark (it was the holidays, and the peppermint helped with heartburn)
• Molasses Cookies (again, holidays, and I just love sweets)
• Plenty of hearty soups (both to keep warm and make us feel better) made with my homemade Chicken Stock
• Also while sick, we discovered (thanks to my sister) this juice/smoothie which is delicious! Zemirah chugs a big glass of her “green juice” every morning.
• Peanut butter and honey toast for busy mornings or afternoon snacks
• Same as the first trimester, but I couldn’t get enough of my Roasted Chicken with Carrots
• Also same as the first trimester, but plain Greek yogurt with berries, honey, and granola – another breakfast fav!
• Lemon-y kale sauteed in butter (yum!) at least twice a week!
• I could finally stomach eggs again toward the end of my first trimester, so we have also had plenty of big breakfasts (eggs, uncured bacon, more lemon-y kale, avocado, toast…) both for breakfast and/or dinner. Always a quick, delicious option!

I am sure there were more foods I loved, but I didn’t have strong cravings, and I was just trying to keep things simple during this time – lots of frozen veggies, baked sweet potatoes, and simple proteins.

How I Exercised

As I mentioned in my First Trimester Recap, exercise has greatly reduced pregnancy symptoms for me. Because the second trimester is the honeymoon trimester, I was already feeling pretty good to begin with, but exercise helped me stay energetic and feel my best on top of beginning to prepare my body for labor!

At least twice a week, I would do a Fit4Mom class, even if it was just my two Stroller Strides classes I instruct. I also began to make yoga a regular part of my exercise routine again – at least once a week. At the suggestion of my midwives, I looked up Spinning Babies and incorporated many of their recommended activities into my yoga flows – including psoas/hip flexor stretches, lunges, squats, and a safe and simple inversion. While the weather was nice, I would try and go walking once or twice weekly without pushing Zemirah in the stroller. It doesn’t hurt that walking all by myself listening to the birds and worship music is one of my favorite things to do. All of these activities make me feel my best, they are movements that make me happy, and are great for preparing my body for labor!

Other Second Trimester News

During the second trimester we also discovered the Baby is in fact Baby Girl and everything looks good and healthy! The doctor who did my sonogram said that he thought she would be small, but currently, as she is simultaneously pressing into my ribs (both sides!) and my hip, I don’t see how that could be possible. I can’t wait to find out how big she is; see her face, who she looks like, and sniff her little newborn head. Okay, now I’m crying.

We also ran the normal gestational diabetes blood work towards the end of my second trimester and saw that everything looked normal with my blood sugar, but that I am low on iron. So at the suggestion of my midwives, I’ve been eating a little (lot) of dark chocolate every night – just following doctor’s orders 😉

The honeymoon phase of pregnancy definitely flew by in a rush of holiday fun/madness and ended with a sick house, but I enjoyed this trimester. I was able to start getting to know my newest little girl; when she is most active, what foods she seems to like (she kicks a lot after a protein packed meal), and even begin playing with her! Oftentimes after dinner, we will all take turns pressing “Baby Sister” and then feeling her press back. I know she will add a fun new dimension to our family, and I’m so excited to meet her in about six weeks!!!

Hopefully before she makes her appearance I will be able to write a third trimester recap + a list of meals I’m stocking our freezer with, but until then, feel free to read my other family blogs! First Trimester Recap, Zemirah’s Birth Story, My Postpartum Journey are just a few blogs about my extremely limited parenting experience, and 23 Pounds and Other Non-Scale Victories and Traveling with A Pinch of Crazy are more specifically food related. Hope you can find something to read here that is helpful for you and where you are in life! Embrace this life stage, whatever it may be for you…and enjoy your Pinch of Crazy!

This post contains affiliate links; if you purchase using the links, it is of no extra cost to you, just a small commission for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!

 

Ten Minute Home Workout

I Like to Move It, Move It!

Let me preface this post by saying to please consult your doctor/trainer if need be. I am a certified Fit4Mom trainer, but exercise is not a one size fits all situation; I am simply sharing a little home workout I created for those busy days where I can’t find the time for a longer workout, or those freezing cold days (like today) where I don’t want to step foot outside for a walk/jog.

My blog is all about finding easy, healthy meals that go well with “A Pinch of Crazy”; healthy food doesn’t have to be pretentious, expensive, or complicated, and healthy movement and exercise doesn’t have to be either! To read more about my food and movement journey, check out my post 23 Pounds and Other Non-Scale Victories. I sincerely hope you can find an extra ten minutes in your day to do this quick workout to get your heart pumping while working arms, core, legs, and booty. Enjoy!

Ten Minute Home Workout

Repeat each movement for a total of 30 seconds, then move on to the next immediately, or with a short 10 second break if needed. Count your reps so you can measure your growth! It’s amazing to look back and see how much stronger you’ve gotten.

Cardio:

• March in place
  • Keep your knees high
• Jumping jacks
  • Keep your arms straight
• Burpees
  • Start in a standing position, feet hip width apart
  • Squat down, touch the ground
  • Keeping feet hip width apart, jump back into a high plank
  • Jump back to squat
  • Finally, jump up in the air, then return to standing
    • Modification: replace all jumping with stepping (i.e. step back to a high plank)
    • Take it further: add a push up after you jump back into plank
• High knees
  • Run in place, but bring your knees above your hip line

Legs:

• Skater jumps

  • 

    Demonstration of “Skater Jumps”

    Jump sideways

  • Land with one leg straightened behind you, hand touching the ground by your front foot
  • Repeat going the opposite direction
    • Modification: instead of jumping side to side, simply step it
• Squats
  • Keeping your back straight, squat down as low as you can, then rise to standing
• Lunges
  • Place one foot in front, bending both knees so that your legs are both at 90 degree angles
  • Alternate leading leg
• Side Lunges
  • Standing with your legs a little wider than hip width, lunge to one side
  • Come back through center, then lunge to the other side

Core:

• Crunches
  • Don’t crunch your neck- really use your abdominal wall to lift!
• Bicycle Crunches
  • Touch opposite elbow to opposite knee
• Leg Raises
  • Lie flat on your back and place hands underneath tailbone
  • With control, raise your legs slowly, then slowly lower them
• Plank

  

  Demonstration of “Plank”

  • Hold a plank with a flat back from neck to tailbone, either on your forearms or palms
    • Modification: Place your knees on the ground, but keep your bottom in line with your back, not up in the air

Arms:

• Push-Ups
  • Starting in high plank, lower down halfway, then rise back up
    • Modification: begin your plank on your knees, keeping your bottom in line
• Tricep Dips
  • Sit on a chair or couch, clasp the edge with your hands, and straighten your legs
  • Slide your bottom off so that you are supported only by your arms
  • Dip down halfway, and rise back up
    • Modification: bend your knees
• Up/Down Plank
  • Start in high plank
  • Lower down to forearms one arm at a time
  • Rise back up to high plank one arm at a time
    • Modification: plank on your knees
• Inchworm
  • Start in high plank
  • Slowly inch your hands back to your feet, keeping legs straight
  • Slowly inch back to high plank, keeping legs straight
    • Modification: bend your knees while inching your hands

Booty/Hips:

• Leg Push Backs

  

  Demonstration of “Leg Push Backs” with a Zemirah cameo 🙂

  • Start in tabletop- on hands and knees
  • Lift one leg and straighten it backwards with a flexed foot
  • Repeat one leg for 30 seconds, then switch to second leg, or alternate legs for one full minute
• Fire Hydrant Extensions
  • Start in tabletop
  • Lift your leg to, yep it’s gross, but to simulate a dog with a fire hydrant
  • Straighten that leg to the side with a flexed foot
  • Repeat on one leg for 30 seconds, then switch to second leg, or alternate legs for one full minute

Stretch

Some of my favorite stretches include:

• Child’s Pose
• Downward Dog
• Standing Wide Legged Forward Fold

Demonstration of “Child’s Pose” with a child 🙂 

As you can see by that last picture, this workout is fast paced and fun enough to do with kiddos around; they can join in, too! I’ve been convicted of how closely Zemirah watches me; it’s so important to model healthy habits for her! Whether that be exercise, eating a nutritious meal, indulging in a cookie, taking a long walk in the sunshine, or (and maybe especially) positive self talk – showing gratitude to our Creator for my body – not trash talking it. You can read a poem I wrote on appreciating our bodies here.

So I hope this quick little workout can help you to move your body in a fun way, while instilling in your kids, and yourself, the importance of healthy movement. If you need a delicious and nutritious post-workout snack, check out my Kale Chips Two Ways, or for a sweeter snack, my Fruit and Nut Granola or Banana Bread with Granola Crumble would be perfect! Move your body, have fun…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!

This Body

I wrote this poem after one day putting on a new dress and critiquing my arms; I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me of my worth in Him, and all that my body is capable of because of Him. It is an eternal struggle with women: finding our worth not in our looks, our capabilities, our accomplishments, our body, but in Christ Jesus. The fact that we are His chosen daughters should be our most important identity and thought about ourselves, yet, so often, we fall into the trap of obsessing over our careers, our appearance, and even service to our families. A book that helped me realize my worth in Him when I was younger, and a book that I shared with a special group of middle school girls many years ago, was His Princess Bride: Love Letters from Your Prince. The more mature version is His Princess: Love Letters from Your King; both are simple and sweet, filled with scripture and words to remind you Whose you are! If you are feeling down about your appearances or body type, I pray this poem can remind you of how amazing you are because of God’s grace. Use your amazingness (don’t worry, it’s a word) for Him, and never forget Whose you are!

I put on a pretty new dress, and immediately thought, “I hate my arms.”

The Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “Beloved, speak words of gentleness and not harm.

You are made in the image of Me – just like all my daughters and sons.

Remember all the great things those arms have done.”

 

His words were like balm to my self-conscious spirit,

and I thought of all I’ve accomplished using this body He’s given.

 

These arms have cradled my nursing baby, comforting her all through the night,

now they catch her when she falls, and make everything alright.

These arms have embraced my husband time and again,

and held him tight when I welcomed him home safe from deployment.

These arms are attached to the hands that have taught students to sing and play piano.

These arms have accomplished amazing things, but it is by His grace alone, that much I know.

 

I also loathe my stomach… I hate the flab, hate the way it sags.

But the Spirit reminded me once again,

This body, including my stomach, glorifies Him, not man.

 

This stomach has stretched until the muscles nearly ripped,

which is proven by the ample stretch marks on my hips.

I’ve carried life inside my womb,

My sweet daughter, being knit together, grew

safe and warm inside this stomach.

This stomach also houses my lungs, which allow me to breathe

and allow me to sing.

I’ve sung many arias, art songs, and countless choral pieces,

now, I hum lullabies to my little girl,

which is simply the sweetest.

Yes, this stomach, too, has accomplished many great things.

Thanks only to my Creator and King.

 

  Oh, but these legs…

They’re short and fat.

How could I possibly not hate that?

God speaks to my heart and reminds me that’s not true.

These legs, though short, have accomplished amazing things, too.

A hurtful person once told me that I could never run a mile, I shouldn’t even try.

These legs proved him wrong as they ran across the half marathon finish line.

These legs held me up as I was birthing my baby girl;

I squatted down to bring her into the world.

Even after twenty five hours of long, hard laboring,

these legs supported me, never wavering.

These legs are full of power and strength,

but only because of Jesus Christ and His amazing grace.

 

I look in the mirror and constantly critique,

always looking for the next wrong thing,

and the next thing to fix.

What I don’t think often think about is this:

I am made in His image, I carry His presence with me

Which means this body is so much more than any eye can see.

 

My body is a temple, a holy dwelling that deserves respect and care.

I would never degrade God’s temple; I wouldn’t dare.

And yet, I do it every day…

with every thought and every negative word I say

about this body, His temple, His precious work of art.

I know that must break God’s fathering heart.

 

So I will remember from this moment on,

every time the devil sings his age old song,

to remind myself that I am a unique masterpiece.

I’m unique like my hair texture, body type, and fingerprint

 there is no one else like me.

 

I will take care of myself, enjoy healthy foods and exercise,

and, most importantly, I won’t listen to Satan’s lies.

I am Christ’s temple, so I will glorify Him,

and I won’t ever say I’m sorry

for loving and taking care of myself, His work, this body.

This post contains affiliate links; if you purchase using the links, it is of no extra cost to you, just a small pantry fund for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!

23 Pounds and Other Non-Scale Victories

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase using the link, it is of no extra cost to you; just a small pantry fund for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of Crazy!

I didn’t know if I would ever write a post like this because I don’t want this to be a “weight loss” blog, but here I go. I have shared a little bit about my food journey in my first post, here, and how the Whole30, as cliche as it may sound, truly changed my life and my relationship with food. If you want to learn more about Whole30, I highly suggest reading The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa Hartwig, the co-founder of Whole30. And for you mamas out there, I have found such encouragement about raising healthy eaters in the Whole Mamas Club podcast; I hope you check out these resources!

As far back as I can remember, even back to first or second grade, I wanted to lose weight; I was a chubby, but happy, girl with crazy, curly hair (in fifth grade, I was nick-named Tornado thanks to my ‘do) who just wanted to fit in like other kids. I recently went through some old journals where I was in 7th grade and documenting everything I ate while berating myself for eating Oreos…a 12-year-old should be out having fun with friends, not worrying about calorie consumption. It was the same all throughout high school, but add in some mean boys commenting about how “you aren’t as hot as your big sisters”, or “you’re prettier when your hair is straight”, so I kept trying to fit in and meet their beauty standards.

Then in college, I gained the classic “freshman 15”, but tried not to worry about it; however, anytime I would go out for late night fast food with my friends, I would feel guilt to the point of wanting to vomit up everything I just ate; that was “bad” food only contributing to my weight gain. I eventually cut out sodas and started running my sophomore year; I also started experiencing symptoms of IBS, so I lost weight fairly quickly. I was, and still am, so proud of myself for running a half marathon that spring semester, but my relationship with food was still off, and my anxiety was high.

Throughout college and into my first year of marriage, my IBS got so bad that if we went out to eat, I would be sick all night. My darling husband saw me throwing up while sitting on the toilet so many times during our first year of marriage that I’m sure he wondered what he had gotten himself in to! On top of being sick so often, I was also an anxious mess, and had gained about 12-15 pounds in our first year and a half of marriage. I had just decided to start working out more regularly when we found out *surprise!* that I was pregnant. So of course from there, I just kept gaining and getting more and more anxious; despite my efforts to have a healthy pregnancy, I gained 40 pounds.

After our sweet Zemirah was born, things took a turn for the worse in a battle of postpartum depression and anxiety (which I will write about at another time), and I not only “hated myself” (actual words I said to David), I couldn’t sleep despite my exhaustion, had zero energy, and felt absolutely out of control with everything: life, weight gain, motherhood, and fear. I tried the best *I* could (never truly handing my burdens to God), to deal with my anxiety, and cooked us healthy-ish meals, but because I was nursing, ate so many carbs, and not the healthy ones like fruit, whole grains, or potatoes. The carbs I consumed were more along the lines of bread with refined sugar and flour, brownies, cookies, ice cream, doughnuts…you know. Carbs, dairy, and sugar are the staple comfort foods when you’re feeling depressed and anxious…but in reality, only make things worse.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2018, Zemirah and I were living with my parents while David was deployed, and I wanted to lose the rest of the baby weight before he came home. I found this “diet” called Whole30, and knew a few friends who had done it. It seemed hard, but I love a challenge, so with nearly all my family joining me, we tackled our first round of Whole30! I was discouraged to learn that I had only lost 5 pounds at the end of it (others in my family all lost 10-15!), but felt so much better about myself that I kept it up, not a strict Whole30, but very clean eating. When I moved back to California, I was surprised to learn that I had lost a few more pounds, now totaling 12 pounds lost! I kept exercising to tone up for David’s return; he was so surprised to see how different I looked! He had just come from a steady diet of pizza, ramen, and soda, and I really wanted him to experience how wonderful the Whole30 was, so we tackled a round together: his first, my second. It was during this round of Whole30, that I really began to notice my non scale victories.

I noticed that my anxiety was greatly reduced; even though we were starting to prepare for a huge career change, I felt down in my spirit that everything really would be okay.  I also no longer struggled with insomnia! I used to take a Melatonin every night before bed just so I could fall asleep, and hardly slept through the night even when Zemirah did, but that was all changing. During my second round of Whole30, I stopped taking Melatonin, and would fall asleep peacefully without help and sleep hard all night, and even if I only got 6 hours of sleep (because, let’s face it, babies wake up early), I would feel so rejuvenated in the morning.

(Just a side note: we are currently a mere four days away from a cross country move, and, though I have my freak out moments, I still generally feel calm, with no chest pain and no insomnia. That is huge for me!)

After that second round of Whole30, I was beginning to notice how much I truly enjoyed working out; I started going to Stroller Strides and doing those hour long work outs twice a week, and on the off days, walking and/or running. I hadn’t run in a while, but I noticed a dramatic increase in my energy levels, and even ran my personal fastest mile! (Once we get moved, I am going to try and break that record again 😉 ) Exercise is much more fun now than it used to be, and I appreciate seeing all that my body can do!

In addition to the changes in exercise, sleep, and anxiety, my IBS is all but gone, and I now know with certainty which foods trigger it. And emotionally speaking, my relationship with food has changed entirely; I don’t view foods as “bad” anymore, but just as something to have very sparingly, and I choose to focus instead on which foods make my body feel good! I’ve found that going through life focusing on the good things (whether food, people, circumstances) as opposed to the bad is a much better way to live.

So, counting from around December of 2017, I have lost a total of 23 pounds. That doesn’t really seem like much; you hear the stories of those pills/shakes/wraps and how you can lose 30+ pounds instantly, but I love seeing the slow change of my body. I have been learning which foods fuel me, which make me feel yucky and anxious (hello, refined sugar), and have been slowly enjoying the process of a true lifestyle change. Weight will fluctuate, and that is simply a fact, so the number on the scale is not as important as the non scale victories! Because, yes, I lost fat, but I’ve also lost anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, mood swings, and low self-confidence!

I am working on, with the help of God, losing the desire for other people’s approval, and finding my true worth in Him! It is my prayer that you can do the same. Celebrate your non-scale victories…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!