BeAFitFox

My Eggo is Preggo Update

My lovelies, it has been too long!

I have found that it is hard for me to post about exercise when I’m only walking and doing prenatal yoga. It’s hard to post about clean eating because I pretty much eat the same things (ground turkey breast, eggs, green smoothies, etc) and haven’t come up with a new recipe in heavens knows how long! It’s hard to post about my pregnancy because I don’t want to drive you people nuts with posts about my uterus. Thus, you’re left with a blog that is blogless (a word?) to say the least.

I’m due August 16 and have about 8 1/2 weeks left to go. Even though this boy is sitting on my bladder and pushing my hips so far apart that they feel like they’re going to burst, I actually feel quite good. Aside from the agony of rolling over in bed, I feel like I’m on cloud 9.  My husband and I are taking a childbirth preparation class and he had to put on the pregnancy suit. I made him lay on the ground and roll over. While he grimaced and groaned, all I could do was cross my hands over my chest and smirk. Sucker.

Prenatal Yoga has been my saving grace. I LOVE it to pieces, however, the bigger I get the more I want to punch the instructor in the face. Not because I want to resort to violence but because I find that at each class, it is getting harder and harder to bend, to balance myself, and for heavens sakes to even sit cross legged! Blasted.

I would say that my eating is pretty clean but I eat A LOT more carbs. I wish I could say complex carbs but truly, I’m chowing down on straight up bread and tortillas. When we go out to eat, I don’t order salads but rather order sandwiches. I also eat cheese (string, cube, even shredded straight out of the bag-don’t judge me). I haven’t had any weird cravings but my staple craving is bread and cheese. I’ll be honest, because I always am with you peeps, I have purchased 3 pints of ice cream over the course of this pregnancy. Not at one time! Good Lawd.

As much as I miss HIIT, hard core weight lifting, seeing my toes, and running, I am amazed and feel so very blessed to have our boy growing inside of me.  Even when I feel a wee bit humiliated to have my husband shave my legs, help me put on my socks and panties, and get things out of the fridge because I can’t open the double doors while standing in front of it because I get stuck between it and the kitchen island, I find myself in awe at our creation.

 

Matt and I on Sunday, Father’s Day! Unfortunately, they don’t make Happy “In Utero” Father’s Day cards……….

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and Be a Fit Fox!

The Cellulite Chronicles

Blasted Cellulite.

Last summer I was at my prime. I was training for my 3rd half marathon, following an INTENSE 5 day a week weight routine, and eating cleaner than ever. My abs were tight, my arms were leaning out, and my legs were growing strong quad and calf muscles BUT I STILL HAD CELLULITE.

……..and that was okay.

The backs of my thighs and the bottom of my bum have these adorable dimples.

Here’s why I think this way:

I was enjoying myself working out 6 days a week. I could see the progress in my energy level, my strength, my distance, how I fit into my clothes, my confidence, and in the way my body looked. I was enjoying the clean foods that I was making but was also enjoying wine with my husband 2-3 times per week. Do I think that consuming wine MAY have been the reason why I couldn’t get rid of the stubborn cellultie? Maybe. But it wasn’t worth it to me because I thoroughly enjoyed wine and loved picking out bottles with my husband and planning clean meals around what we were drinking.

Can you decrease the amount of cellulite that you have? Of course! Clean eating and exercise (weight lifting/cardio/yoga) is what has worked for me while leaving a few dimples to the backs of my thighs and buttocks.

Most of you know my story of what I went through back in August and know that I’m currently pregnant (28 weeks). I was unable to start working out until I hit 20 weeks. I started walking again and take a weekly prenatal yoga class that I LOVE.

That being said, pretty much 5 months of no exercise  has left me dimply all over. Seriously, it’s like the low fat cottage cheese that I was eating cascaded down my body and stopped right above my knees.

Gross.

I know that it is VERY easy to get frustrated, give up, and get down on yourself when you see all of these chiseled women with absolutely no cellulite but I’m here to PROCLAIM that it is there. It may be some nice photo touch ups or dang good bronzer but there is at least 1 intsy teensy dimple somewhere.

I know that there are wraps out there and some weird things you can do to decrease it and if you have the Benjamins to pay for it, more power to you.

From what I’ve read, seen, and done-here are my tips for decreasing Cellulite:

1) Drink water. Seriously, people. Throw away the Diet Sodas and juices and drink the daylights out of water. I target 3 Liters per day (pregnant or not). While I was training for my half marathons-my water intake was a bit more due to training.

2) Eat Clean. Simple sugars are no bueno. Eat your greens, your healthy fats (nuts, oils, avocado). Enjoy your lean meats (chicken, fish, even steak). Enjoy your fruit (I target 2 pieces per day-usually a banana and some berries).

3) Get moving. I’m a BIG believer in all things weight lifting. Don’t fear the weight room. I want to see some weighted squats, my peeps!

4) Get stretching. Oh dear heavens, I HATED this one. I’m too impatient to stretch and I’m an idiot for it. That’s where Yoga came in. Yoga is not only a strength training activity (for real, have you ever done a Chaturanga push up?), a meditation event, but it also LENGTHENS and STRETCHES your muscles.

5) Give yourself a MAJOR break and don’t shed tears over a few dimples. It makes you REAL and not some touched up body on a billboard. You are smokin’ hot.

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and Be a Fit Fox!

Landscaping isn’t for Pansies…..

I don’t garden. I don’t do landscape. I will mow and that is just about the extent of what I will do of “lawn work”. Since buying our house in September of 2011, Matt and I have not touched our landscape and have probably suffered making neighborly friends because of it. This weekend we decided that we would tackle the front section of our house. As I sit here typing this, I’m tired, burnt, and have bloody knuckles and this is where my weekend story begins………………….

Matt and I decided to have a date night on Friday at one of our favorite restaurants, Slackwater Pub & Pizzeria. It’s a great pub with outdoor seating and live music! They use organic, local products and make some of the best pizza, salads, and sandwiches I’ve ever had. Matt loves their beer menu, too. I scarfed down their Spinach salad with grilled shrimp, shaved apples, blue cheese, pecans, and avacado vin on the side. D-E-lightful!

Saturday was a gloriously beautiful and most perfect day to landscape but before we got all hot and sweaty, I told Matt that we needed to grab some Red Mango yogurt first. I’m a sucker for Yogurt sweetened with Stevia, an absolute sucker:

I’m 24 weeks pregnant and have people ask me if I’m due soon and if I’m having twins. After punching them in the face politely saying no I’m not due soon and there’s only one boy in there, I smile and walk away giving them the bird.

Sweet Matt. He keeps getting more and more grey and at the young age of 30, it sometimes aggravates him. I tell him he’s sexy like Richard Gere or Sean Connery but then he comments that those guys are 70. Oh. But still sexy all the same………………..I digress.

We went to Home Depot and spent a good hour figuring out what plants were what and how much sun and water and blah blah blah……..I was quickly reminded WHY I do not like to garden or landscape. We finally picked out some pretty flowers, shrubs, and mulch and headed home.

These are our BEFORE pictures:

I thought you would appreciate Matt bending over. Inappropriate.

Anyways, you can clearly see that my little Spring wreath was not helping our little weed/overgrown grass area at all.

After watching Matt work 3 hours of digging, pulling, and planting we were able to create this:

 

Landscaping isn’t easy and I know that this really isn’t much landscaping but good heavens, it was a lot of work. Granted-I did more of THIS:

Than anything but it was hot and I was there providing moral support to my silver haired Fox. I did, however, find out that you really do need gardening gloves. My Shellac nails are no longer Shellac and instead were a nice black color and my bloody knuckles are stiff and sore today.

Today, I’m maxin’ and relax’n:

I’m laying on my side (the grey blob is my belly. Nice.) with my sweet, old should’ve-died-6-months-ago kitty, Gemini.

I hope that you all have had a most glorious weekend and have spent time with family or your loved ones, played a bit, had a nice little treat, and allowed yourself to just breathe a bit. You all deserve it.

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and be a Fit Fox!

My Fling w/ the Asian Pear

Am I seriously about to write an entire blog post about a piece of fruit.

Yes. Yes, I am.

I was first introduced to the Asian Pear about 6 years ago from my sweet Cambodian friend, Sakha. She had an Asian Pear tree and would bring me BAGS of this apple/pear delight. I may or may not have eaten 3 Asian Pears in one sitting.

The Asian Pear has come to my rescue while being pregnant. This is without a doubt my husband’s child because ALL that I want to eat is bread, noodles, and anything sweet. I rely on Kashi or Cascadian Farms organic cereals, Great Harvest high five fiber bread, and whole wheat tortilas to keep my “bread” need in check. Thankfully, we don’t keep any type of baked goods in the house so I couldn’t even MAKE any baked goods if I even wanted to. I did stand in front of my pantry, perplexed and considering sticking my finger in the cocoa powder container. I did not. I have gone to the cupcake shop here and there (about once every couple of weeks. I’ll admit it.). But these sweet cravings are EVERY day and I now find that eating an Asian Pear makes me slobber kills that sweet craving. Hallelujah.

Which brings me to my next point, fruit.

I eat 2 pieces of fruit every day. 1 piece is ALWAYS a banana and the other is usually a 1/2 cup of mixed berries or an Asian Pear. I know that there are many posts, studies, reports, etc on how much fruit you should eat, and fruit has sugar in it, and blah blah blah blah. If and how much fruit you eat depends on your goals. You’ll find that many people prepping for a contest will NOT eat fruit and will decrease their water intake. Some fitness models will limit their fruit intake to just a few pieces weekly instead of daily because they’re constantly in front of the camera.

I’m not a doctor or even a registered dietician so take what I say and either leave it, laugh at it, form your own opinion or follow it.

Eat your dang fruit. Fruit is jam packed with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Buy organic or don’t buy organic and wash the shiz niz out of your fruit.

Eat a VARIETY of fruit. I say that with my own asterisk tied to “variety”. I love bananas and I choose to eat a banana every day. Call me a potassium hog or whatever you want but I like my dang bananas. Try an Asian Pear, try the fruit that you have a hard time pronouncing, try different kinds of berries, just try it!

I will slap someone if they ask if canned fruit is the same as eating fresh fruit. I already slapped my husband for this one. If you’re worried about fruit going bad, you can freeze it. Slice up bananas, pat dry berries, and put them in ziplocs and freeze them for up to 6-8 months!

I’m not a fan of dried fruit or fruit juice. Be weary of those because they are packed with sugars, artifical sweeteners, and natural flavors that are actually scary GMOs. Flippin’ FDA.

When you’re craving sweets, eat a piece of fruit first. I’m even talking about 9 PM (GASP!) when you want that bowl of ice cream or that leftover piece of brownie. Eat a piece of fruit instead and see if that craving goes away. (If it doesn’t, chug a glass of water and curse my name at 3 AM when you have to get up to pee).

Yes, fruit has sugar in (mainly fructose and glucose) but I look at it as my fuel sugar. Fructose is what some people warn you about because it could lead to an increase in triglycerides/fats because of the way our livers metabolize it. Are you eating an entire watermelon? A 10 lb bag of oranges? A 6 pack of bananas? I didn’t think so. The other form of sugar found in fruits is glucose which is a NATURAL source of energy. BONUS!

I like bananas and I like Asian Pears and I eat them every day. Do I plan on putting this pregnant bod in a 2 piece (hysterical!) for a photo shoot anytime soon? Only if someone paid me and I had access to the airbrush tool. You’d thank me for that, believe me.

My Asian Pear………………true love.

 

Eat clean, pump some iron, and be a Fit Fox!

 

Sunday Game Time/Prep Time

Yesterday afternoon, I pulled out my writing pad and made my list of items that I wanted to make for this upcoming week. This is the 1st week in a LONG time that I have absolutely NO travel planned. Nice. That also means that I’ve got to get my cookin’ on and make up some meals to freeze for the upcoming weeks when my travel starts to increase.

You’ll find that there are some people who like to plan EXACTLY what they’re eating per meal, per day, and at what time. I just like to be able to open my fridge and have 4-5 options for killer, clean meals all week. So, don’t ask me when I’m eating what because I don’t even know.

This morning, I got up at 7 AM and made myself a bowl of oatmeal with flaxseed and a dollop of almond butter and washed it down with a pregnant ladies’ dream of a Mimosa: 1/2 Pelligrino + 1/2 orange juice. Who needs champagne, eh?! ME. While I was eating my breakfast, I started pulling out all of the ingredients that I would need to make some of my meals. When you do this eating clean/prepping thing for a while, you’ll find that you already have MOST of the ingredients in your pantry (i.e. rolled oats, flaxseed, chia seeds, almond flour, protein powder, eggs, almonds, almond butter, egg whites, ground turkey breast, black beans, almond milk and much more!)

Before 10 AM, I made the following:

Turkey/Black Bean/Salsa

I’ve shown this before and it can’t get any easier. Brown 1 lb extra lean ground turkey breast, add in 1 container salsa, and 1 can black beans (rinse the beans in a colander first), let simmer for about 10 minutes and TA-DA! One of my favorite meals! Since I’m making a lot of meals this week, I divided up the turkey mixture into containers and once cooled, placed in the freezer!

Tuna Salad

I keep it pretty simple and mix in all of the ingredients above (6 oz 0% Plain Greek yogurt, about 1/2 cup horseradish mustard, the tuna, chopped up about 6 pickles, 2 egg whites, and 1 apple)

My favorite way to eat this tuna is taking 1 slice fiber bread or whole wheat bread and spread hummus on it, toss a handful of spinach on top of the hummus, and a huge helping of the tuna and eat it as an open faced sandwich! For a snack, I’ll dip carrots in it or pita chips.

Cinnamon Quinoa

Cinnamon Quinoa is VERY easy to make and is a nice change from the typical oatmeal or steel cut oats. It is a different consistency so you have to get used to it. I’m not partial to white Quinoa (red and black are fine), it’s just what I had in my pantry.

In a saucepan bring 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add in as much cinnamon and vanilla extract as you like. Let simmer for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. This makes 2 servings so I divided it up into 2 separate containers, added 1 tbsp ground chia seeds and a dollop of almond butter!

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

This is a recipe that I’ve used before from Sprint 2 the Table and I love it. She calls this her Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal but I use pumpkin instead of mashed sweet potato. You can find the recipe here:http://www.sprint2thetable.com/2013/01/sweet-potato-baked-oatmeal/

Pumpkin Bran Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups wheat bran
2 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup Sucanat or sweetener of choice

Add in all of the dry ingredients above and mix well.

Mix the following wet ingredients together then add to the dry mixture: 2 cups almond milk, 1 1/2 cups pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce, 1 egg until well incorporated. At this point, I usually add a bit more cinnamon and a little vanilla extract.

This will make about 18 muffins. Bake at 425 for 18-20 minutes. Once cooled, I placed all of these in a large freezer bag and froze all of them. They’re perfect to pull out, nuke for 30 seconds and enjoy! They’re very dense and not too terribly sweet which is what I like in a breakfast! Feel free to add some liquid sweetener or more sweetener of your choice. My favorite way to eat these is with a little bit of honey.

At this point, I wrapped things up, met a good friend for coffee and chit chat then hit up the grocery store to buy the ingredients I needed to finish the rest of my meals!

Chickpea/Ginger/Craisin Salad

This salad is trippy but oh so good! I found it in my Runner’s World magazine many moons ago and just love it. It is VERY different and jam packed full of fun flavors. I made a few tweeks and this is what I like:

Combine the following: 1 15 oz can chickpeas (rinsed), 1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, 1/4 diced red onion, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tbsp minced ginger, 2/3 cup chopped pecans, 2/3 cup craisins (the recipe calls for tart dried cherries but I always have craisins on hand and used that instead), 1 minced jalapeno, and 3 oz feta. Whisk together 2 tbsp each of apple cider vinegar and olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over chickpea salad and mix well (I threw everything in a large container and shook the living daylights out of it.) It’s a bright beautiful salad!

Autumn Sprout Mix

This is a recipe adapted from Women’s Health Magazine almost a year ago. I didn’t like it much the first time and ended up making some changes and now I really like it! Give it a shot:

Take 1 package brussel sprouts and remove stems and halve. Take 1 sweet potato and cube it. Add both the sprouts and sweet potato on a large baking shake, spritz with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Flip the veggies halfway through! Once done, remove and let cool. Meanwhile, in a large container toss 1/3 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios, 2 oz feta, 1 pear chopped, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 3 tbsp yellow mustard. Add in the sprouts and potatoes and toss all of the ingredients together (once again, I jsut put the lid on it and shook the ever living daylights out of it until well mixed!)

Jerk Shrimp Stir-Fry

Please note: my pictures just plain suck. I use my blackberry and it is terrible. One day……one day, I will be cool enough to have something with an Apple icon on it.

I was dying to try this recipe when I found it while flipping through this month’s Runner’s World magazine. I made slight alterations to it based on what I know I like and ended up with a delicious dish!

In a large bowl, toss 1 lb peeled shrimp (I used tiger shrimp) and 2 tbsp jerk seasoning (I used Caveman’s rub-more spicy). Heat a wok or large saucepan over medium-high heat, add in 1 tbsp olive oil, and cook the shrimp for 3 minutes. Remove and set the shrimp aside. Add 1 thinly sliced sweet potato to the wok (I swear I used a sweet potato but it was the whitest sweet potato that I have ever seen). Cook the potato for about 4 minues then add in 1 15 oz can drained and rinsed black beans, 3 sliced garlic cloves, and 1 jalapeno. Toss for 1-2 minutes. Add the shrimp back in along with 1/4 cup orange juice and let heat for another minute. YUM!

Goldilock Scones

One of my favorite vegan, dairy free, gluten free woman is Leanne from Healthful Pursuit. I’ve made some of her recipes in the past and was most excited to try this one and LOVE IT!.

I can’t shape the scones as well as she did but don’t judge. My husband laughed at me enough for everyone.

You can find the recipe here: http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6005607

As far as snacks go, I’ve got the following for this week: bananas, Asian pears, almonds, pistachios, cherry tomatoes, greek yogurt, and low fat cottage cheese and I’ll be nursing my Pelligrino with a straw.

It’s all about the planning, my peeps. Cook on………cook on………..

 

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and be a Fit Fox!

 

 

 

I don’t do Step.

Let it be known that I don’t do step class or zumba. And this is why:

It is true. You can ask my mother-she has taken me to many a step classes and I was horrendous.

I don’t step. I don’t zumba. I don’t do group classes (except yoga). Here is my point: YOU do what YOU want to do. You are 100% more likely (I totally just made that stat up) to stick with a workout plan when you’re doing what you actually LIKE to do.

Are you a Cross fitter? Sweet-keep at it you crazy dedicated motha! Are you a runner? Excellent-it’s a sickness  part of you! Are you a swimmer? Rock that Speedo, girl.

Just because everyone is Cross fitting, doesn’t mean you have to. I don’t Cross fit and the only reason I don’t is because I don’t want to become the 2nd person in the world to have a face transplant. I am extremely accident prone and have injured myself in the most uninjurable (is that a word?!) of places. Seriously, I would bust one so badly the first time I went in that they probably wouldn’t allow me to return.

Just because it seems like everyone is running, doesn’t mean that you have to. I love to run. I miss running. I am walking and in even doing that, I’m constantly looking behind me to see if I lost my uterus along the way.

Exhibit A: Post walk and my uterus is still intact. Hallelujah.

Just because people are rocking the gym, doesn’t mean you can’t rock it at home or vice versa. Rock those at home DVDs, head to that yoga studio. Find what you love and DO IT. I know that I love to run and I love to lift weights. I learn new excercises and am on constant lookout for new HIIT workouts and am constantly changing it up. I love incorporating bands, balls, and kettle bells into my workouts. I love to do HIIT outside, on a treadmill, or step mill.

Again, my point is to not follow the crowd. DARE yourself to be different and find an activity that you LOVE and will commit to. I’m proud of each and every one of you. Fitness is a CHALLENGE and a struggle but when you find what you’re passionate about, it will quickly became your LIFE.

My preaching is done.

 

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and Be a Fit Fox!

 

Baby Fox Is A………..

Boy!

You know, Matt got all sorts of accolades today when we announced our “Boy” news to family and friends with comments such as,”Attaboy, Matt!”, “Well done, Matt!”, etc. What is up with that? I’m the one who did post coital handstands, months of ovulating pee sticks, and much more. Well done, Amanda, well done…………

Regardless of the gender, we are most happy with the news that our baby is growing healthy and everything looks normal. My placenta has apparently found a permanent place AWAY from my cervix and I can start to introduce excercise and baby making activities back into my life.

I’ve signed up for a Hike n Yoga taking place in a few weeks and a weekly Prenatal Yoga session at the local hospital beginning next Wednesday. If they make bathing suits for whales, I plan to start swimming 2x per week on base where my husband works.

I feel a very heavy weight has been lifted and cannot wait to start getting back to some regime. I’m not going to throw around weight like I used to and I doubt that I will be doing very many squats for fear that I either A) won’t be able to squat my way back up or B) send myself into early labor.

For any of moms, moms to be, or women planning to become momma’s, what are you all doing to maintain your fitness levels? Any advice on what some of your favorite exercises/activities are and/or what to stay away from?

Forgive me for the pregnancy focus lately, this is just a very new and unknown territory for me. I hope to gain knowledge and experience throughout this process to provide direction and absolute hysterics.

 

Eat Clean, Pump Some Iron, and be a Fit Fox!

My 1 Year Blogiversary

I forgot my blogiversary. Blasted.

I started this blog just over a year ago, on March 5, 2012 and have enjoyed it very much and hope you have too (With the exception of a handful of people I may have scared, grossed out, and/or offended).

I wanted to take this time to thank YOU, my crazy readers and supporters and also highlight some of my personal favorite posts. These posts were either the most fun or hardest for me to write and were my most raw and honest.

In no particular order:

• My Biggest Critic, Me. Haven’t we all grabbed our cellulite and cursed out loud? Or taken a nice compliment and shoved it right back in someone’s face? This post was fun for me to write and I hope resonates with all of you. http://beafitfox.com/2012/07/19/my-biggest-critic-me/
• Creating Yourself. This post is pretty much my story of how I stuffed my face with Lean Pockets and popped Hydroxycut while anxiously staring into my mirror looking for my hips to vanish. Idiot. http://beafitfox.com/2012/07/23/creating-yourself/
• Too Thick To Be a Runner. This post is about some redneck telling me that I am too thick to be a runner. I proved him wrong by punching him in the face running a 2:03 Half Marathon. Boo-yah.http://beafitfox.com/2012/07/26/too-thick-to-be-a-runner/
• My Starting Stats & the Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. This is the post where I posted pictures of myself in a bikini. Good Lawd.http://beafitfox.com/2012/07/22/my-starting-stats-photos-and-the-winner-winner-chicken-dinner/
•  A Day in the Life of the Traveling Clean Eater. I posted in the post before this one how I pack for travel and this post was the play by play of what I ate and when. Lots of pictures, less words-my favorite kind of read! http://beafitfox.com/2012/08/03/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-traveling-clean-eater/
• When Good Eaters Go Bad. I wrote this post and made a LIST of when I said “Eff it, I’m eating what I want!” and why you have to give yourself a break when you do just that! http://beafitfox.com/2012/08/08/when-good-eaters-go-bad/
• The GISG + Half Marathon Training. This post was just plain fun to write. I had made it through a few weeks of the Get In Shape Girl’s Bikini Guide while training for a half marathon and after several near death experiences, I wrote about it. Flippin’ hard. http://beafitfox.com/2012/08/29/the-gisg-half-marathon-training/
• Our Loss, My Miscarriage. I haven’t gone back to read this post and my husband ended up never reading it. It’s a very hard read but is raw and full of emotion. http://beafitfox.com/2012/09/12/our-loss-my-miscarriage/
• The Fox Diet Bloopers. Oh my heavens-until I discovered clean eating, I tried just about everything to lose weight and be “healthy.” This was embarassing to share and flippin’ hilarious. It’s okay-I laugh at myself all of the time.http://beafitfox.com/2012/09/17/the-fox-diet-bloopers/
• What’s Your Number? As much as I WOULD love all of your phone numbers, I’m talking about pants size in this post. I shared pictures of my skinny jeans and what size I wear/am and how IT DOESN’T MATTER!http://beafitfox.com/2012/10/24/whats-your-number/

Bless your hearts for reading my posts and I THANK YOU (because otherwise, it would just be my mom and dad that read these-it’s true).

You all rock my face off.

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and Be a Fit Fox!

A Tribute to Tommy

My dear friend, Thomas “Tommy” Bartholomew Clark II passed away this past Tuesday, March 12. If Tommy were here now he’d tell me to stop writing this nonsense and get on with it but I want you to know who Tommy was. I want Tommy to be your first thought when you grumble about rolling out of bed or you don’t want to go to work or you THINK you CAN’T do something. I want Tommy to be your last thought when you are scared, when you doubt yourself, and when you are unsure of what to do next. Tommy would’ve told you to get over it and to do it.

This is my tribute to Tommy and how he got over it and how he did it.

At just 18 years old and an awkward, excited freshman at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, I was perusing the job board looking for a part time job. My parents insisted that I go to school full-time and work part-time and although I pouted then, I’m thankful for that lesson now. I ran across a job posting for a 19 year old wheel chair bound male Sophomore that had Spinal Muscular Atrophy that was looking for part time help to get him up and ready and take him to his classes Monday-Friday. Now, any sane 18 year old with no medical experience would’ve continued looking but I thought that since I had volunteered at various disability camps throughout high school and my summers, that I could handle this. IDIOT.

Tommy asked me to meet him at the Callaway House where he, his sister and live in friend, Heather lived. I remember walking right to Tommy, leaning down and sticking out my hand. Tommy could still move his fingers but couldn’t lift his hands so I grabbed a few of his fingers and shook them! Apparently, Tommy thought that was pretty funny and I had the job in the bag by then.

Tommy had to teach me everything. How to get him up, get him dressed and ready, feed him through his feeding tube, and operate his wheelchair. I bumped his head on walls more times than I could count while carrying him to and from his bed, I drove his wheelchair too fast when he let me operatore the joy stick to the point that he would almost hyperventilate, I nearly pulled out his feeding tube mulitple times because I wouldn’t be paying attention, I backed his van into a cement post more than a few times, I fell asleep at his computer while waiting for him to read his assignments on more than one occasion. Yes, I was the model employee.

But that’s just it, Tommy wasn’t my employer and I wasn’t his employee. We were friends, good friends. He should’ve fired me after the first week but he kept me for a little over 2 years. We went to midnight yell, football games (by God, he, his sister, and brother Jeffrey knew football!), plays, comedy shows, and dinners together. He loved my family and (some) friends and above all, he hated my boyfriends and didn’t have any reservation in telling me so.

Tommy amazed me. Here he was, confined to his wheelchair, but by God he did EVERYTHING. He went to class, he studied, he took his tests and even though all of those things took HOURS longer than everyone else, he still did them.

   

Tommy, life long friend Heather, his sister Brookanne, myself, and one of his helper guys. Tommy would make fun of me now because I can’t remember that guys name.

Tommy, myself, Heather, and his sister, Brookanne after seeing “A Midsummer’s Nights Dream” I think.

Brookanne, Heather, myself, and Tommy. They came for my 21st birthday party!

The day that Tommy got his Texas A&M Aggie Ring. WHOOP! Proud day and I’m so glad to have been able to be there and share that with him!

It was the hardest decision to quit as Tommy’s assistant 2 years later. I needed to look for jobs that fit my major and career choice and decided to make that change at the beginning of my Junior year. Nothing changed between Tommy and I and for that I’m so very grateful.

Tommy graduated from Texas A&M in 2005 with a BS in Sports Management. Get this. He graduated AFTER completing an internship with the Colorado Crush arena football team. Flippin’ rock star. Tommy even designed a logo for my dad’s real estate company from his computer. Tommy went to New York City! Tommy went to LAW SCHOOL.

Tommy graduated from the South Texas College of Law with a Doctorate of Law this past May. He then took and PASSED the Texas State Bar exam in July.

My last picture with Tommy was in May for his Law School graduation. I had managed to coordinate a business trip at the same time and flew from Utah to Houston. My parents also came to Houston and together, we hooted and hollered as Tommy crossed that stage and accepted his Law Degree.

The day before he graduated, I put Tommy in his van and I drove to a nice lunch spot in downtown Houston and we had lunch together, just like old times. I think Tommy was ready to about choke me then because I made him try a TINY piece of Ahi Tuna. He said it was terrible but I still think he was lying to this day. He liked it and just didn’t want to admit it. I’m grateful for that lunch that we shared. Just he and I.

When I think of Tommy, I don’t think about the wheelchair. I see Tommy, standing tall. In fact, he towers over everyone else.

 

 

 

 

 

My Eggo is Preggo

The secret is out! It feels good to be able to share with you all our good news but to say it has been an easy journey would be a lie.

To be honest, when we first found out that we were pregnant again, my husband and I both cried. We cried for fear that we would lose this baby and go through the pain and suffering all over again. For the first 12 weeks, we were almost numb to the pregnancy and hardly talked about it with family and even with each other. I bled throughout the entire 12 weeks and had frequent visits to the OB. Each time they did an ultrasound, I held my breath and even closed my eyes a few times until I heard my OB say that she could see/hear a heartbeat. We found that the source of the bleeding was that the placenta was sitting on my cervix. Fun times.

It finally became real to me shortly after week 12 when my uterus literally fell out of my pelvic cavity and I officially had a baby bump.

Around 13.5 weeks, we went in for our appointment and saw a strong heartbeat, a moving baby, and found that the placenta was moving! It was at that time that we started to allow ourselves to truly feel joy. And for me not to have panic attacks nearly every time I had to pee.

At our next appointment, just over 17 weeks, we found that the placenta had completely moved, the baby was growing perfectly, and the heartbeat was very strong and it was at that time that we decided to share with the world (i.e. facebook)

Why am I telling you all of this? So that you will understand and won’t judge me harshly when I tell you that I have not exercised AT ALL in close to 18 weeks.

GASP!!!!!!!!!!

Because of the bleeding and later the placenta diagnosis, my OB said no exercising, no sex (my husband walks around with a permanent pouty lip), no nothin’!

No exercise was and is extremely hard for me for two reasons. 1) Exercise is a HUGE part of my life, it’s as common as breathing for me and 2) Exercising throughout pregnancy has always been my plan in order to maintain a healthy weight gain (and post pregnancy weight loss) and to make the birthing process just a tid bit easier.

My next appointment is my 20 week and if all goes well there, she said she’d give me the go ahead to start introducing exercising and sex (as my husband sings “Oh happy day” in the background) back into my life.

I plan to start walking, lifting light weights, practicing yoga, and swimming as soon as I get the all clear. As far as eating goes, I wish that I could boast about keeping it mean, lean, and green but that would be a hilarious lie.

I still eat my veggies, I eat eggs and oats, nuts, and bananas but heaven help me, I am eating bread like no other mother. I haven’t had any major cravings but found that I “need” simple carbs. Bread satisifes me and baby Fox. I even had strong cravings for Macaroni & Cheese (that’s how my husband said he knew that it was his child- like THAT was ever even in question!).

Bare with me through this and hopefully I can provide some insight to eating clean and exercising while pregnant or at least provide comic relief and means by which you can point and laugh (I wouldn’t blame you).

 

 

Eat Clean, Pump some Iron, and be a Fit Fox!