~*Dreams*~

Dreams really are the only place in life where you can be and do whatever you want.
 Unfortunately it takes a certain skill to lucid dream. 
Much practice and concentration which I have not accomplished yet. 
For now I will have to just be like everyone else and wake up with either a smile, a frown or face of confusion. 
Dreaming of people you haven't talked to in years or people you haven't seen in weeks.
Either way I know they are mostly subconscious thoughts but I would also like to believe they have more meaning that which I may never know....

Fit Mom Basics

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to promote myself and the company I am an ambassador for! For Two Fitness has generated a code for me that I can share with my friends and family so they can also receive the 30% discount on merchandise excluding gift cards.  The code is FITMOMTALIA so when you go to check out put that code in and you should see the 30% off discount!  I am still super excited about being apart of this company! 

Ok- so some fit mom basics!  Are you pregnant and relatively active but don't know where to begin?  My suggestion would be to go to iifym.com and put in your information for your macro calculations.  I personally have been eating intuitively and so far have no gained any weight and I am almost 12 weeks pregnant.  My doctor is not worried and neither am I.  My appetite has not been there like it normally is, something extremely unusual for me especially with my history of binge eating disorder so I was pleasantly surprised when this baby put a stop to that!  I have also not been drinking coffee, I would try because coffee and I are like peanut butter and jelly but it would make my stomach hurt soooo bad and that has been about 4 weeks since I drank coffee.  

So the nutrition aspect, if you can't seem to follow the iifym or simply do not want to track which I suggest taking time off from doing, go back to basics.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-4 snacks.  If you are lifting you want to make sure that you are eating a pre and post workout meal that consists of at least 20 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbs.  All of your meals should consist of a protein (meat, tofu, etc) that takes up 1/4 of your plate/ the size of your palm.  You should also include a complex carb and a fat.  Complex carbs consist of things like brown rice, sweet potatoes etc and veggies veggies veggies!  If you are pregnant and everything seems disgusting and you are having a lot of aversions just try to think to yourself am I choosing foods that are healthy for both myself and my baby?  By eating this will my baby be getting a plethora of vitamins and minerals?

As far as training goes it really does vary for everyone and depends on what you have been doing before.  Either way you want to get the ok from your doctor.  If you haven't been working out, you want to start and your doctor says it is ok start off light weights, preferably machines so you can get the hand of form and high reps.  You can add in cardio however much you like.  I preferably do not add any and only go for walks throughout the week.  I am only doing this because after I have the baby I want to compete and I do not want to go in doing cardio everyday.  I have been doing great by just taking Aubrey for a walk 2-3 times a week. 

If you have already been working out and your Doctor says it is ok to continue you can keep doing what you have been doing but watch yourself on PRs.  Now is not the time to be making personal records for things.  Stick to the heaviest weight you have done and keep it there aiming for the same or more reps with great form!!

Any other questions? Just ask!!

A lot

I think, personally it takes a lot for someone to do certain thing, act in certain ways, think in certain ways. Humans always surprise me but in the end don't surprise me at all.  When something is threatened in a persons life that person goes to great lengths to try and protect it even if it means being completely irrational. By all means you must do what you need to do but in the end the truth of who you are as a person always comes out whether you really wanted to know or not.  Everything happens for a reason, we meet people for a reason and although at the time we may be confused as to what that reason is the answer always comes. Distractions and temptations will come and go the grass isn't greener on the other side it's greener where you water it. In the end life will turn out how it's supposed to whether you think you have control or not.  The people meant to stay will stay and those that aren't will find their way out when necessary. Trust your deep down gut and remember to always have a watering can near by! 

FOR TWO FITNESS AMBASSADOR!!

Talia DiChristina

I am super excited to start off this blog by introducing myself as a For Two Fitness Ambassador!  You can see their stuff on their website at www.ForTwoFitness.com  They have amazing workout clothes for girls just like us, pregnant and fit!  I started my fitness journey back in 2002 when I graduated High School (wow was that a long time ago).  I wanted to lose weight for my graduation and I did just that but I didn't keep up on it and college got to me fast.  In 2006-2007 is when I started going back to the gym and fell in love with lifting and working out.  I set out to become a certified personal trainer and I absolutely loved it.  Along the way, reading fitness magazines and doing research I came across Body Building competitions and I did my first bikini competition in October of 2011.  I had a blast, met some amazing, strong, intelligent and beautiful women.  Unfortunately, along the way I knew something was off.  Long before stepping on stage I had an issue with eating and my body image.  I often over ate and then felt like I had to compensate by working out on the elliptical for hours the next day.  I ate when I was stressed, I ate when I was happy but it wasn't a normal amount of food it was excessive.  This happened for years on and off and it wasn't until after my competition (post competition blues) that I knew I needed to get help.  I was diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa, Non Purging type which now in the DSM V can be classified as Binge Eating Disorder.  The reason it was categorized under Bulimia Nervosa was because I was compensating.  Not only over exercising but under eating and restricting which would cause the cycle to continue over and over.  I did great in counseling, it was awesome to talk it out, and figure out how to change my thoughts and behaviors.  While in therapy I set out to do another competition but soon found out I was pregnant with my first baby.  This changed EVERYTHING.  I finally woke up and realized it was no longer about me, I couldn't be engaging in these types of behaviors if I wanted to be a good role model for my daughter.  So I worked hard inside and outside of the gym.  I gave birth to a healthy, happy, and active baby girl.  After she was born I continued on my fitness journey and by the time she was a year old I was 20 pounds UNDER pre-pregnancy weight.  I use an approach that allows me to incorporate any kind of treats as long as I hit certain numbers (If It Fits Your Macros).  This has worked well for me and I have had such great success I set out to prep for another competition and then BOOM pregnant again!  I am super excited and thrilled to make this fitness journey with baby #2 and as an ambassador with For Two Fitness.  I have worked so hard and waited so long to tell my story and I know that once it gets out many women and maybe even men can relate.  Being a woman in this society is not easy with Photoshop and all of the other apps that can alter a photo in a matter of less than 10 clicks.  As a 31 year old mother of one and one on the way I feel the best I have in my entire life and I am excited to have my children follow in my fitness footsteps!