Thoughts on Diet Culture

Jamelah Mitchell,
Louisiana Tech Dietetic Intern

Published March 19, 2021

I had the pleasure of working with a Louisiana Tech Dietetic Intern: Jamelah Mitchell. She took great interest in the damage of diet culture and was eager to learn how to help others that find themselves living with the consequences of diet culture. She had the opportunity to define what Diet Culture is in her own words and provide ways to heal from the damage of diet culture and develop life-giving behaviors. I’m so excited to share Jamelah’s words with you!

Diet culture is a cluster of beliefs that equates thin bodies to being healthy. It  is a toxic cycle that produces deadly insecurities within our communities. Diet culture includes labeling foods, feeling guilty after eating and ignoring internal cues such as hunger, fullness and satisfaction.  How many times have you indulged in diet culture and didn't realize it? It's time to escape from the diet mentality.  Diet culture behaviors that can cause an individual to gain more weight than average, develop an eating disorder, have nutritional deficiencies and put at a higher risk for developing chronic diseases.  TV shows, movies and social media are the main culprit for pushing restrictive diets and discriminating against larger bodies. Many media  outlets convey stereotypes such as overweight/obese individuals are lazy and lack self discipline. These types of stereotypes create a negative  body image. A negative body image  creates unrealistic ideals and low self esteem. 

We can avoid allowing diet culture to shape our health by not engaging with anyone who makes us feel like we are not good enough and/or follows diet culture.  Another helpful tip in avoiding diet culture would include to  change your language on  food, weight and overall health. For example stop categorizing food as good or bad. There is no such thing as a good or bad food item. Instead of categorizing foods, consume all foods that appeal to you and your taste buds. We should also  accept the concept that all bodies are different and strive for healthy habits that best fit our lives. Lastly focusing on intuitive eating can help with avoiding diet culture. Intuitive eating is the ideology of creating a healthy relationship with food and where the consumer takes back ownership of their body. Intuitive eating highlights recognizing internal cues and making peace with food.  Making peace with food gives you permission to eat without feelings of guilt or shame. 

Adopting intuitive eating principles such as: 

• Reject the diet mentality: Stop dieting

• Recognize your hunger: ask yourself, am I hungry?

• Make peace with food: Stop restricting certain food items

• Challenge the food police: ditch having unreasonable rules about food

• Feel your fullness: Breakfast was very filling, i will probably consume a smaller lunch 

• Discover the satisfaction factor: “I'm enjoying a slice of pie today”

• Cope with your feelings without using food: use different outlets such as journaling 

• Respect your body: accepting yourself as a person and not a size 

• Exercise: developing the ideology of exercising to feel good not because it's required”

• Honor your health: state things such as “I'm taking care of myself”

Designed by Jamelah Mitchell.

I had the pleasure of working with a Louisiana Tech Dietetic Intern this week and it was so refreshing. She took great interest in eating disorder recovery and was so eager to learn how to help others that struggle with this life-controlling issue. Part of her assignment with me was to write an article about something she felt passionate about and I believe her words are covered in so much life-giving truth. I’m excited to share Olivia Hurst’s article with you below:

Have you tried several different diets but none work? Maybe you’ve succeeded on a diet just to regain all the weight back plus some. A study showed that the majority of people who lose weight on a short-term diet will regain the weight within one year. Diets may work for short-term weight loss, but they are not working over the lifetime.

Did you know the Bible talks about enjoying the foods that God has given us? Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 says,

“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”

God has given us gifts to enjoy while we are here on this earth and He wants us to take pleasure in them. It’s okay to eat a cheeseburger or have a cookie. God has given you that gift of enjoyment and He wants you to give thanks to Him for that rather than not allowing yourself to enjoy that gift.

Even though God has given us these gifts and wants us to take pleasure in them with thankfulness, the Bible is also very clear on practicing self-control. In fact, self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit. Self-control should be in all aspects of your life, whether that’s with eating, what you are saying, or being diligent on a task that must get done. Proverbs 25:16 says,

“If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit.”

Practicing self-control around food is something that takes time. We should be patient with ourselves and know that it’s okay to mess up. We should always be able to enjoy our favorite foods with absolutely no guilt or shame. The problem occurs when we are consistently eating past the point of fullness and not considering hunger and fullness cues. We create a strained relationship with food when we ignore our bodily cues. Eating to the point of satisfaction is a way we can honor this body that God has given us. Remember that learning to understand hunger and fullness cues takes time. There is grace in the process of creating a healthy relationship with food.

Your body is the temple of God; therefore, we should take care of it to the best of our ability. Yes, we can take pleasure in eating dessert or enjoying movie nights with friends, but the Bible warns against gluttony and laziness. It is important that you give thanks to God for the gifts He has allowed you to receive, but it is also important that you are a good steward of the body He has given you. 1 Timothy 4: 8 says,

“For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

We know that exercising and eating nutritious foods is good for us, but that should never come before our walk with Christ. We should glorify God in our bodies and always point to Him, but we should never be so obsessed with our own bodies that we forget it is a gift He has given us and that it is home to the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 31:30 says,

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

Outward appearance is so temporary. The Bible talks many times about our inward character being much more important than our outward appearance. If you are eating healthy and working out only for your outward appearance, you may need to rethink your intentions.

No matter what you are doing, glorify God in everything. Give thanks to Him for allowing you to enjoy your favorite foods, but glorify Him in caring for your body. Give thanks to Him for giving you an amazing body that keeps breathing throughout the night, and don’t be ungrateful for what He has made you to be.

So, you may be saying to yourself, “Yeah this is great, but I still think I should lose weight.” Did you know there is evidence-based research that supports the idea of not dieting? In fact, there is research showing that the more an individual restricts themselves of a certain food the more likely they are to binge eat, leading to more weight gain. 

There is evidence suggesting that when people allow themselves to eat the foods they are originally wanting, they are more likely to not overeat. Do not create foods for yourself that are off limits, but allow yourself to eat freely in moderation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Know that your body was perfectly crafted by the same creator Who paints every sunrise and every sunset. 

Know that God allows us to take pleasure in our favorite foods and He wants us to thank Him for our favorite foods.

Know that your body is a temporary gift and you should take care of it, allowing it to eat nutritious foods and move but also allowing it to have your favorite foods and relax. 

Know that your walk with Christ and your inner joy say a whole lot more about you than your outward physical appearance.

Know that diet culture is not the answer, and everybody is beautiful in their own way.

I challenge you today to be guilt free when you are eating. But I also challenge you to try new, fun recipes that maybe have a vegetable you’ve never eaten before.

Life is about glorifying God in all that we do, and it’s definitely not about how our bodies look.

REFERENCES

Begin, C., Carbonneau, E., Gagnon-Girouard, M.-P., Mongeau, L., Paquette, M. C., Turcotte, M., & Provencher, V. (2019). Eating-related and psychological outcomes of health at every size intervention in health and social services centers across the province of Quebec. American Journal of Health Promotion, 33 (2), 248-258.

Rothblum, E. D. (2018). Slim chance for permanent weight loss. Archives of Scientific Psychology, 6(1), 63-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/arc0000043

I get the privilege of working with Dietetic Interns from Louisiana Tech University. Quickly after working with Elizabeth Iverson I knew that she was passionate about helping others find freedom in their relationship with food just like I am. She helped me work on a project that I am SUPER excited about coming this Spring 2021 equipping parents to teach their children healthy body image and healthy eating patterns. I also had her write an article about something she feels passionate about and I couldn’t be more pleased with her topic and content. Enjoy this truth from Elizabeth!

The holiday season can be a turbulent time. For many people, a combination of seeing distant family and friends, attending events, and simply preparing for a new year can be exhausting! The stress many of us experience may be amplified even more when you’re worrying about upcoming holiday meals and the abundance of delicious foods that you may only get the chance to have once a year!

I’ve put together a short guide to help alleviate the holiday binge-restrict cycle that many of us struggle with when it comes to holiday meals. Here are three tips to help avoid this cycle and instead focus on enjoying the holidays!

Looove sweet potato pie but only eat it when your Aunt Susan brings it to Thanksgiving, and inevitably end up eating way more than makes you feel your best? Making a certain meal or dish on a more regular basis helps to curb the frantic feeling of “I have to wait 364 days to eat this again, so I better go hard while I can!”. This can lead those who struggle with disordered eating tendencies feeling guilty and can potentially lead to restriction in the days following that meal. Try making it at home on the regular and notice how your relationship with those foods may change!

Don’t forget the tupperware, people! Bringing home leftovers can help your mind overcome that notion of “scarcity” by letting you know that you don’t have to eat more than what makes you feel your best now, because you can have more later! This tip couples well with my previous tip of cooking special meals and dishes at home to help avoid those feelings of scarcity.

Far too often we hear friends and family make statements along the lines of, “I dieted all week so that I could enjoy this meal!”, or “I’m not going to eat anything tomorrow after all this pie!”. No! Restricting before meals, as well as after meals will likely just lead to binging as a result, which leaves us feeling much worse than if we just ate adequate, balanced meals leading up to and following holiday dinner. You deserve to eat, and punishing yourself for future or past episodes of overindulgence is not the way to build a healthy relationship with food.

There you have it! These are just a few ways to avoid leaving holiday functions feeling worse than when you got there while also incorporating some ways to build a healthy relationship with food and your body. Happy holidays!

By Elizabeth Iverson, Dietetic Intern at Louisiana Tech University
Instagram: @Liz.Ivy
Email: Elizabethivy7@hotmail.com

Find Freedom: Home for the Holidays

If you’re not preparing your heart and mind for going home for the holidays.. you should be! I love the Holiday season but man it can bring some undesirable feelings and behaviors to surface. How could it not? Things are out of the norm and can get stressful- no matter how JOLLY those things are “suppose” to be.

Setting goals & boundaries around diet and exercise can surprisingly make you feel even more FREE.. free to enjoy food, treat yourself well, and free your mind up to remember this purpose of this season… JESUS.

Here I’ve provided recommendations for what to purchase when you go to the grocery, dinner recipes, nutrient dense desserts, and at-home workouts.

ALSO! you can print this Market List to help you stay focused in the grocery store.

Breakfast Ideas

It’s hard for me to say “EAT THIS FOR BREAKFAST” because I don’t know what you’re choosing for lunch and dinner :) AND that’s not teaching you how to make decisions for yourself. So, I’m going to share with you what I like to do personally. I like to have a protein source and a fiber-filled carbohydrate source. Simple as that!

PROTEIN: Eggs (2), Greek Yogurt, Turkey Bacon, Turkey Sausage, Low-fat Milk, Low-fat Cottage Cheese

FIBER-FILLED CARB: English Muffin, Whole Grain Toast, Whole Grain Waffle, Whole Grain Cereal, Fruit, Oatmeal (** Tip for choosing high fiber grains: On the label look for fiber & carbohydrate content. Shoot for no less than 1 gram of Fiber per every 10 grams of Carbohydrate)

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t have a smoothie, or tofu, or pizza for breakfast and still follow a healthy pattern. This is just what I do, my body responds well to it and it helps keep me fueled and happy!

Lunch Mix & Match

With all these ingredients you can make your own version of a “healthy bowl” with your choice of ingredients. Lunch does NOT have to be fancy. And DO NOT be afraid to eat the same thing over and over. Yes, as an RD I’m suppose to tell you to get a variety. Variety is great but if that stresses you out.. stick to what you can do right now.

• PROTEIN: Rotisserie Chicken, boiled eggs, beans (black, pinto, navy, chickpea, etc), turkey bacon, nitrate-free deli meat, ground turkey

• GRAIN/STARCH: Cooked Quinoa, Corn, Brown Rice, Baked Sweet Potato, White Potatoes, Beans **Crackers: look for 1 gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrates

• FAT: Avocado, Olives, Yogurt or olive oil-based Dressing, Homemade Honey Mustard **look for dressings WITHOUT trans fat and minimal ingredients

• PRODUCE: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celery, clementines, green beans, kale, lemons, lettuce, mushrooms, oranges, spinach,
  Click here to see what’s “seasonal” (and usually cheaper) in your area!

Dinner Ideas

Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables
Beefy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Bean Kale and Egg Stew
Chicken Pepper & Corn Stir Fry
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce & Green Beans
Kale Sausage and White Bean Soup
Bell Pepper Nachos
Turkey Burger with Goat Cheese & Citrus Maple Dijon
Spaghetti Squash Taco Bake
Parmesan Crusted Chicken & Broccoli

Nutrient-Dense Desserts

Food is meant to be enjoyed! A lot of people associate the holidays with memories of baking their favorite sweet treats with the people they love most. We are made in God’s image and like our creator WE are creators. We create in so many different ways and one of those ways, for some of us, is creating masterpieces in the kitchen! I want to challenge you to use that energy to make a sweet treat that’s filled with nutritious ingredients. Make new traditions that your body and mind will thank you for. Let’s steward our talents and bodies WELL!

Almond Butter Brownies
Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
Homemade Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs (MY FAVE) 
Homemade Cinnamon Pecans
Pumpkin Blender Muffins (add dark chocolate chips!!)

Dining Out

I’m sharing my simple dining out guide. I didn’t invent this brilliant plate method, but I wish I would have. There’s SO MUCH I could say about dining out, but I’m trying to keep it simple and basic. We are PROS at overcomplicating nutrition! I personally use this tool all the time.. mostly at parties, receptions, and showers! I see so many things I WANT but this visual helps me make better decisions.. while still getting to eat those cheesy appetizers that aunt Wanda made.

The 0-2 Fats & 0-2 condiments are for my Mercy girls (hey!!!) … they know all too well what this means ;) Basically, you’re sticking to up to 2 “servings” of fat (avocado, dressing, mayo, hummus, butter, etc). Think of your fats as “dressing up” the rest of your meal & not the focal point. Dress up those veggies with some butter, avocado oil, spices, etc! Remember a little can go a long way.

What happens when the protein & carb are mixed together?
(Ex: Lasagna, pizza, pasta, etc)

Don’t overthink it. Get half of your plate protein+ carb and the other half veggies. Get you a yummy side salad! If you feel like you tend to overeat the carb or even the protein- go for your veggie first!

FREE At-home Workouts

Low Impact HIIT Workout
20 Min LOW IMPACT (but still high intensity) HIIT
Barre Blend Sample Workout (30 Minutes) 
Bodyweight Cardio Workout - 23 Minute At Home Interval Cardio Training
All Standing Cardio Workout 30 Minutes
Beginner Low-Impact Cardio | 15 Minutes
1.0 Mile Happy Walk | Walk at Home | Walking Workout
A 30-Minute Tabata Session to Burn Some Serious Calories
30-Minute No-Equipment Cardio & HIIT Workout
Fat Burning HIIT Cardio Workout - HIIT with Warm Up & Cool Down
Fat Burning Cardio Workout - 37 Minute Fitness Blender Cardio Workout at Home
Pilates Workouts 30-Minute Fat-Burning Pilates Workout | Class FitSugar

Let’s celebrate the birth of the one that is perfect when we are not. The One who sent the Holy Spirit to help us make daily decisions about our health. May our imperfections this holiday season remind us of our need for our perfect savior.

placing hope in results

I am convinced we will never make enough money. I'll never be fully satisfied in where God takes my business. The feeling of being a "good mom" or a "good wife" will never last. When my hair is short- I'll want it long. When it's long- I'll want it short. I'll get my house all decorated like I like it and then I'll go to someone else's house and want their style instead of mine. Someone will always be younger, older, smarter, funnier, and more successful. •
•
Last night our small group read through James 5:1-6 where James is warning us of "laying up treasure in our last days". He's talking specifically about money, but we store up treasure for our last days in so many other areas especially diet and exercise. We spend so much time, energy, thoughts, and money on these bodies. These bodies are such a gift and we should treat them as such! But we should never place our hope in results that come from diet or exercise. The results to our efforts will never deeply satisfy our thirst for significance or admiration. Our clothes will go out of style, our bodies will get old, our friends will get busy and forget to reach out, our husbands will let us down and vice versa, and our career will get boring. I feel like Debbie Downer. But the good news is, none of those things define us. Clothes, bodies, friends, career and family don't tell us if we are valuable, but He does. And He's the only one that truly matters. Trying to lay up some treasures in the things that truly matter.•
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Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. James 5:3

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

These are my FAVE. They were inspired by my dad (aka Bob, aka Pop). He loves a good breakfast bar and is always experimenting with them.  They are so easy to make (1 bowl & 1 pan) & they are a great breakfast on-the-go. Plus, you can make them your own! I shared these with the women at Life Choices in Ruston for a class called "Cooking for Life".  It's this amazing program they designed to help promote healthy eating & lifestyle changes for moms. I LOVED being a part of it and I'll get to do it again this Fall :)

These bars can have as few as 6 ingredients and as many as 13. It can all depend on your preferences or your budget!
The items in bold are the ingredients you always need and the items starred* are optional.

The items in bold are the ingredients you always need and the items starred* are optional.

Ingredients

·       1 ½ cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats
·       1 teaspoon baking powder
·       ½ cup milk
·       1 egg
·       ½ cup apple sauce, unsweetened
·       ¼ cup honey or brown sugar
·       1 teaspoon cinnamon*
·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
·       ¼ cup peanut butter*
·       ¼ cup almonds, walnuts or pecans*
·       ¼ cup shredded coconut*
·       ¼ cup blueberries*
·       ¼ cup raisins*

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350.  Add cooking spray or a light coat of oil to an 8 x 8 pan.
2.     First, mix together the oats and the baking powder.  Then add in all other ingredients.
3.     Add mixture to pan and bake for about 20 minutes. 
4.     When cool, cut into squares and keep refrigerated.

Note: If you want a dryer oatmeal bar, do not add the peanut butter and cut back on the apple sauce. 

These bars are very nutrient-dense.  They provide protein, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber- all the nutrients help keep you fuller longer and stabilize blood sugar.  When we keep our blood sugar in check, it keeps us from getting too hungry and making poor food-related decisions.  A stabilized blood sugar also helps with weight management, regulates hormone levels, prevents diabetes, and helps our mood! 

Here are some different ways to enjoy these bars:

• Cut into squares, put into sandwich bags and refrigerate.  Take as on-the-go breakfast or snack.
• Heat up a square, add a cut up banana or other fruit & a little yogurt.
• Eat as an afternoon snack with a piece of fruit.

Freedom From Trigger Foods

You know, those foods you start eating and cannot stop? The foods that are SO hard to say no to. For some it might not be a particular food, but just sugar in general or salty crunchy snacks.

We tell ourselves a few things when we eat trigger foods:

1. "Life will be better if I eat this"

And some of you might respond to that with "they do make life better!" But do they? There is a time and a place for yummy food. But when food is filling an emotional void- that's not really good.

A good thing to ask yourself in those moments when you’re about to compromise and make an unhealthy decision “am I eating this because I need nourishment or I am feeling emotionally or spiritually empty?” I’m not talking about eating birthday cake at your best friend’s birthday or the occasionally ice cream on a Saturday night. I’m talking about those random donuts leftover from Saturday morning or that trip to the kitchen after everyone’s gone to sleep.

We need to match these triggers with truth: “I am not physically hungry right now, but I need to be filled in another way.”

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I pray that you…grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ.. that you may be filled to the measure of all that fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

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2. "I decided to eat this & I am in control."

Control is a tricky thing. We can use our diet to find a sense of control in the midst of our seemingly chaotic world. It's the one decision we can control. It's our escape from things going on around us that we cannot control. But really when we cannot say no to something, like a trigger food, IT IS CONTROLLING US. It's a trick. Our diets are not a safe place to find that "control" we are looking for in the midst of our crazy day.

What we are truly looking for, what our heart truly desires is surrender. We so desperately want to feel safe enough to "let go" instead of "control". The good news is we CAN let go!

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Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Mathew 16:24-25

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Whoever loses her life will find it!
When we say "no" to trigger foods we are making this point:
I don't have to seek control by saying "yes" or "no" to this tempting food.
I can choose to surrender to a God that allows me to live a life of freedom from constantly seeking false control.

Pregnancy Feels & Favorites

Let's talk about black bean burgers.Three weeks before I found out I was pregnant I had a black bean burger.. and enjoyed it! Just one little BB Burger. Then for some reason during pregnancy black bean burgers became satan. I was SO grossed out by the thought of them.. they haunted my thoughts. I had to renew my mind about black bean burgers, okay? One of the many things about pregnancy I didn't see coming.

But the biggest shocker of pregnancy for me was: I was the proudest I've ever been of my body.  I wasn't proud in a way where I wanted to flaunt my pregnant self to everyone (you're welcome), but more proud of how my body fought to keep Elizabeth and I both healthy.  As a dietitian, I always imagined snacking on kale chips and eating the most colorful of salads filled with all the nutrients during pregnancy. Too bad once week 6 hit all I could stomach was apple sauce, instant mashed potatoes, coke (yes, friends, Coca Cola), and all things white and processed. 

I'm thankful that didn't last my entire pregnancy like some of my friends (bless you all). But my body, this body God gifted and entrusted me with, did exactly what it was designed to do WITHOUT MY HELP.

My body didn't look at our track record or consider how I felt about it or how I've treated it in the past before it decided to give me its very best. 

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God gave us a body that always gives us its best regardless of what we give it in return.

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Here's what I'm NOT saying:

• We need to start worshiping our bodies or start writing them love letters (though that might be very therapeutic).
• We shouldn't help our bodies out by making healthy decisions in the process of it taking care of us.
• You have to be pregnant in order to get the revelation that these bodies God gave us are miraculous.  That was just the way He revealed it to me.  God reveals truth to us in His timing through an array of circumstances. 

I AM saying..

I wish that I could have told myself about all of this when I was in college.
I probably wouldn't have listened. 
But I'm so thankful for what I know now.
And I'm thankful my body doesn't hold anything against me.
Except for maybe all those times I went to the tanning bed.
I deserve every wrinkle I get.

Now, here's a list of some of my favorite things during pregnancy. Cue the randomness.

Apple Sauce Packets

Applesauce packets were my go-to when nothing else sounded appetizing. I could eat it slowly and it helped raise my blood sugar a bit before I attempted to eat something heavier.  I actually may never eat one again.

I had some serious mom guilt during week 6-20 when all I wanted was processed starches.  I read in "The Whole Nine Months"  by Jennifer Lang, MD these words that gave me a lot of peace.

“Mother Nature is brilliant. Here is why it is in the best interest of our species to have some degree of nausea in the first trimester of pregnancy: It is more important in the first trimester for you to avoid digesting toxins than it is to take in nutrients for your baby’s development.”

Burt's Bees (for morning time)

Burts Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter 6.6 oz

Ya'll, my husband bought me this stuff and it was awesome. It was light, but I still felt like I was getting the moisture I needed on my belly.  It was perfect for summer. I put it on right after I got out of the shower and it dried by the time I put my clothes on. It didn't feel heavy or greasy. It also was odorless which was great for that sensitive nose. 

DIY Belly Butter (for night time)

1 cup organic coconut oil + 1 Tbsp jojoba oil or vitamin E oil + 10 drops each of Young Living Lavender, Frankincense and Young Living Gentle Baby. I love to have this scent on me before bed. So relaxing! It's also safe for baby.  You can continue to use it for moisturizer and it can soothe the baby while your nursing or doing skin-to-skin. Start with a very small portion at a time to make sure baby can tolerate it.

Shakeology

I had an aversion to my prenatal vitamins about 8 weeks in.. not ideal. Once I became a Beach Body Coach I realized Shakeology was like a multivitamin and I couldn't taste the vitamins like I could in prenatals. I tried everything and YES I tried the gummies those were actually the worst. I even tried carnation instant breakfast just so I could at least get half of my daily multivitamin.. nope. I could still taste the vitamins. Shakeology is safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding!

 

 

Sleep Bra & Nursing Bra

iLoveSIA 3pack Nursing Bra Nude+Black+Light Pink Size M Fit 34BC 32C 30D 30DD 36A 38A 40AA

So my husband despises the nursing sleep bras.  I have no idea why because they are clearly sexy town.  I went ahead and put that on the list of things Beck hates.. shoulder pads, nude colored clothing, and nursing sleep bras.   When I discovered these bras it brought a deep joy into my life. I could sleep more comfortably and I knew I'd use them after the baby got here. Also, these nursing bras are by far the most comfortable and affordable to me. They have the perfect amount of stretch, padding and support in my opinion.

Asos.com

Okay, I love some Old Navy and Gap but you guys really disappointed me in the maternity clothing department.  I don't understand. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I want my clothes to look 4 seasons behind or super plain. Asos had the cutest most affordable dresses to me with free shipping.  I ordered two dresses and a top from them and they were true to size and I felt cute and comfy in them.

Pink Blush Maternity

This site was perfect for your basic maternity dresses. I bought two dresses from them and plan on wearing them when I'm not pregnant! They show you pictures of someone wearing the dress super pregnant and someone not pregnant. Also, I loved the maternity robe I ordered from them as well. Plus they are always running sales and/or free shipping.

Yeti or Swell Bottle

S’well Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, Double Wall, 17 oz, Bikini Pink

S'well

Cold water was/is my jam, especially when I was so nauseated that first half. I used my Swell Water bottle and it kept my water cold all day and helped me keep up with how much water I was drinking.  If you're having a hard time drinking water and staying hydrated I also went through a few weeks of drinking gatorade. Yes, it's added sugar, but if it's all you can tolerate- go for it, sister. You need the fluids. Also, this will come in handy while breastfeeding. You get VERY thirsty and need water.

No Bake Energy Bites

These were great for afternoon snacks after a workout. They kept me from getting too hungry. I made extra to have in the freezer to snack on after baby gets here. Oats help increase milk production so these are a great snack while nursing as well. Plus, snacks are life when nursing. You're burning so much you need all the snacks. If you plan on eating them during the night I wouldn't add the chocolate chips and I would add raisins instead.

Young Living Peppermint Oil

This helped with the afternoon fatigue. Let's be real, sometimes you just needed a nap. But in the afternoon I would diffuse some peppermint oil in my office or dab some on the back of my neck and it would actually perk me up a bit.  If you'd like to purchase I can get it for you at the whole sale rate!

PiYo

PiYo was my favorite workout for the second trimester.  This link will send you to a link where you can get more information about the "PiYo Package". It got a little more challenging by the third trimester, but I felt like it was low impact enough for the second for sure! PiYo will always have a special place in my heart.

Nasal Strips + Unisom

Unisom Sleep Gels, 60 Count

Unisom

In the second trimester I had the hardest time staying asleep. And I was exhausted!! My doctor told me it was safe to take, but definitely check with your doctor first. It helped me stay asleep without feeling extra tired the next morning.  

Breathe Right Drug-Free Nasal Strips, Tan, Large, for Nasal Congestion Relief, 30 count

Breathe Right

These sexy nasal strips were a dream.  My sinuses were very swollen most of the pregnancy but especially in the spring and early summer (apparently they can swell just like anything else in pregnancy) and these nasal strips helped me sleep.

These items couldn't be more random but I feel like that represents pregnancy pretty well. Not one person's pregnancy, labor and delivery or even child is the same as another!

Favorite Freezer Foods

Ya'll, I can't get excited about frozen soup and casseroles. I KNOW, I KNOW. They're so convenient and they actually taste good when you defrost them but I can't get excited about them.

SO, I found some foods I actually want to pull from the freezer and heat up. You ready for them?

Frozen Pizza.... Chicken strips... and Beef Taquitos!

If I found a fish stick recipe a trusted you better believe I'd make one.. but I am perfectly satisfied with these bad boys.

Here are the links to the recipes!

These oven "fried" chicken strips are from Life in the Lofthouse. Just click here to find the recipe!

These mini english muffin pizzas are so yummy. I found these on one of my favorite blogs, A Nutritionist Eats. You can find the recipe here!

I found these beef taquitos on Just a Pinch Recipes. You can find this link here!